Research aimed at predicting future climate activity has primarily focused on large and complex numerical models. While this approach has provided some quantitative estimates of climate change, those predictions can vary greatly from one model to the next and produce doubts in the projected outcome. 

In this Faculty Forum Online broadcast Professor Kerry Emanuel '76, PhD '78 discussed a new approach to climate science that emphasizes basic understanding over black box simulation. On Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, Emanuel presented an overview of his climate research and took questions from the worldwide MIT community via video chat. Watch the video and visit the Slice of MIT blog to continue the conversation in the comments.
 

About Kerry Emanuel
A Cecil and Ida Green Professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Emanuel is a cofounder of the Lorenz Center, an MIT think tank devoted to understanding climate activity. He is the author of What We Know about Climate Change, which The New York Times called "the single best thing written about climate change for a general audience."

In 2006, Emanuel was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He received his bachelor's degree in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences from MIT in 1976 and his doctorate in meteorology from MIT in 1978.