Lisa Marie Goddard (September 23, 1966 – January 13, 2022) was an American climate scientist who was director at the

International Research Institute for Climate and Society {{Infobox organization , name = The Earth Institute , image = Ei blue1.gif , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , map2 = , type = , tax_id ...

(IRI). She joined the institute in 1995 and served as IRI's director from 2012 to 2020. Goddard was also an adjunct associate professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Her research focused on forecasting methodology, seasonal climate forecasting and verification, climate change projections and especially on the interpretation of climate models and available observations. She was involved in activities of the

World Climate Research Programme The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Inte ...

and acted as co-chair in

CLIVAR CLIVAR (climate and ocean: variability, predictability and change) is one of six projects of the World Climate Research Programme. Its purpose is to describe and understand climate variability and predictability on seasonal to centennial time-scale ...

from 2013 to 2015.

Biography

Lisa Goddard graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, with a degree in physics in 1988. She received a PhD in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1995 under George Philander. She joined IRI as a postdoctoral fellow immediately following her PhD, and spent her entire career there, eventually rising to the Director of the IRI, which position she held from 2012 to 2020. She began her career at a time when the importance of the

El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular pattern but do have some semblance of cyc ...

to seasonal weather patterns was just beginning to be understood. The focus of her research would become weather forecasting on seasonal to decadal scales. She sought to provide people with near-term information about weather hazards such as droughts, heat-waves, floods. During the course of her career she collaborated with governments and non-profits in dozens of countries to provide useful short-term forecasts for agriculture, public health, emergency planning and energy production. Goddard held a number of influential positions during her career. From 2009 to 2017, she was a member of the

U.S. National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...

Board of Atmospheric Science and Climate. She co-chaired

project from 2013 to 2015. She married David Cooperberg and had two sons. Goddard died from breast cancer in

Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous municipality, coterminous with the ...

, on January 13, 2022, at the age of 55.

Selected publications

During her career, she contributed to more than 100 research articles. Many of her most prominent works were related to the use of weather models to forecast on seasonal to decadal scales, including: * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Lisa 1966 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American women scientists American climatologists American women climatologists American women academics Columbia University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Deaths from breast cancer in New York (state)