Climate Center Names First Director

In August, we concluded a national search with the hire of Dr. Dave Reidmiller as the first director of our new interdisciplinary climate center, which focuses on solutions to local, regional, and global challenges related to climate change.

“As a region, we have an opportunity to be global leaders, because the things we learn here are relevant around a warming planet,” said Dr. Reidmiller. “For example, what we learn about heatwaves in the Gulf of Maine is critical to our understanding of similar warming events and their impacts in other places.”

Dr. Reidmiller brings nearly two decades of experience advancing climate science and policy at a national and international scale to GMRI. Throughout his career, Dr. Reidmiller has:

• Served as Acting Director of the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) with the U.S. Geological Survey, investing in user-driven science to understand how climate change affects ecosystems.
• Delivered the congressionally mandated Fourth National Climate Assessment — the nation's most authoritative scientific report on the impacts of climate change in the U.S. — during the Trump Administration as a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
• Served as the Chief Climate Scientist for the U.S. Department of State under the Obama Administration, forging consensus among the 197 member states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to deliver the science and technology components of the Paris Agreement.

At GMRI, Dr. Reidmiller’s work will build on our ongoing climate science efforts and leverage the experience of other GMRI programs delivering high-impact education programs and convening diverse groups of marine stakeholders to solve complex problems.