Peter Huybers
Encyclopedia
Peter Huybers is an American climate scientist, and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University
, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
in 1996 from the United States Military Academy
at West Point, and a Ph.D. in climate chemistry and physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 2004. He was a NOAA Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate and Global Change in the Geology and Geophysics Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
from 2004-2006.
Huybers has multiple research interests related to climate science. First, Huybers is investigating the long-term climate cycles. He has advanced the hypothesis that a 41,000 year period of change connected to the Earth's tilt on its axis is dominant during the past 800,000 years, and that every second or third of these cycles produce a major deglaciation event. This deglaciation also appears to trigger changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, perhaps in part coming from radically increased volcanic activity during deglaciation. Second, he is studying annual temperature variations. Finally, Huybers is developing models to estimate historic temperatures based on the limited evidence available to us.
Huybers has been published in Science, Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, Quaternary Science Reviews, Paleoceanography, Climate of the Past" and the Journal of Physical Oceanography.
After completing West Point, his military career included leading a tank platoon as part of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and testing technologies to reduce fratricide
at the Mounted Warfare Testbed at Fort Knox
, Kentucky. Huybers is married to Downing Lu, a military physician assigned to the pediatric intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
.
in 2009, a Harvard University Center for the Environment Fellowship in 2005, the MIT Carl-Gustaf Rossby Prize in 2004, and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship in 2001.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Life and work
Peter Huybers received a B.S. in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in 1996 from the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, and a Ph.D. in climate chemistry and physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 2004. He was a NOAA Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate and Global Change in the Geology and Geophysics Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers. Established in 1930, it is the largest independent oceanographic research...
from 2004-2006.
Huybers has multiple research interests related to climate science. First, Huybers is investigating the long-term climate cycles. He has advanced the hypothesis that a 41,000 year period of change connected to the Earth's tilt on its axis is dominant during the past 800,000 years, and that every second or third of these cycles produce a major deglaciation event. This deglaciation also appears to trigger changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, perhaps in part coming from radically increased volcanic activity during deglaciation. Second, he is studying annual temperature variations. Finally, Huybers is developing models to estimate historic temperatures based on the limited evidence available to us.
Huybers has been published in Science, Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, Quaternary Science Reviews, Paleoceanography, Climate of the Past" and the Journal of Physical Oceanography.
After completing West Point, his military career included leading a tank platoon as part of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and testing technologies to reduce fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
at the Mounted Warfare Testbed at Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
, Kentucky. Huybers is married to Downing Lu, a military physician assigned to the pediatric intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
.
Awards
He is the recipient of multiple awards, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2009, a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering in 2009, the AGU James B. Macelwane MedalJames B. Macelwane Medal
A medal awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union "to be awarded annually for significant contributions by outstanding young scientists." It is named after James B. Macelwane, a Jesuit priest and one of the pioneers of seismology...
in 2009, a Harvard University Center for the Environment Fellowship in 2005, the MIT Carl-Gustaf Rossby Prize in 2004, and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship in 2001.