AAAS Sections

Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences (W)

AAAS 2011 Annual Meeting Special Event

Tribute to Stephen H. Schneider (1945-2010)

Photograph by Reed Hutchison at the Global Solutions/Climate Change Pavley-Waxman Hearing held at University of California at Los Angeles on 21 August 2009

Stephen H. Schneider, a renowned climate scientist at the vanguard of climate-change research for four decades, died on July 19, 2010, while flying to London from a science meeting in Sweden. Dr. Schneider, a Fellow of AAAS, was an ardent supporter of AAAS Section W, regularly attending Section W business sessions and serving as Member-at-Large (1990-1994) and Chair (2000-2001). He was a leading participant in the climate assessments conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

In the late 1970s, Dr. Schneider first emerged as an early, ardent, and visible researcher of the theory that man-made industrial gases were leading to a rise in the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere, with many damaging impacts. He believed it was important for scientists to communicate with the public and share their understanding of climate data and findings with other scientists and policy makers. His related activities spanning four decades, included four appearances on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” service as founder and Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Climatic Change, and publication of 10 books on climate science and more than 400 journal articles.

Prof. Schneider, a climate modeler at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and most recently a Stanford biology professor, also served as a consultant to federal agencies and White House staff in the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations.