Joëlle Gergis is an Australian

climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

specializing in Southern Hemisphere

climate variability Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more ...

and

change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

, based in the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. She is a senior lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society. Her research fields include climatology, climate change processes,

paleoclimatology Paleoclimatology ( British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the scientific study of climates predating the invention of meteorological instruments, when no direct measurement data were available. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of ...

, and Australian history. In 2013, Gergis was awarded an

Discovery Early Career Researcher Award fellowship, and her team won the 2014

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organisations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research. She was a lead author for the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

's Sixth Assessment Report in 2022. She is also a sitting member of the Climate Council.

Education

Gergis completed a BSc in advanced science and environmental science at the University of New South Wales in 2000. Since 2003 she has presented 77 scientific abstracts at national and international scientific meetings and authored 77 climate variability and change publications. Her work has been covered on Australian and international television. Gergis received her PhD in high-resolution palaeoclimatology from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in 2006.

Career

Gergis participated in

Work for the Dole Work for the Dole is an Australian Government program that is a form of workfare, or work-based welfare. It was first permanently enacted in 1998, having been trialled in 1997. It is one means by which job seekers can satisfy the "mutual obligat ...

, an Australian workfare program. Centrelink Master Program advised her to remove the PhD from her resume in order to make her more employable. Gergis decided instead to enroll in a professional writing course. The following year, Gergis was one of three national finalists for the 2007 Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental Issues and Climate Change, and was one of nineteen

Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (usually known as the Wentworth Group) is an independent group comprising Australian scientists, economists, and business people with conservation interests. History The name of the group comes from th ...

’ Science Leaders Scholarship recipients selected nationwide.

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities tha ...

, the 2007

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

, was one of her mentors during the program aimed at training outstanding young scientists to help bridge the communication gap between science and public policy. In 2008, Gergis was nominated for a

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Awards for Excellence in Environmental Journalism for feature writing. Between 2009 and 2014, Gergis led the Aus2K working group for international environmental research organisation Past Global Changes (PAGES), which aimed to improve the accuracy of future climate projections by reconstructing the past 2000 years of climate across the world. The Aus2K group studied Australasian climate variability over the previous 2,000 years, coordinating the development of a 1,000-year temperature reconstruction of the region for the

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fifth in IPCC#Assessment reports, a series of such reports and was completed in 2014.IPCC (2014The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (A ...

. One of the studies involved using climate proxies such as tree-rings, lake sediments, corals, and ice cores to recreating 3000 different historical contexts including the meteorological conditions the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

endured, as documented by William Bradley aboard the HMS ''Sirius'', and examining claims about a mediaeval warm period. Gergis was the lead author in a study published in the

Journal of Climate The ''Journal of Climate'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published semi-monthly by the American Meteorological Society. It covers research that advances basic understanding of the dynamics and physics of the climate system on larg ...

and drawing on decades of work by 30 scientists. In 2012 Gergis completed the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's esteemed Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing. She has published articles for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', ''

Australasian Science ''Australasian Science'' was a bimonthly science magazine published in Australia and was the longest-running scientific publication in the country, from 1938 to 2019. It contained a mixture of news items, feature articles, and expert commentary. ...

'', ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

'', and ''Cosmos'' science magazine, as well as literary non-fiction titles including ''

Wet Ink ''Wet Ink'' magazine was an Australian magazine devoted to publishing new Australian writing, with an emphasis on new and emerging writers. Published quarterly, it featured fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, plus an interview with a writer ...

''. In June 2012 she was awarded a Writers Victoria Grace Marion Wilson Fellowship for an Emerging Writer. Also in 2012, Gergis was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship, and her team won the 2014 Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research. In 2015, Gergis was awarded the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research in the Faculty of Science at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. In February 2018, she was selected to serve as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report. In August 2018, Gergis joined the Climate Council – Australia's leading independent body providing expert advice to the Australian public on climate change and policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gergis, Joelle Living people University of New South Wales alumni Australian environmentalists Australian women environmentalists Australian climate activists Year of birth missing (living people)