Susan K. Avery (born 1950) is an American
atmospheric physicist and President Emerita of the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering.
Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it ...
(WHOI) in Massachusetts, where she led the marine science and engineering research organization from 2008–2015. She was the ninth president and director and the first woman to hold the leadership role at WHOI.
She is Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), where she served on the faculty from 1982–2008. While at UCB she also served in various administrative positions, including director of the
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the Un ...
(CIRES), a 550-member collaborative institute between UCB and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) (1994-2004); and interim positions (2004-2007) as vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, and provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Currently she is a senior fellow at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, D.C.
Education and career
Avery began her undergraduate study in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
at
Michigan State University, focusing on the physics of the natural world. She specialized in how atmospheric waves propagate in the
stratosphere, earning her doctorate in
atmospheric science from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
in 1978.
After earning her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois, she began a career studying atmospheric science and technologies, with a strong interest in incorporating science into public policy and decision support. Avery secured her first faculty position in the University of Illinois' electrical-engineering department. This post enabled Avery to embark on her own research and teaching. Her research included studies of atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. The author or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, Avery helped form an integrated science and assessment program that examines the impacts of climate variability on water in the American West.
Supported by two fellowships from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
and CIRES she moved to the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1982. She built collaborations at the
National Center for Atmospheric Research
The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundatio ...
(NCAR) and NOAA. Avery developed new
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
technology that allowed the first measurements of wind in the upper atmosphere in remote equatorial regions, leading to years of collaborations in the tropics and polar regions. She attained the academic rank of professor of electrical and computer engineering in 1992. After earning tenure, she accepted a position as associate dean of research and graduate education in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. From 1994–2004, she served as director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), the first woman and first engineer to hold that position. There, she facilitated new interdisciplinary research efforts spanning the geosciences while bringing them together with social and biological sciences. She helped form an integrated science and assessment program that examines the impacts of climate variability on water in the American West and established a K-12 outreach program and a Center for Science and Technology Policy Research - efforts to make CIRES research more applicable, understandable, and accessible to the public. As director of CIRES, Avery worked with NOAA and the Climate Change Science Program to help formulate a national strategic science plan for climate research. From 2004–2007, she served in interim positions as vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, as well as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Avery became the president and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on February 4, 2008. During her tenure at WHOI, she led the development of an intermediate strategy for the institution to attain fiscal stability based on an external and internal landscape analysis. Implementation included structural changes in operations (fiscal and administrative), selective investments in new areas, including th
Center for Marine Robotics a new building for ocean observatories; an ocean informatics program, and strategic hiring in climate and coastal research. She oversaw the completion of major technology projects
Ocean Observatories Initiative design and construction of the submersibl
Alvinreplacement, and acquisition of a new ship
R/V Neil Armstrong, and she brought focus to increased work on the application of ocean science to societal issues. Major examples include
Deepwater Horizon oil spill2010); the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti (2010); the successful search to locate the deep water wreckage o
Air France flight 447in the southern mid-Atlantic (2011); and the measurement of oceanic radionuclides from th
disaster at Fukushima(2011). She encouraged development of new funding resources through a restructured fund-raising office, partnerships with other national and international academic and research organizations, and outreach through events that opened the doors of the institution to the local and regional community.
Dr. Avery has given scientific presentations to a wide variety of lay and professional audiences, including TEDx Boston. She has been active in Congressional outreach, including testimony and briefings; active in US and international consortia dedicated to ocean research, observing, and application; and worked with the Governor's committee to develop the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020. In 2013 Avery was named to the
United Nations’ newly created scientific advisory board.
Research interests
Avery's research interests include studies of
atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air and together with ocean circulation is the means by which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth. The Earth's atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, bu ...
and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. She has participated in field expeditions in Greenland, Antarctica, and Australia, and she has an interest in
scientific literacy
Scientific literacy or science literacy encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories. Scientific literacy is chiefly concerned with an understanding ...
and the role of science in public policy. She has also been a vocal advocate for earth system research, especially the coupling between the atmosphere and the ocean.
Courses taught
Circuits and Electronics I; Linear System Theory; Upper Atmosphere Dynamics (course development); Chemistry and Physics of the Middle Atmosphere; Introduction to Radar and Remote Sensing (course development); Radar Science and Techniques (course development); Geophysical Data Analysis (course development); Policy Responses to Global Environmental Change.
