Karin van der Wiel

AS Atmospheric Sciences

The 2022 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Karin van der Wiel for fundamental contributions to global climate modelling and supportive regional climate change information.

Karin van der Wiel is part of a new generation of scientists that not only looks at the physical atmospheric system, but also analyses societal impacts of weather extremes. Her research is at the forefront of understanding the relationships between meteorological extremes, climate change and societal impacts, and has led to distinct research contributions in projecting the impacts of climate extremes on society, and projecting future meteorological extremes under climate change. Her reputation is built upon work using large-ensemble climate model simulations to study the climate change impacts on extreme events in hydrology and the energy transition, detection and attribution of climate change on extreme weather and hydrological events. This work feeds into other applications including atmospheric, hydrological and energy modelling, and recognized by numerous distinctions. Dr. van der Wiel actively engages with stakeholders in the development of the national climate scenarios in the Netherlands, in which she leads the work on droughts. Dr. van der Wiel is also heavily engaged in science communication, frequently appearing in national and international mediaand engaging with the public to explain weather and climate phenomena, sparking spark societal awareness. These outstanding scientific contributions and prominent role in science communication, community activities and stakeholder engagement make Karin van der Weil the recipient of the Outstanding Early Career Award of the Atmospheric Sciences Division.