Bridging the Gap Between Climate Science and Action

Please join the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media (PCSSM) and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) for a talk from renowned atmospheric scientist and climate communicator Dr. Katharine Hayhoe with an introduction from PCSSM Director Dr. Michael Mann.

Talk Abstract: Scientists are often stereotyped as detached, value-free thinkers, yet it is often our humanity that compels us to address complex crises like climate change. The real question is not whether scientists should engage with society, but how we can do so in ways that advance truth and, increasingly, justice. Drawing on social science research and her own experience, Hayhoe will explore how engaging both minds and hearts enables science to move beyond simply informing to inspiring collective action for a better future.

Register Here

This event will be in-person only in the Agora Room (first floor) in the Annenberg Public Policy Center (202 S 36th Street).


Katharine Hayhoe

Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy & Horn Distinguished Professor and Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist who studies how climate change impacts us and how we can effectively respond. She is globally recognized as a United Nations Champion of the Earth and an Oxfam Sister of the Planet, and has been named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers, and FORTUNE’s World’s Greatest Leaders.

Katharine is known for her ability to translate complex climate issues into accessible public discourse. She publishes a weekly Talking Climate newsletter, hosted the PBS Digital Series, Global Weirding, and writes for broad range of outlets, from TIME to Good Housekeeping. Her TED talk, “The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it” has more than 4 million views and her most recent book is “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.”

Currently, she is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and holds the positions of Horn Distinguished Professor and the Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. Katharine earned her B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois. She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, and the American Scientific Affiliation, and serves on advisory boards for organizations such as Netflix, UBS, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. In recognition of her contributions to science communication and engagement, she has received a number of awards and four honorary doctorates.

Michael Mann

Director of Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media;
Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania; Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action

Dr. Michael Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication. His research focuses on climate science and climate change. He was selected by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002, was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geophysical Union in 2012. He received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2019 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. He is a Fellow of the AGU, AMS, GSA, AAAS and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is co-founder of RealClimate.org, author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, numerous op-eds and commentaries, and six books including Dire Predictions, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, The Madhouse Effect, The Tantrum that Saved the World, The New Climate War and Our Fragile Moment.