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Education

  • 2010
    Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences
    University of Washington
  • 2007
    M.S., Atmospheric Sciences
    University of Washington
  • 2004
    B.S., Meteorology
    Pennsylvania State University

Experience

  • 2013 – present
    Research scientist
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • 2011 - 2013
    Postdoctoral research scholar
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • 2004 - 2010
    Graduate research assistant
    Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington

Academic Interests

  • Climate sensitivity
  • Cloud radiative feedbacks
  • Radiative forcing

Book Chapters

  • Chao, L. -W.*, A. E. Dessler, and M. D. Zelinka, 2026, Climate Feedbacks. In Robinson, W.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, vol. 5. Elsevier, Academic Press, pp. 117–128, doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-96026-7.00038-2.
  • McCoy, D. T., M. E. Frazer, J. Muelmenstaedt, I. Tan, C. R. Terai, and M. D. Zelinka, 2024, Extratropical Cloud Feedbacks, in Clouds and their Climatic Impacts, Radiation, Circulation, and Precipitation, S. C. Sullivan (Ed) and C. Hoose (Ed), American Geophysical Union.
  • Contributing author to Forster et al. 2021, The Earth’s Energy Budget, Climate Feedbacks, and Climate Sensitivity, in Climate Change 2021, The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Masson-Delmotte et al. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 923-1054, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.009.
  • McCoy, D.T., D. L. Hartmann, and M. D. Zelinka, 2017, Mixed-Phase Cloud Feedbacks, in Mixed-phase Clouds, Observations and Modeling, Andronache, C. (Ed.), Elsevier.
  • Tan, I., T. Storelvmo, and M. D. Zelinka, 2017, The climatic impact of thermodynamic phase partitioning in mixed-phase clouds, in Mixed-phase Clouds, Observations and Modeling, Andronache, C. (Ed.), Elsevier.
  • Dessler, A.E. and M. D. Zelinka, 2015, Climate Feedbacks, in Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 2, pp. 18-25, G. R. North (editor-in-chief), J. Pyle and F. Zhang (editors).

Honors and Awards

  • Richard P. and Linda S. Turco Lectureship, Department of Climate, Meteorology, & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, 2024-2025
  • LLNL Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Awards for Excellence in Publications for Terai et al. (2025), Lee et al. (2024), Sherwood et al. (2020), Zhou et al. (2016), and Norris et al. (2016)
  • Zelinka et al. (2020) named “Editor’s Choice Paper” by Editor-in-Chief of Geophysical Research Letters
  • American Meteorological Society Henry G. Houghton Award, 2022
  • Eos Research Spotlight for Zelinka et al. (2022)
  • Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing - Geophysical Research Letters
  • 2021 LLNL Deputy Director’s S&T Excellence in Publication Award for Zelinka et al. (2020)
  • 2021 LLNL Deputy Director’s S&T Excellence in Publication Award for Sherwood et al. (2020)
  • Sherwood et al. (2020) named runner-up for Science Magazine’s 2020 Breakthrough of the Year
  • Nature Climate Change Research Highlight for Dong et al. (2020)
  • US CLIVAR Research Highlight for Zelinka et al. (2020)
  • Eos Research Spotlight for Zelinka et al. (2020)
  • LLNL Outstanding Mentor Award, 2018
  • LLNL Early and Mid-Career Recognition Program Award, 2018
  • Eos Research Spotlight for Zhou et al. (2017)
  • Diablo Magazine 40 Under 40, 2017
  • LLNL Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Spot Award for Excellence in Publications, 2017
  • Nature Climate Change Research Highlight for Zhou et al. (2016)
  • Eos Research Spotlight for Zelinka et al. (2016)
  • 2016 LLNL Deputy Director for Science and Technology Excellence in Publication Award for Santer et al. (2015)
  • Eos Research Spotlight for McCoy et al. (2016)
  • LLNL Spot Award for “Outstanding Contributions to Climate Science”, 2015
  • Award recipient, NASA New Investigator Program in Earth Science, 2013
  • Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Journal of Geophysical Research, 2012
  • Stephen Henry Schneider Symposium Student Scholarship, 2011
  • AGU Journal Highlight for Zelinka and Hartmann (2010)
  • NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, 2006-2008
  • NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2006
  • University of Washington Top Scholar Award, 2004
  • University of Washington Program on Climate Change First Year Fellowship, 2004
  • Jerome N. Behrmann Scholarship in Meteorology, 2004
  • Om and Saraswati Behethi (AMS) Scholarship, 2003
  • Charles L. and Anna R. Hosler Scholarship in Meteorology, 2003
  • Penn State Space Grant Consortium Sylvia Stein Memorial Scholarship, 2003
  • Kruhoeffer Annual Meteorology Scholarship, 2002
  • John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship, 2001
  • Earth and Mineral Science Scholarship, 2000

