Pioneering climate scientist and alumnus Warren Washington (’58, ’60) is co-recipient of the 2019 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, which is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for the Environment.” Washington is the first African-American to receive the prize in its 46-year history.
Washington will share the award with well-known climate change expert Michael Mann, who developed the “hockey stick graph” showing how the Earth is warming. The two will split the $200,000 prize.
Washington and Mann will deliver a public lecture about their work on May 2 at the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay Conference Center, and receive their awards in a ceremony on May 3 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. A native of Portland, Washington is credited with writing the book on climate modeling. He collaborated on the construction of one of the first computer models of the Earth’s climate, and as technology advanced he expanded the model to incorporate oceans, sea ice and rising levels of carbon dioxide.
