We extend a very warm welcome to José Santos, CLIVAR's new International Project Office Director. Many of you will have read the official announcement or met José at the 38th Session of the Joint Scientific Committee in Paris. To get to know José even better we asked him three questions.
The three questions are:
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
I have been able to travel to over 30 countries in 4 different continents to share my research and exchange ideas and collaboration with scientists from many different backgrounds. I have collaborated in several exciting and international initiatives. For example, I was invited to be an Expert Reviewer of the Working Group 2 contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). It has also been very rewarding to be able to participate in the formation of new scientists as a professor for undergraduate and graduate students at Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral.
What is it about CLIVAR that attracted you to apply for the role of International Project Office Director?
Climate change and variability is a global issue, and transcends many disciplines and sectors of the society. I can not think of a better place than CLIVAR to make a difference in climate science; something that is my passion, and to which I have dedicated 30 years of my life. The opportunity to contribute to the dissemination of cutting edge knowledge being produced by the fantastic researchers that form the CLIVAR family is something that I look forward to.
What do you see as the main challenges for CLIVAR in the future?
The challenges for CLIVAR are the same as those for Climate Science in general: the "novelty" of Climate Change that reached its peak around 2007 when the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Prize has worn out a bit in sectors of the general public. There is still a considerable number of 'climate deniers' who try to diminish the effort and results of our scientists, and important leaders around the world do not think that Climate Change is a serious issue, so all our community is suffering for lack of sufficient funds to carry on our research. We need to do a better job of 'selling' the results of our research, so that different sectors of society can benefit from them and be better prepared to face what I am convinced is the greatest challenge facing life in our planet: Climate Change.
We look forward to working with José and wish him all the best as he settles into this new and exciting role.