Climate change scientist Michael Mann to speak at UB

Michael E. Mann, whose research on climate change has earned him accolades from scientists, environmental organization, politicians and more, will speak at UB on April 28 as part of the RENEW Institute’s ongoing Distinguished Lecture Series.

The event, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in 101 Davis Hall, North Campus, is free and open to the UB community. Online registration is requested.

Mann will discuss his latest book, “The Madhouse Effect,” a collaboration with UB alumnus Tom Toles, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist at the Washington Post and formerly of The Buffalo News.

Here’s what to expect from the lecture, according to a summary from Mann:

“I offer a somewhat lighthearted take on a very serious issue — the threat of human-caused climate change and what to do about it … We target the ongoing campaign to deny that threat through satire and, where appropriate, ridicule built around Tom Toles’ famously insightful, edgy and provocative climate-themed cartoons … Despite the monumental nature of the challenge this poses to human civilization, we find a way to end on an upbeat and cautiously optimistic note.”

Mann is a Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State, with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. He is also director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center.

His research involves the use of theoretical models and observational data to better understand Earth’s climate system. He was a lead author on the Observed Climate Variability and Change chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report in 2001. He contributed, with other IPCC authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mann is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and has published three books, including Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, and his book with Toles.

For more information about his research and lecture, as well as RENEW and its lecture series, visit the RENEW website.