Professor Ted Shepherd appointed to Grantham Chair in Climate Science

Monday, 02 April 2012

The University is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Ted Shepherd to the Grantham Chair in Climate Science. Professor Shepherd will play a leading role in climate research in the Department of Meteorology, the renowned international centre for the study of weather and climate, and in the University's Walker Institute for Climate System Research.

Professor Shepherd, currently based at the University of Toronto, is acknowledged to be one of the leading atmospheric scientists of his generation. His outstanding research record over the past 30 years encompasses atmospheric dynamics, climate dynamics and climate change, and he is particularly known for his research on the stratosphere, the atmosphere above 10 km.

Professor George Marston, Dean of the Faculty of Science said: "We are delighted that we have recruited a scientist of Ted Shepherd's calibre to the Grantham Chair in Climate Science. We are already one of the leading international centres for weather and climate research. Professor Shepherd will provide a further boost for our research excellence, and new leadership in climate science at Reading and for the UK."

The Chair is supported through a generous donation by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The appointment of Professor Shepherd is intended to develop the University's own climate research, as well as enhance the University's research collaborations with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, the Met Office Hadley Centre and the NERC national centres, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), large parts of which are based at the University of Reading.

Professor Shepherd will be working particularly closely with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial, whose Director, Professor Sir Brian Hoskins FRS, also holds a Chair in Meteorology at the University of Reading. 

He has published over 150 papers in his career to date, attracting over 4000 citations, and he has been made a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the Royal Society of Canada and the American Geophysical Union.

Professor Shepherd has led an interdisciplinary university-Environment Canada collaboration focused on the development and use of a leading chemistry-climate model, which has provided the Canadian modelling contribution to the WMO/UNEP Ozone assessments. Since 2007, he has been co-Chair of the Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) core project of the World Climate Research Programme.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Shepherd said: "I am tremendously excited about this opportunity at Reading. I spent part of my early research career in the UK and have always admired the UK's deep commitment to research excellence and the fact that UK society looks to scientists for their expertise concerning problems of societal importance.

"Over my career I have seen the Meteorology Department at Reading develop into a world-leading centre, which at the same time retains a strong sense of collegiality. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues there and elsewhere in the UK, in collaboration with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, to tackle key scientific challenges in the area of climate change."

Recognising his excellent track record, Professor Shepherd was last week awarded a five year Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, a scheme designed to provide universities with additional support to enable them to recruit or retain respected scientists of outstanding achievement and potential to the UK.

Professor Shepherd takes up his post at the University on 1 May 2012.