James Marshall Shepherd is an American meteorologist, professor at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

's Department of Geography, director of the university's atmospheric sciences program, and 2013 president of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance th ...

(AMS). In 2020 he was awarded the AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science. In 2021, he was elected to the U. S.

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

Early life and education

Shepherd grew up in

Canton, Georgia Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000. Geography Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.22730 ...

, where he first became interested in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

in the sixth grade. He had planned to do a science project about bees, but decided to do it about the

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

instead after he discovered he was allergic to bees. He received his bachelor's (in 1991), master's (in 1993), and Ph.D. (in 1999) degrees in physical meteorology from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

(FSU), and was the first African-American person to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology from the university. He became a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

fraternity, Iota Delta chapter at Florida State in 1988.

Scientific career

Shepherd initially worked at NASA's

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

(GSFC) as a research meteorologist for twelve years. He then joined the University of Georgia's department of geography in 2006. He served on the NOA
Science Advisory Board
In recognition of his work in climate science and global climate awareness, he was the 2014 recipient of the Captain Planet award by Ted Turner's Captain Planet Foundation. Shepherd is a contributor to both

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

and

Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organized as a faction of Students for a Democr ...

Views

Shepherd has written that African Americans may be more vulnerable to the effects of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, such as heat-related deaths. He has also spoken out about the

United States federal government shutdown of 2013 From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the United States federal government entered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014 nor a continuing resolution for the interim ...

, and has argued that it significantly delayed research into the use of

global climate model A general circulation model (GCM) is a type of climate model. It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean. It uses the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms ...

s in the United States, and that it also prevented members of the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

(NWS) from attending the

National Weather Association The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities. Background The National Weather Association is, ...

(NWA)'s annual conference.

Television appearances

Shepherd has appeared on

the Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

and

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

, and, since July 2014, has hosted "Weather Geeks", a

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

airing on

the Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...

. He also appeared on

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history ...

in 2014.

Awards

In 2004, Shepherd received a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Presidential Early Career Award. In 2014, he received a Media Achievement Award from the

Association of American Geographers The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. Th ...

. In 2019, Shepherd won the American Geophysical Union's Climate Communication Prize. In 2020 he was awarded the AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science. In 2021, he was elected to the

. , entry in member directory:

References

External links

University of Georgia homepage

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Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, J. Marshall American meteorologists Florida State University alumni University of Georgia faculty Living people African-American scientists People from Canton, Georgia American Meteorological Society people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 21st-century African-American people