Professional Activities, Service, & Leadership Roles

  • Co-chair, 2027 Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate
  • Vice Chair, 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate
  • Editor, Journal of Climate, Dec 2024–present
  • Steering Group, CMIP7 Data Request (Atmosphere Theme), Jul 2024–present
  • External Peer Reviewer, NASA Langley Research Center Science Directorate, Nov 2023
  • Programme Advisory Group, Uncertainty in Climate Sensitivity due to Clouds (CloudSense) Research Programme, Sep 2023 – present
  • CFMIP Scientific Steering Committee, Jul 2023 - present
  • Discussion Leader, 2023 Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate
  • AGU Global Environmental Change Fellows Committee, Jan 2022 - present
  • Contributing Author for IPCC 6th Assessment Report, 2019 - 2021
  • Convener, Extratropical Cloud Feedbacks Session, 2020 CFMIP Meeting
  • Discussion Leader, 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate
  • Program Committee Member, American Physical Society Topical Group on the Physics of Climate, Jun 2018 - present
  • LLNL Physical and Life Sciences Postdoc Committee, Sep 2017 - Jan 2020
  • PCMDI Leader Search Committee, Feb 2017 - June 2018
  • Section Editor for Current Climate Change Reports Topical Collection on Climate Feedbacks, 2014 - 2017
  • Contributor to Climate Feedback, a worldwide network of scientists who collectively assess the credibility of influential climate change media coverage
  • Participant, DOE Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee Grand Challenges II Workshop, 2017
  • Co-convener, Climate Sensitivity and Feedbacks, Advances and New Paradigms Session, 2013 - 2016 AGU Fall Meetings
  • Discussion Leader, 2013 Gordon Research Seminar on Radiation and Climate
  • Co-convener, Atmospheric Feedbacks and Climate Change, Observations, Theory, and Modeling Session, 2012 AGU Fall Meeting
  • Chair, 2011 Gordon Research Seminar on Radiation and Climate
  • Organizer, University of Washington Graduate Climate Conferences, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
  • Senator, University of Washington Graduate and Professional Student Senate, Sep 2006 – Jun 2009
  • Member, American Meteorological Society, 2003 – Present
  • Member, American Geophysical Union, 2005 – Present
  • Proposal reviewer for DOE, European Research Council, NASA, and NSF
  • Guest Editor for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Reviewer for many journals

