2007 Winner: Axel Timmermen

Axel Timmermen Dr. Axel Timmermen, associate professor at the University of Hawaii, is well known for his seminal modeling study predicting increased El Niño frequency in response to future greenhouse warming is widely cited and is part of his large collection of papers that seek to understand the fundamental mechanisms of ENSO operating in the past, present and future. His more recent work has revealed mechanisms that link climate variability in the Pacific with the Atlantic on decadal and longer timescales, and his ideas have contributed to a new integrated view of the global climate system. Timmermann is known not only for his innovative ideas and methodologies, but also for the curiosity and enthusiasm that he brings to scientific discussions.

Field Work He has published extensively on a wide range of topics, including El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics, climate predictability, stochastic climate modeling, thermohaline circulation stability, paleoclimatic variations, biophysical interactions in the ocean, and coral bleaching. Timmermann was a co-author of three chapters in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 3rd Assessment Report.

Dr. Axel Timmermann earned his Ph. D. in natural sciences from the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology in Hamburg and completed his undergraduate work in physics at the University of Marburg in Germany.