David Keith joins University of Chicago to lead Climate Systems Engineering initiative

Photo by Jason Smith

Prof. David Keith, who has worked at the interface of climate science, technology and public policy for over three decades, has joined the faculty of UChicago’s Department of the Geophysical Sciences to explore climate systems engineering. READ MORE on UCHICAGO NEWS.

Renowned scientist David Keith has joined the University of Chicago as a professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences to explore climate systems engineering.

Keith has worked at the interface of climate science, technology and public policy for over three decades, and is at the forefront of efforts to advance the science and policy analysis of solar geoengineering.

As nations work to begin transitioning away from fossil fuels, experts say that even the rapid elimination of carbon emissions cannot address the climate risks posed by the carbon already in the atmosphere. To head off the effects of rapid climate change, some have suggested using human technological intervention to blunt the effects of climate change.

At UChicago, Keith will lead a new Climate Systems Engineering initiative, which will explore multiple such strategies, including methods to reflect sunlight away from Earth—ranging from injecting particles into the stratosphere, to using ocean salt crystals to brighten low-lying clouds. Other strategies could include ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and more localized interventions, such as protecting glaciers.