Heidi Cullen

Heidi Cullen is the chief scientist for the non-profit environmental organization, Climate Central, located in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition, she is a guest lecturer at nearby Princeton University, and the author of the book, The Weather of the Future. An advocate of man-made climate change, she was an on-air personality at The Weather Channel, and is a senior research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).

Life and career

Born in Staten Island, New York, Cullen received a B.S. in engineering/preparations research from Columbia University, followed by a doctorate in climatology and ocean-atmosphere dynamics from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, also at Columbia.

Subsequent to her educational experiences, Cullen worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), located in Boulder, Colorado. While there, she was given a fellowship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to return to Columbia University, where she worked at the university's International Research Institute for Climate and Society. The fellowship allowed her to contribute to a project which looked at the effect of climate on water resources in Brazil and Paraguay.

After her fellowship, Cullen joined The Weather Channel, becoming their initial expert on climate change topics. In October 2006 she previewed her 30-minute program, The Climate Code. In April of the following year, along with a broadband program, The Climate Code would change to an hour format, and be retitled, Forecast Earth; Cullen was part of the creation process of both shows. In November 2008, NBC, the parent company of The Weather Channel, cancelled the program.

After leaving The Weather Channel, Cullen became the chief climatologist for the not-for-profit organization, Climate Central, where she issues reports on climate topics. In addition to her responsibilities at Climate Central, she lectures at nearby Princeton University, and is a senior research fellow at the Penn's Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. In 2010 she authored the book, The Weather of the Future, which gives one perspective of what different locations might look in the year 2050 based upon current climate modeling theories. She also had the capacity of chief science advisor for the Showtime series, The Years of Living Dangerously. She is also currently a member of the Science Advisory Board for NOAA, and sits on the Council of the American Meteorological Society.

Awards and accreditations

• National Wildlife Federation - 2008 National Conservationist Award for Science
• Associate Editor - Weather, Climate, Society
• American Geophysical Union - member
• American Meteorological Society - member
• Society of Environmental Journalists - member

See also

• Scientific opinion on climate change