Academic and Training Program Hub

At GW’s Climate & Health Institute, we believe there are solutions and opportunities to mitigate the harm of climate change on human health.Our vision is an evidence-based global response by governments and stakeholders to mitigate the climate crisis and equitably improve public health.Our mission is to promote equitable protection of population health at the local, national and global level by:- Conducting policy-relevant and community-oriented research that reveals relationships between climate change, human health and equity.- Educating and empowering the newest generation of leaders in equitably minimizing climate change and its health consequences.- Communicating and translating cross-disciplinary knowledge to integrate health and equity into actions to address climate change.

The REACH Center forms a new multi-institutional partnership that leverages world-class strengths in public health, medicine, and public policy at George Washington University; Earth and atmospheric sciences at George Mason University and Howard University; and research translation at Environmental Defense Fund. The Center’s ground-breaking partnership cultivates a diverse, multi-disciplinary, collaborative research enterprise that generates new knowledge and accelerates research translation into health-protective actions.

The Disaster Research Center (DRC) is committed to advancing the state of the art in disaster research and its scientifically guided practice; educating the next generation of disaster science scholars and informed practitioners in the fields of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; and creating, gathering, and disseminating disaster knowledge in a dynamic and responsive way.

The Climate Hub was founded in 2021 to foster greater collaboration across campus and with off-campus partners and to elevate the status of the University as a climate leader. Climate change is a whole-of-University and whole-of-society issue, and the Hub reflects our mission to develop creative, ambitious, and holistic solutions.

Program areas include the physics of climatology (thermodynamics, radiation and cloud processes), atmospheric dynamics (forces and flows), measurement (microclimatological methods and instrumentation, and remote sensing) and computational methods for data analysis and synthesis.

As a meteorology and climate science major, you will learn how to answer questions about weather and climate that are increasingly relevant and important to all of us. Will a hurricane change course and make landfall over a coastal city? How much snow will the Northeast get this winter? What do sea surface temperatures tell us about climate change?You will receive training in meteorology, the science of the atmosphere, that will help you understand and address events is felt throughout various sectors of society—droughts resulting in water shortages, crop damage and increased wildfire potential, or water surpluses causing flooding. You will also study the climate, which is usually considered to be an average of weather conditions over a long period of time, along with understanding the variability of climate and its extreme events. Your studies in this area will include land-ocean-atmosphere interactions, as well as the role of the sun and astronomical forces. The skills you develop in weather and climate prediction are important skills used in the agricultural, tourism, disaster management, resource management, communication and renewable energy industries.Students in our climatology degree programs study the climate, which is usually considered to be an average of weather conditions over a long period of time, along with understanding the variability of climate and its extreme events. Studies in this area will include land-ocean-atmosphere interactions, as well as the role of the sun and astronomical forces. The skills students develop in weather and climate prediction are important skills used in the agricultural, tourism, disaster management, resource management, communication and renewable energy industries.Our program boasts a solid tradition of climate research with strong connections between weather and various sectors of society such as renewable energy, disaster management and agriculture. Students have immediate access to climate and weather experts and resources through the Office of the Delaware State Climatologist and the Center for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, both based at the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences along with the major. Students also benefit from strong, established partnerships with the National Weather Service, broadcast agencies and national climate centers.

Students at at YSE gain the knowledge and leadership skills necessary to create a sustainable future for themselves and future generations. They are part of 14 master’s and three doctoral programs, including joint- and dual-degrees offered in collaboration with departments and schools across Yale and with external peer institutions. YSE also hosts more than 20 unique centers, programs, and initiatives that foster groundbreaking research, sponsor internship opportunities, and host engaging conferences and events that elevate diverse voices and ideas in numerous fields of study.Our internationally renowned faculty, led by Indy Burke, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean, direct rigorous coursework across ten learning communities, each focused on a different area of expertise. Their innovative research, completed with students and staff across Yale and within numerous disciplines, is changing how we understand the environment, conservation, and sustainability.

The Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience is comprised of three divisions working in synergy to address the complex mental health needs of individuals within our community, in other communities around the United States, and around the world. Through scientific discovery and strength-based innovation, the Institute empowers individuals and communities to build resilience and heal from trauma.The Institute has changed significantly since its original creation as the Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center in 2002. In March of 2020, the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience was founded after receiving a generous match grant from the Lyda Hill Foundation. The Institute directly impacts the lives of close to 10,000 individuals per year through the Research, Healing, and Community Training & Empowerment divisions.