PAOC Spotlights

In two changes in leadership, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physical Oceanography Raffaele Ferrari stepped down as the head of the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate (PAOC) to take over the role of co-director of the Lorenz Center, following the retirement of Professor Emeritus Kerry Emanuel. Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies, is the new chair of PAOC. These changes took effect July 1^st.

Ferrari served as the head of PAOC for ten years, during which he improved coordination across the different groups through the creation of a pan-EAPS Distinguished Doctoral Program, along with a more unified general exam structure. PAOC oversees the academic programs in atmospheric, oceanic and climate sciences along with strengthening the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) Joint Program.

Solomon, who has a secondary appointment in the Department of Chemistry, is the Founding Director of MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative and co-creator of the inter-departmental minor in Atmospheric Chemistry between EAPS and the Department of Chemistry. Solomon joined the MIT faculty in 2012.

The Lorenz Center was launched in 2011 under the leadership of co-directors Kerry Emanuel and geophysics professor Dan Rothman. Named after Edward Lorenz, the founder of modern chaos theory, the center is a think tank devoted to curiosity-driven research and creative approaches to learning how the climate works. Rothman will continue to serve as a co-director alongside Ferrari.

Story Image: Left, Susan Solomon. Right, Raffaele Ferrari.