Contact: Harjit S. Ahluwalia, 277-2941 Media Contact: Michael Padilla, 277-1816

Sept. 10, 2002 UNM science talk focuses on climate change Richard C. J. Somerville, professor of meteorology at the Scrips Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, will present “Can Climate Models be Trusted” at the University of New Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. in the UNM Continuing Education Conference Center, Room G, 1634 University Blvd., NE. Somerville will present a comprehensive overview of the climate change issue ranging from the newest research results to the ongoing diplomatic and political debates sparked by climate science. He will discuss how strong the evidence is for believing the scenarios that the latest computer simulations of climate imply. He will discuss how governments and private sector should react to the climate model forecasts and how current climate research may affect the future. Somerville’s current research emphasis is the role of clouds in the climate system. He is the author of “The Forgiving Air: Understanding Environmental Change.” He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science. The talk is sponsored by the UNM Chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society and is co-sponsored by the Sigma Xi Headquarters, the Office of the Vice Presidents for Research and for Health Sciences, School of Engineering, College of Pharmacy, Arts and Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Division of Continuing Education and the Albuquerque Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Admission to the presentation is free and no reservations are necessary. Refreshments will be served beginning at 4:30 p.m. ###

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