2024 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture by J. Marshall Shepard

Marshall Shepard presented "Cloudy with a Chance of Science: Shaping a discussion at the intersection of wicked problems and society" as one of the 2024 Rachel Carson Distinguished Anniversary Lecture Series on Jan 25.

Abstract: Shepherd will explore the perspectives that shape viewpoints on science using the lens of weather and climate. Drawing upon his vast record of research, teaching, and science communication, Shepherd uses current events,  the peer-review literature, and personal stories to provide for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion that is accessible to any audience.

Marshall Shepherd is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia and director of its Atmospheric Sciences Program.

In 2022, he was selected SEC Professor of the Year. In 2021, Dr. Shepherd was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  The only member of the University of Georgia faculty to ever achieve this trifecta and likely one of the few scholars in the nation to do so. Shepherd was also the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS).

Prior to academia, he spent 12 years as a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and was Deputy Project Scientist of the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission. Shepherd is the host of The Weather Channel’s Weather Geeks Podcast and a senior contributor to Forbes Magazine. In 2004, he was honored by President Bush at The White House with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers. He has also received the Captain Planet Foundation Protector of the Earth Award, the 2019 AGU Climate Communication Prize, the 2020 Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science and the 2018 AMS Helmut Landsberg Award to name a few.

He received his B.S., M.S. and PhD from Florida State University. He has three TEDx talks on climate science and communication that collectively exceed two million viewers. He is routinely asked to brief Congress, the White House, and other agencies on weather-climate-science-related topics. He recently moderated a discussion with Vice President Kamala Harris on climate-related topics. He routinely appears on major media outlets like CNN, CBS Face The Nation, PBS NOVA and The Today Show.

Shepherd has almost 100 peer-reviewed publications and is responsible for over $30 million in extramural funding since arriving at the University of Georgia.. He serves as one of President Morehead’s appointees to the UGA Athletic Association Board.