Ellie Highwood


Ellie Highwood is Professor of Climate Physics at the University of Reading and was head of that department from 2012 until 2015. She was previously a member of the RMetS Council and Education Committee. On 1 October 2016 she became the 81st President of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Highwood studied physics at the University of Manchester and then studied for a PhD at the University of Reading. Her research focuses on atmospheric particulates in climate, particularly the impact of aerosol on climate change and climate model simulations.
In 2015 she also took on the role of Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Reading, which is a job share with Professor Simon Chandler-Wilde.
Her work has been discussed in notable publications, such as The Independent and the BBC. She has argued that cooling the planet artificially by "injecting tiny reflective particles into the atmosphere" could "cause droughts and climate chaos" in poor countries, albeit also stating that it would "be prudent to explore alternatives that might help us in the decades ahead".

Selected bibliography