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Anne Slinn 
Executive Director for Research 

MIT Center for Global Change Science  and
MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
slinn@mit.edu
TEL: (+1) 617.253.4902

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MAILING ADDRESS:
77 Mass Ave, 54-1318
Cambridge MA 02139
     
My work is focused on sustaining fundamental research on the Earth system and maintaining the support and focus of applied research on global environmental change. As an engineer and scientist by training, the complexities of global change strike me as a grand challenge. Climate change is likely the most pressing issue facing humanity, and tractable solutions will take coordinated effort on a global scale to achieve. Fortunately, MIT's ethos provides an excellent setting to foster collective endeavors.

For over thirty years I've helped facilitate MIT's interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research collaborations aimed at addressing global environment challenges. As Executive Director for Research of the MIT Center for Global Change Science and the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, I manage a diverse portfolio of sponsored research at the nexus of environment, energy and economics. My key contributions are to the integration of research priorities with resource development, and the synthesis of scientific description. My focus is on the oversight of grants, contracts and consortium support (from corporate, foundation, and government sponsors), and the communication of research findings to a broad audience.

I'm an alumna of the MIT School of Engineering and have been on the Sponsored Research Staff in the School of Science since 1990. My early academic focus was on fluid dynamics and heat transfer, earning master's degrees in mechanical engineering (Washington State University) and civil engineering (MIT). My MIT thesis work involved satellite remote sensing of wind-induced stresses on the ocean surface to analyze the interaction of wind and large-scale ocean circulation. At WSU I combined molecular theory with experimental laser design to measure the radiative absorption properties of hydrocarbon gases that are common in the atmosphere.

When the CGCS was formed in 1990, my initial role as administrative scientist included serving as executive officer for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme's atmospheric chemistry activity (IGAC). I then helped launch the MIT Joint Program in 1991, and have worked with the directors to maintain those efforts ever since. In the early 2000s I aided the formation of MIT's Earth System Initiative, which in 2014 transformed into the next phase of Institute-wide commitment as the Environmental Solutions Initiative, which manages the new MIT Climate Portal.

MIT Mens et Man logo During Academic Year 2014-2015 I served on the MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee, which was established to seek broad input from the Institute community on how the U.S. and the world can most effectively address global climate change. The committee produced a report on MIT and the Climate Challenge. Since 1991 I have served as a board member (and Vice President from 2004 to 2017) of the Technology Broadcasting Corporation, the trustee of the student-run WMBR FM radio station located on the campus of MIT. I am also involved with the various research and academic activities organized by the MIT entities noted below.

 
   
  
  
CGCS

Center for Global Change Science (CGCS)

JPSPGC

Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change

   EAPS

 Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Department (EAPS)

CMI

Climate Modeling Initiative

PAOC

 EAPS Program in Atmospheres Oceans and Climate (PAOC)

MITEI

MIT
Energy Initiative

  
 
Professional Preparation: Master of Science (SM) Civil Engineering MIT | MS, BS Mechanical Engineering Washington State University
MIT Presidential Committee Appointment: Board member (Vice President, 2004-2019), Technology Broadcasting Corporation, trustee of MIT Radio WMBR 88.1 FM
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