Professor Amanda Lynch (United States of America) has been elected as Chair of the WMO Research Board, which is responsible for guiding translating the aims of the WMO Members into overarching research priorities to be implemented the activities of different research programmes.
The Chair is committed to 'Science for Service' and to ensuring that the best knowledge and information is available to secure safety and prosperity in the face of weather, climate and water shocks. This can be achieved through transcending silos that prevent effective decision support, across research and operations, across disciplines, and across sectors.
Realizing this vision requires innovation in weather, water, climate and allied sciences. It requires engagement with the needs and capabilities of developing countries, an open and inclusive workforce, and promotion of young scientists worldwide. It requires strong linkages between WMO's technical commissions, United Nations organizations, academia, research centres, and funding agencies.
"It's tremendously exciting to be asked to serve in this way, because the core of what I do as a researcher focuses on how natural and human systems interact and how they can do so in ways that benefit both," said Prof. Lynch, a professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences who served as the inaugural director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. "It's also a daunting task because challenges like climate change, population growth and urbanization make it ever more important to be prepared for weather- or climate-related stresses."
Prof. Lynch is Lindemann Distinguished Professor at Brown University, USA. Her experience is at the nexus of weather and climate, of natural and social sciences, and of research and policy. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and of the American Meteorological Society, and has been a member of WMO's Scientific Advisory Panel for the past two years. She has provided advice to the US National Science Foundation, the US National Academy, the World Bank, the UNFCCC, and the Australian Government, and acted as a delegate to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
WMO congratulates Prof. Lynch and extends its gratitude to Prof. Celeste Saulo, First Vice-President of WMO, who served as initial Chair of the Research Board until the Extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress in 2021.
