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Karen McKinnon

Climate scientist and professor

Karen Aline McKinnon

Karen McKinnon is an Associate Professor of Statistics and the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her research focuses on large-scale climate variability and change, with a particular emphasis on connections to high-impact weather events like heat waves.12

Some key facts about Karen McKinnon:

  • She studies extreme heat and climate change as an assistant professor with both the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the department of statistics and data science.3
  • In 2024, she received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for her groundbreaking research on extreme heat and climate change.36
  • Her research proposal, titled 'Understanding Changes in Summertime Continental Temperature Extremes,' focuses on the mounting challenge of heat waves in the context of climate change.3
  • Before joining UCLA in November 2018, she was an Applied Scientist at Descartes Labs and an Advanced Study Program post-doctoral fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. She received her PhD in 2015 from Harvard University, working with Peter Huybers.2
  • Her work on predictability of heat waves has been covered by news outlets including the New York Times, Fox News, and the Washington Post.2

McKinnon's research sits at the nexus of climate science and statistics, shedding light on the interactions between natural variability and human-caused climate change.4 Her LinkedIn profile is linkedin.com/in/karen-mckinnon-566bb415.5

Highlights

Jul 8 · linkedin

Attending #AGU24 this year in Washington DC? Consider submitting to our session on drought! Abstracts due July 31.

GC063. Drought: Mechanisms and Impacts in the Past, Present, and Future

Understanding the interacting factors that produce droughts is crucial to preparing for their impacts and managing them when they occur. This session focuses on work that improves our understanding of the interactions that cause drought, and their cascading physical effects, through analysis of observations (including paleoclimate) and/or Earth System Model simulations. In particular, we invite work that aims to improve our understanding of the role of feedback processes in initiating, sustaining, or ending drought, and links to the physical impacts of drought including snowpack, water availability, heatwaves, and wildfire. In addition, we welcome contributions focused on spatiotemporal variability of drought, predictability, and societal impacts.

Sep 15 · linkedin

We're at the tail end of another summer of major heat extremes across the Northern Hemisphere. Interested in learning more about heat waves and climate change? Join me (virtually) on Monday 9/18 at 2pm ET for a seminar hosted by the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at University of Maryland:

Related Questions

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Karen McKinnon
Karen McKinnon, photo 1
Karen McKinnon, photo 2
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Location

Los Angeles, California, United States