About El Niño

I am a gonzo climate scientist, currently working at GaTech.

One inspiration for starting this blog was that everyone I met, even very far from academic circles, seemed genuinely curious about climate change. More often than not, the topic would come to hijack many conversations in very diverse social contexts, from my downstairs neighbor in Harlem, to my transatlantic airplane neighbor, to backstage conversations at music festivals. At one of those, the nickname “El Niño” was imprinted onto me, and it stuck. I have always looked about 5 years younger than I actually was, have a youthful exuberance for science, and spent 5 years on a PhD on the dynamics of El Niño - Southern Oscillation. So it is somewhat deserved.

I like to engage in dialogs with people about climate change and environmental consciousness. I’d like to think I can discuss those things courteously with everyone, regardless of their education, as long as they are equipped with Reason. I have met many people in my life, and some of the smartest never went to school. Some of  them did go to school in very different fields, have their own questions about climate science, and I want to address them too. So I try to make things accessible, even tough I can sometimes geek out on technicalities… If some equations scare you in one post, scroll to the next one.

Much to my dismay, Reason is an increasingly scarce currency in the rows of climate skeptics, which makes courteous discussions rather difficult. This is a continual challenge that I try to address with good humor, but sometimes I let out a punch or two. It’s hard to stay Zen when there is so much at stake, which is why I need to practice on a blog.
More information can be found on my professional page.