Talks & Presentations

  • ESA-JAXA EarthCARE Workshop (Keynote), 8 Jun 2026
  • GEWEX Earth’s Energy Imbalance Assessment Workshop, 4 Jun 2026
  • Libera Science Team Meeting, 19 May 2026
  • UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 27 Jan 2026
  • McGill University, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 21 Oct 2025
  • Duke University, Earth & Climate Sciences Division, 3 Oct 2025
  • Stanford University, Department of Earth System Science, 2 Apr 2025
  • Univ. of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Dept. of Climate, Meteorology, & Atmospheric Sciences, 22 Oct 2024
  • CERES Science Team Meeting, 2 Oct 2024
  • LLNL Senior Staff Meeting, 1 Jul 2024 (oral, invited)
  • NASA Ames Research Center, Earth Science Division, 20 Jun 2024 (oral, invited)
  • Yale University, School of the Environment, 25 Apr 2024 (oral, invited)
  • AGU Fall Meeting The Flows of Energy Through the Climate System Session, 12 Dec 2023 (oral, invited)
  • AGU Fall Meeting Climate Sensitivity and Feedbacks Session, 11 Dec 2023 (oral, invited)
  • University of Cambridge Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Chemistry, 24 October 2023 (oral, invited)
  • Joint CFMIP-GASS Meeting on Cloud, Precipitation, Circulation, & Climate Sensitivity, 9 Jul 2023 (oral)
  • Yale University, School of the Environment, 27 Apr 2023 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Atmospheric Physics, Radiation, Clouds, and Aerosols Session, 15 Dec 2022 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Atmospheric Dynamics & Climate Session, 15 Dec 2022 (oral)
  • “Moving the field forward” Panel, Pattern Effect Workshop, 12 May 2022 (panelist, invited)
  • Yale University, School of the Environment, 21 Apr 2022 (oral, invited)
  • American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, 27 Jan 2022 (oral)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Process-Oriented Diagnostics for Weather and Climate Models Session, 16 Dec 2021 (poster)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Process-Oriented Analysis of Cloud and Precipitation Physics Session, 15 Dec 2021 (poster)
  • Aerosol and Cloud, Convection and Precipitation Webinar Series, 19 Apr 2021 (oral, invited)
  • University of Maryland Baltimore County Department of Physics Colloquium, 24 Feb 2021 (oral, invited)
  • University of Toronto Physics Colloquium, 28 Jan 2021 (oral, invited)
  • 10 New Insights in Climate Science 2020 Launch Event, 27 Jan 2021 (panelist, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, CMIP6 Climate Model Evaluation Session, 8 Dec 2020 (oral, invited)
  • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop “Data in Motion, New Approaches to Advancing Scientific, Engineering and Medical Progress”, 14-15 October 2020 (panelist, invited)
  • 2020 Princeton AOS Summer Workshop, 17-21 Aug 2020 (plenary talk and lectures, invited)
  • 2020 CESM Workshop, 15 June 2020 (plenary talk, invited)
  • ECS & Cloud Feedback Symposia, online webinar, 28 May 2020 (oral, invited)
  • Imperial College London, Atmospheric Physics Group Webinar, 12 May 2020 (oral, invited)
  • University of Washington, ATMS 571, 28 April 2020 (oral, invited)
  • Global Model Cloud-Aerosol Research Webinar Series, 2 April 2020 (oral, invited)
  • UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, 16 October 2019 (oral, invited)
  • CFMIP Meeting on Clouds, Precipitation, Circulation, and Climate Sensitivity, 1 October 2019 (oral)
  • Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 23 May 2019 (oral, invited)
  • George Mason University Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, 9 May 2019 (oral, invited)
  • CFMIP Meeting on Clouds, Precipitation, Circulation, and Climate Sensitivity, 17 October 2018 (oral)
  • University of Washington Program on Climate Change Summer Institute, 13 Sep 2018 (oral, invited)
  • CERES Science Team Meeting, 16 May 2018 (oral, invited)
  • University of Washington Program on Climate Change Mini-Symposium on “Using past observations to constrain future climate variability and change”, 8 Feb 2018 (oral, invited)
  • Texas A&M University Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences Seminar, 25 Oct 2017 (oral, invited)
  • CFMIP Meeting on Clouds, Precipitation, Circulation, and Climate Sensitivity, 25 Sep 2017 (oral)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 17-18 Jul 2017 (poster)
  • Clouds, Their Properties, and Their Climate Feedbacks (Bill Rossow Retirement Symposium), 6 June 2017 (oral)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Coupling of Cloud Processes with the Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Session, 12 Dec 2016 (poster)
  • Dept. of Energy Regional and Global Climate Modeling PI Meeting, 29 Nov 2016 (poster)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Department of Climate Sciences Seminar, 31 October 2016 (oral, invited)
  • CFMIP/WCRP/ICTP Conference on Cloud Processes, Circulation and Climate Sensitivity, 7 July 2016 (oral)
  • Joint US-Japan Workshop on Climate Change and Variability, 22 March 2016 (oral, invited)
  • UC Berkeley Atmospheric Science Center Seminar, 2 March 2016 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Climate Sensitivity and Feedbacks, Advances and New Paradigms Session, 18 Dec 2015 (poster)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 28 July 2015 (oral, invited)
  • CFMIP Meeting on Cloud Processes and Cloud Feedbacks, 10 June 2015 (oral)
  • WCRP Grand Challenge Workshop, Earth’s Climate Sensitivities, 26 Mar 2015 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Toward Reducing Systematic Errors in Weather and Climate Models, Evaluation, Understanding, and Improvement Session, 18 Dec 2014 (oral)
  • The Climate Symposium 2014, Clouds, Circulation and Climate Sensitivity Session, 14 October 2014 (oral, invited)
  • Dept. of Energy Climate Modeling PI Meeting, 13 May 2014 (poster)
  • University of California Los Angeles Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Seminar, 7 May 2014 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Constraining Aerosol Indirect Forcing in Climate Models With Observations Session, 12 Dec 2013 (poster)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 10 Jul 2013 (poster)
  • CFMIP/EUCLIPSE Meeting on Cloud Processes and Climate Feedbacks, 10 Jun 2013 (oral)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Department of Climate Sciences Seminar, 20 May 2013 (oral, invited)
  • ISCCP at 30 Conference, 24 Apr 2013 (oral)
  • Dartmouth College Department of Geography Seminar, 28 Feb 2013 (oral, invited)
  • Oregon State University College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences Seminar, 19 Feb 2013 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Atmospheric Feedbacks and Climate, Observations, Theory, and Modeling Session, 4 Dec 2012 (poster)
  • NASA Sounder Science Team Meeting, 14 Nov 2012 (oral, invited)
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Post-Doc Seminar Series, 16 Oct 2012 (oral)
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Science & Technology Day, 12 Oct 2012 (poster)
  • 1st Pan-GASS Conference, Cloud Radiative Processes in Observations and Models Project Session, 12 Sep 2012 (oral, invited)
  • Workshop on the Physics of Weather and Climate Models, 20-23 Mar 2012 (poster)
  • McGill University Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Seminar, 15 Mar 2012 (oral, invited)
  • WCRP Workshop on Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 Model Analysis, 7 Mar 2012 (poster)
  • Colorado State University Dept. of Atmospheric Science Colloquium, 20 Feb 2012 (oral, invited)
  • Pennsylvania State University Dept. of Meteorology Colloquium, 15 Feb 2012 (oral, invited)
  • University of California Los Angeles Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Seminar, 25 Jan 2012 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Atmospheric Feedbacks and Climate, Observations, Theory, and Modeling Session, 8 Dec 2011 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Climate Modeling, Innovative Application of Observations for Diagnosing CMIP5 and IPCC Simulations, Quantifying Model Processes and Uncertainties Session, 8 Dec 2011 (poster)
  • Santa Fe Conference on Global and Regional Climate Change, 2 Nov 2011 (oral, invited)
  • National Center for Atmospheric Research Climate and Global Dynamics Division Seminar, 31 Oct 2011 (oral, invited)
  • WCRP Open Science Conference, 27 Oct 2011 (oral)
  • CERES Science Team Meeting, 6 Oct 2011 (oral)
  • Department of Energy Climate and Earth System Modeling PI Meeting, 20 Sep 2011 (oral)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 11 Jul 2011 (poster)
  • CFMIP/GCSS/EUCLIPSE Meeting on Cloud Processes and Climate Feedbacks, 7 Jun 2011 (oral)
  • University of Washington Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium, 19 Nov 2010 (Ph.D. defense)
  • University of Washington Graduate Climate Conference, Climate Feedbacks Session, 16 Oct 2010 (session chair)
  • University of Washington Program on Climate Change Summer Institute, 15-17 Sep 2010 (poster)
  • Texas A&M University Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences Seminar, 16 Jun 2010 (oral, invited)
  • Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison Seminar, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, 11 May 2010 (oral, invited)
  • University of Chicago Dept. of the Geophysical Sciences Colloquium, 19 Feb 2010 (oral, invited)
  • University ofWashington Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Seminar, 1 Feb 2010 (oral, invited)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Atmospheric Feedbacks and Climate Change, Necessary Observations and Modeling Improvements Session, 16 Dec 2009 (oral)
  • NASA Sounder Science Team Meeting, 14 Oct 2009 (oral, invited)
  • Summer School on Water Vapor in the Climate System, 14-26 Sep 2009 (poster)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 5-10 Jul 2009 (poster)
  • University of Washington Graduate Climate Conference, Tropics Session, 17-19 Apr 2009 (oral)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Multiplatform and Multisensor Satellite Observations of Cloud-Precipitation Structures and Microphysics Session, 15-19 Dec 2008 (poster)
  • Chapman Conference on Atmospheric Water Vapor and its Role in Climate, 20-24 Oct 2008 (poster)
  • American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Physics and Chemistry of the Upper Troposphere / Lower Stratosphere Session, 12 Dec 2007 (oral)
  • University of Washington Graduate Climate Conference, Aerosols, Clouds, and Water Vapor Session, 20 Oct 2007 (session chair)
  • Gordon Research Conference on Radiation and Climate, 29 Jul – 3 Aug 2007 (poster)
  • University of Washington Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences Clouds and Precipitation Seminar, May 2007 (oral)
  • University of Washington Graduate Climate Conference, Apr 2006 (poster)

