Prof. Robert Pincus

BIOGRAPHY:

What can the past tell us about the future? Much of my work is oriented around understanding what the historical record can tell us about climate change, and especially how changes in the composition of the atmosphere affect the flows of energy within the earth system -- the so-called "radiative forcing." On shorter time scales I work on a range of problems related to clouds, radiation, circulation, and climate. One practical thread is related to the nuts-and-bolts of building models. Radiation is the ultimate driver for every atmospheric motion so every model of the atmosphere needs an accurate representation. I'm especially interested in identifying a range of strategies for balancing accuracy and computational cost based on the scales at which radiation couples to circulation. I have a long-standing interest in interpreting remote-sensing measurements. Still inspired by one of my first mentors, I'm especially interested in what we can learn from different views of the same aspect of the world.