Dr. Jane Lubchenco: The Stephen Schneider Award

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. Ecology, Harvard; Former Administrator, NOAA; Former President of AAAS

As droughts, fires and rising temperatures continue to make headlines, 2014 is on track to be another record year for extreme weather. No one has had a better view of raging weather than Jane Lubchenco. While she ran the NOAA, the country experienced nearly 800 tornadoes, suffered Super Storm Sandy and other major hurricanes, raging floods and tsunamis. Scientists say that burning fossil fuels increases the likelihood of such weird weather and is having devastating impacts on oceans. What does the latest science say about climate impacts on the U.S. economy and ecosystems? How did science become a political issue? We'll discuss these questions and more with the person who led the creation of the most ambitious National Climate Assessment ever conducted.

Dr. Lubchenco will receive the $15,000 Stephen Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication, awarded each year in memory of the late Stanford scientist Stephen H. Schneider. Dr. Schneider was a founding father of modern climate science, a fearless communicator and the first member of the Climate One Advisory Council. He passed away in 2010. Shortly thereafter Climate One established the award to recognize people who create new understanding in the physical and social sciences and communicate their discoveries to a broad public. Previous recipients are Richard Alley of Penn State University, former NASA scientist James Hansen and Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank.

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. first program, 7 p.m. appetizers and networking reception, 7:30 p.m. second program