Ioana Colfescu

Senior Research Scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
Session: Net Zero, Climate Data, and AI – Oh my!

Ioana is a Senior Research Scientist, working for the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and is a Visiting Scientist in the Department of Physics, University of Oxford. Their background is in Mathematics and Mechanics, followed by a Ph.D. in Climate Dynamics at George Mason University in Virginia (USA). Throughout their career, they have been involved in various projects in different parts of the world (e.g. USA, Romania, Scotland, England, Italy) and field campaigns (the Arctic Ocean, Iceland, Italy, UK, Isle of Arran, Scotland). As part of their work in NCAS, they also coordinate and develop course modules on climate change and teach, mentor and supervise post-graduate students. The focus of their research has been understanding large-scale climate and extreme events, yet; recently, they have been transitioning to using Machine Learning techniques and climate models to improve the understanding of the key processes determining Earth’s climate at long-term scales of variability.

Outside work, they love photography, spending time with their dog, and camping (especially on the Western coast of Scotland despite the midges).