Description:

The 2021 Walter Orr Roberts Memorial Lecturer is Dr. Abigail Swann of the University of Washington.  Dr. Swann is an atmospheric scientist and ecologist and works primarily on the transitions, thresholds, and feedbacks of the coupled ecosystem-climate system (ecoclimate). She has a keen interest in biosphere-climate feedbacks, climate and ecosystem modeling, and the carbon cycle.  She has worked to advance our understanding of the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems at all spatial scales through atmospheric circulation.

The Walter Orr Roberts Memorial Lecture recognizes an outstanding interdisciplinary Scientist for significant contributions to the understanding of atmospheric processes through the effective interchange of knowledge between atmospheric science disciplines or between atmospheric scientists and scientists of other disciplines.

Walter Orr Roberts was an astronomer and atmospheric physicist, founder of the High Altitude Observatory and NCAR, and well-known for his early recognition of human factors in climate change.