Join us for a public lecture titled "Climate models: whence they came, where they're going, and why we should trust them" given by Schmidt Sciences Distinguished Fellow, V. Balaji. At Schmidt Sciences, Dr. Balaji leads the new Climate Institute to build a framework for analyzing pathways toward a carbon- and resource-neutral future through linked programs on climate modeling, land and ocean carbon, global freshwater, and energy planning with an eye toward the Global South. 

In this presentation, Balaji will provide an introduction to climate models, their history and evoluation, and their cental role today in climate reserach and climate policy. We rely on them to design pathways to a carbon-neutral future. From early days, the models have added a dizzying amount of detail, and remain our one method of getting data from the future of our planet, and from counterfactual planets. But the evolution of computing technology is bringing forth new methods borrowed from machine learning and artificial intelligence, which pose fundamental questions about the next generation of models. But, if successful, the new approaches promise the possibility of placing these tools in the hands of those who most need them. 

This public lecture is intended for a broad audience and we encourage students, faculty, and staff from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds to attend. 

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, January 28 from 12pm-1pm in the Schiller Institute Convening Space (Rm 501) at 245 Beacon. Luncheon to follow (1pm-2pm). Please register here.