Dr Vikram M. Mehta of The Center for Research on the Changing Earth System

Biography:

Dr. Vikram Mehta earned M.Sc. in Physics from Gujarat University, India in 1977; Post-graduate Diploma in Space Sciences and Their Applications from Gujarat University in 1979; and was an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Research Fellow at Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, India from 1979 to 1982 working on Microwave Remote Sensing. He then studied Upper Atmosphere Physics at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada from 1982 to 1984, earning a Post-Graduate Diploma in Physics. A strong interest in more applications-oriented scientific research led him to the Department of Meteorology at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A. where he earned M.S. degree in 1986 and Ph.D. degree in Meteorology in 1990. Vikram was then a research scientist for over 12 years in NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, further specializing in identification of ocean-atmosphere interactions that give rise to decadal climate variability (DCV). Strongly motivated to use climate science for societal benefits, Vikram founded the Center for Research on the Changing Earth System (CRCES), a non-profit, scientific research organization in Columbia, Maryland, U.S.A. in 2002, with initial funding from NASA. In addition to funding from NASA, CRCES is also funded by grants from NOAA, NSF, USDA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers-Institute for Water Resources for research and other activities on DCV and its societal impacts. Currently, Vikram is the President and Executive Director of CRCES.

Under his leadership, CRCES has studied the physics of DCV; its predictability; and DCV impacts on water resources, crop yields, and inland water-borne transportation in the Missouri and Mississippi River Basins in the U.S.. CRCES has also estimated the monetary value of DCV information to the agriculture sector in the Missouri River Basin and has developed options for the agricultural sector in the Missouri River Basin to adapt to DCV. Vikram’s major research interests are understanding and predicting DCV; assessment of DCV impacts on water resources, agriculture, public health, and the economy; and climate and public policy. Vikram has published over 150 research papers and Conference/Workshop presentations.Vikram has authored two books. One, titled “Natural Decadal Climate Variability: Societal Impacts” about worldwide DCV impacts on water, crop production, fisheries, inland water-borne transportation, and hydro-electricity generation; and socio-economic and political consequences of impacts on these societal sectors, was published in 2017. Second, titled “Natural Decadal Climate Variability: Phenomena, Mechanisms, and Predictability”, was published in 2020. Both books were published by CRC Press. Vikram was one of the founders of the Indian Centre for Climate and Societal Impacts Research (ICCSIR) in Ahmedabad, India, and led its development from 2008 to 2013.

Address:The Center for Research on the Changing Earth System , 6521 Limerick Court, Clarksville, Maryland , United States, 21029