Advisees

  • Postdoc
    • Li-Wei Chao (Postdoc, Tufts University)
    • Yi Qin (Research Scientist, Laoshan Laboratory)
    • Timothy Myers (Research Scientist, University of Wyoming)
    • Chen Zhou (Associate Professor, Nanjing University)
  • Graduate
    • Zac Espinosa (University of Washington)
  • Undergraduate
    • Russell Hunter (Duke Univesity / US Space Force)
    • Thea Moellerstedt (Graduate Student, UCSD)
    • Scott Feldman (Meteorologist, Verisk Weather Solutions)

Outreach Activities

  • LLNL Ambassador Lecturer, Aug 2024 - present
  • LLNL Technical Lightning Talk, Community Cohorts program for new hires, 24 Aug 2023.
  • LLNL - Las Positas College Science and Engineering Seminar Series, 20 Apr 2023.
  • Science on Saturday, The Future in Focus, Predicting Climate Change through Observations, Modeling, and Artificial Intelligence, 4 Mar 2023.
  • Castro Valley Rotary Club, 13 Sep 2022.
  • Science on Saturday, The Future in Focus, Predicting Climate Change through Observations, Modeling, and Artificial Intelligence, 26 Feb 2022.
  • San Joaquin County Office of Education Climate Change Summit, 26 Sep 2020
  • Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Bankhead Theater, Livermore, CA, Jan 2020
  • Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Program on Climate Change Outreach Teams, Sep 2004 – Dec 2010