Occupation
Chief Climatologist for Climate Central, Visiting Lecturer at Princeton University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the University of Pennsylvania
Education
- B.A in Industrial Engineering – Columbia University
- Ph.D. in Climatology and Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics – Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Why Heidi Cullen, Ph.D. Is Involved
If we don’t like the long-term climate forecast of a hotter, more extreme world – we can change it. We can choose to be smarter about the way we use energy, manage our natural resources and grow our food. We know how to protect our climate and slow the damage that has been done.
Bio
Before joining Climate Central, where she reports on climate and energy issues, Dr. Cullen served as The Weather Channel’s first on-air climate expert and helped create Forecast Earth, a weekly television series focused on issues related to climate change and the environment.
Prior to that Dr. Cullen worked as a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO. She received the NOAA Climate & Global Change Fellowship and spent two years at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society working to apply long-range climate forecasts to the water resources sector in Brazil and Paraguay.
Climate Careers
Climatologist or Atmospheric Scientist
Atmospheric scientists study the weather and climate and how it affects human activity and the earth in general. They may develop forecasts, collect and compile data from the field, assist in the development of new data collection instruments, or advise clients on risks or opportunities caused by weather events and climate change.
Glaciologist
Glaciology is the study of snow and ice and their physical properties. More specifically, glaciologists analyze the formation, movement, and effects of the different kinds of glaciers, for example alpine and arctic glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and ice shelves.
Renewable Energy Engineer
The promise of sustainable power depends on our ability to harness renewable resources like wind, sunlight, biofuels, geothermal heat and rivers. The technology needed to harness these natural energy is continually improving, but the demand for workers who can lead us toward a sustainable energy future has far exceeded the supply.