Michael Mann

Michael E. Mann earned his Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University in 1996, M.Phil. and M.S. in Physics from Yale in 1991, and A.B. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. He joined Pennsylvania State University in 2005 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Meteorology with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. He advanced to Associate Professor from 2005 to 2009, Professor from 2009 to 2013, and Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences from 2013 to 2022. During this period, he served as Director of the Earth System Science Center from 2005 to 2022. Prior roles include Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia from 1999 to 2005 and postdoctoral research fellowships.

Mann's research specializations include climate variability and change, paleoclimate reconstructions, signal detection, climate prediction, extreme weather events, climate impacts, and science communication. He authored seminal publications such as 'Global-scale temperature patterns and climate forcing over the past six centuries' (Nature, 1998), 'Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the past millennium: Inferences, uncertainties, and limitations' (Geophysical Research Letters, 1999), and 'Proxy-based reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past two millennia' (PNAS, 2008), which introduced the influential 'hockey stick' reconstruction of past climate temperatures. His books include Dire Predictions (2009), The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars (2012), The Madhouse Effect (2016), The New Climate War (2021), and Our Fragile Moment (2023). With over 200 peer-reviewed publications cited more than 57,000 times per Google Scholar, his work has profoundly influenced understanding of anthropogenic climate change and IPCC assessments. Major awards include the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2019), election to the National Academy of Sciences (2020), World Sustainability Award (2020), AGU Climate Communication Prize (2018), AAAS Fellow (2015), and fellowships from GSA and AMS. He contributed to National Research Council panels, co-founded RealClimate.org, delivered public lectures, and engaged in editorial roles.