Service on boards and committees
![Eric Turkington, Gary Borisy, and Susan Avery 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Eric_Turkington%2C_Gary_Borisy%2C_and_Susan_Avery_2013.png)
She has served on many national and international boards, committees, commissions, and program review committees, and is active in professional societies. Her current service includes the UN Science Advisory Board; the National Research Council Global Change Research Program Advisory Committee; the NOAA Science Advisory Board; the NASA Science Advisory Committee; the National Park Service Advisory Committee, and the Leadership Alliance External Advisory Board. She is a fellow of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and 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 ...
, for which she also served as president. She is also a member of the
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...
and the
Marine Technology Society. Currently she is a senior fellow with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Awards and recognition include an honorary degree from University of Massachusetts; charter membership of the National Associate Program in the National Academy of Sciences; the Stearns Award from the University of Colorado for exceptional achievement; and an Alumni Achievement Award and Distinguished Ogura Lectureship in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Illinois.
In 2017 she was elected to the board of
ExxonMobil.
Honors and awards
* Outstanding Publication Award of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (1990)
* National Science Foundation Faculty Award for Women (1991)
* Margaret Willard Award of the University Women's Club, for contributions to the University of Colorado at Boulder(1995)
*
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
Visiting Professorship for Women in Science and Engineering, 1982–83
* Elizabeth Gee Memorial Lectureship Award, recognition for scholarly contributions, distinguished teaching and advancing women in the academic community, University of Colorado(1998)
[
* University of Colorado Robert L Stearns Award, recognition for exceptional achievement and/or service (1999)][
* Charter Member of the National Associates Program of the National Academies of Science, recognition of contributions to the National Academies through pro bono service to the National Research Council (2001)][
* Fellow 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 ...
, 1994
* Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,[ 1998
* Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,][ 2011
* 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 ...
(2004)[
* University of Illinois, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Distinguished Ogura Lectureship, 2005
* University of Illinois, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Alumni Achievement Award, 2005
* Business and Professional Women/USA National Business Women's Week Woman of Achievement Award, October 2009
* ]University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...
, Dartmouth, Honorary Degree, 2012
Selected editorials, letters, statements, talks, interviews
It’s been a privilege to lead WHOI: Statement to WHOI
June 29, 2015
Presentation to the WHOI Board and Corporation (The Pillars of WHOI)
May 21, 2015
Sea Stories: Presentation to the WHOI Board of Trustees
May 20, 2015
Wenju Cai, Susan K Avery, Margaret Leinen, Kenneth Lee, Xiaopei Lin, Martin Visbeck: Commentary: Institutional coordination of global ocean observations: Nature Clim. Change, 5, 4-6 (2015)
Research Independence and Integrity
May 25, 2014
Congressional Testimony: Driving Innovations through Federal Investments
April 29, 2014
Congressional Testimony: Deep Sea Challenge: Innovative Partnerships in Ocean Observing
June 11, 2013
Remarks on the Occasion of the Christening of the R/V Neil Armstrong
Anacortes, WA, March 29, 2014
Letter to U.S. House and Senate Leadership: Fiscal Cliff Impacts
December 26, 2012
The Titanic: Seeing is Knowing: Boston Globe Online
April 13, 2012
World Ocean Day Statement: The Importance of Looking Closer to Home
June 8, 2010
Deepwater Horizon Oil Statement
May 26, 2010
World Climate Summit, Ocean Day: Changing Climate, Changing Ocean, 2009
Congressional Testimony: How the Mission and Related Research of NOAA Contribute to the National Science Program
2009
Strategic Actions for the next Administration: Preparing the Nation for Climate Change
2008
Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative,
Feature Editorial “Creative Collaborations to Sustain Momentum,” 2008.
The Oceans and Us
TEDx Boston talk, August 13, 2010
WCAI Living Lab interview
WHOI begins search for new leader
November 17, 2014
WCAI Living Lab interview
A Tour of 2012's Science Highlights
December 31, 2012
WCAI Living Lab interview
The Politics of Science Funding
October 15, 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, Susan
1950 births
Living people
University of Colorado faculty
University of Illinois faculty
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
American oceanographers
Women oceanographers
20th-century American women scientists
21st-century American women scientists
Fellows of the American Meteorological Society
American women academics
Directors of ExxonMobil