Carol of University of the West of England, United Kingdom. (www.uwe.ac.uk)

Climate change is increasing concern about extreme heat, heavy rainfall, flooding, drought, and other high-impact weather events. However, less attention is often given to the complex systems needed to observe weather conditions, produce predictions, and translate them into timely, actionable advisories. These systems depend on satellites, environmental sensors, communication networks, data-processing platforms, numerical models, artificial intelligence, and public warning services. If weather information is inaccurate, delayed, or unavailable, the consequences may affect public safety, emergency response, agriculture, energy, transport, healthcare, and vulnerable communities.

This presentation will introduce the developing content of two IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) white papers. It will use the end-to-end weather-prediction lifecycle to identify key technical, organisational, and societal dependencies. The main focus will be on governance and policy challenges associated with numerical and AI-enabled weather prediction, including sustainability, accessibility, trust, cybersecurity, supply-chain dependencies, accountability, and cross-sector coordination. Furthermore, the talk will examine preventive and detective measures, the responsible use of weather information, and practical policy recommendations for improving the resilience and equitable operation of these systems.

The presentation will be of particular interest to researchers, engineers, cybersecurity and risk professionals, meteorological specialists, policymakers, emergency-management practitioners and others concerned with the societal implications of weather intelligence. The audience will be invited to contribute technical expertise, stakeholder perspectives, and case studies to support the ongoing development of these white papers.

Biography:

Carol Lo is a Lecturer in Cyber Security at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her PhD research focuses on the security and resilience of industrial cyber-physical systems, specifically the detection of stealthy, multi-stage Advanced Persistent Threats that exploit legitimate tools and system functions through "Living-off-the-Land" techniques. Her broader research interests include operational technology (OT) security, multimodal information fusion, interpretable security controls, and the societal impacts of technology governance.

Prior to her academic career, Carol accumulated 15 years of professional experience in consulting, assurance, technology risk, and internal audit, including roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Link Real Estate Investment Trust. This background informs her research into the practical implementation of cybersecurity controls and robust governance in highly regulated environments.

Carol contributes to a range of academic and professional activities, including serving as an editor for a Cambridge University Press Environmental Data Science special issue and leading the IEEE SSIT Education Committee Policy & White Paper Subcommittee. She is a member of the organising committee for the Digital Twin NetworkPlus conference and has contributed to the development of global standards and examinations, including ISACA’s CISM and ISC2’s CISSP and Certified in Cybersecurity. Carol holds an MSc in Cyber Security (Distinction) from the University of the West of England, and a BBA (First Class Honours) in Accountancy and Management Information Systems from the City University of Hong Kong. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), and holds Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), CISSP, and CISM.

Address:United Kingdom