Y2E2 Building, 299
473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305
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Event Details:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SEMINAR SERIES
May 14, 2026
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Y2E2, Room 299
Geeta Persad, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at Austin
“Climate Risk in a World of Rapidly Evolving Human Emissions”
Abstract
Addressing climate change and achieving cleaner air are two paramount—and intimately interlinked—challenges. The human health impacts of poor air quality make reducing aerosol pollution an imperative. With this, though, has come the removal and redistribution of aerosols’ unique climate effects. At the same time, the increased exposure of human systems is creating demand for impact-tailored characterization of climate change that is outpacing scientific understanding, particularly for aerosol-driven change. In this talk, I will highlight our recent work demonstrating how the shifting geography of aerosol emissions forces a reevaluation of historical attribution and near-term risks and lay out a roadmap for impact-tailored analysis that can both revolutionize our understanding of the climate system and build a much-needed bridge between scientific theory and real-world decision-making in the face of rapidly evolving human emissions.
Biography
Dr. Geeta Persad is an Assistant Professor in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads a research team focused on mapping climate risks from our changing global mix of air pollution. Previously, she led science for the Western Water and Climate program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and conducted research on air pollution and climate change at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab and the Carnegie Institution for Science. Dr. Persad holds a PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from Princeton University, where she was also a Ford Environmental Policy Fellow, and a B.S. in Geophysics from Stanford University. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation's CAREER award, and in 2021 she was named one of eight Generation Climate Leaders by the Environmental Defense Fund. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, National Geographic, Nature Magazine, and NPR.