Susan K. Avery

Susan K. Avery is president emerita of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB) serving in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).  She served as a faculty affiliate in the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at UCB and as a Distinguished Visiting Faculty at the University of MA, Boston.  Dr. Avery holds a PhD in atmospheric sciences from the University of Illinois and a BS in physics from Michigan State University. Her research focus has been on atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing.   Over the course of her career, she has mentored 17 Ph.D. students.  The author or co-author of over 110 peer-reviewed articles and reports, she has given scientific presentations to a wide variety of lay and professional audiences.   She has been active in Congressional outreach, including testimony and briefings; in US and international consortia dedicated to ocean and atmosphere research, observation, and applications; and worked with the Governor’s committee to develop the Massachusetts Green Economy plan. 

Her current professional service includes the Boards of the American Institute of Physics (which she serves as Treasurer) and the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab, the advisory committee for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and service on the Exxon Mobil Corporation Board of Directors.   She recently completed six years of service as the chair of the Board of Trustees of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 

Dr. Avery is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Meteorological Society, for which she also served as president.  Awards and recognition include honorary degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; charter membership of the National Associate Program in the National Academy of Sciences; and a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois.