Julia Slingo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Julia Slingo
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Julia Slingo at the Royal Society admissions day in London, July 2015
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| Born |
Julia Mary Walker
13 December 1950 Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, UK
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| Alma mater | University of Bristol (BSc, PhD) |
| Spouse(s) |
Anthony Slingo
(m. 1978; died 2008) |
| Children | Two daughters |
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| Scientific career | |
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| Thesis | Published work (1988) |
Dame Julia Slingo is a famous British scientist who studies weather and climate. She was the Chief Scientist at the Met Office, which is the UK's national weather service, from 2009 to 2016. She also teaches at the University of Reading.
Julia Slingo is known for her important work in understanding how clouds affect our weather and climate. She has helped create better ways to predict weather and understand climate change.
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Early Life and Schooling
Julia Mary Walker was born on December 13, 1950, in Kenilworth, England. She went to an all-girls private school called the King's High School for Girls.
She loved science and studied physics at the University of Bristol. She earned her first degree in 1973. Later, in 1988, she earned her PhD (a very high-level degree) from the same university.
Career and Climate Science Research
After finishing her first degree, Julia Slingo started working at the Met Office. She became a Senior Scientist, focusing on how clouds interact with the atmosphere. She helped develop new ways to include clouds in weather forecasts and climate models.
In 1985, she left the Met Office for a short time. She worked at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in the UK and then at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the USA. While in the USA, she completed her PhD by publishing a series of important papers.
Return to the UK and University Work
In 1990, Julia Slingo came back to the UK. She joined the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. There, she started a research group that studied tropical climates.
She became a leading expert on tropical climate changes and how they affect the global climate. She also worked on predicting seasonal and long-term climate patterns. She helped create new, more detailed climate models. Julia Slingo was especially interested in the monsoons in India and China, working closely with scientists from those countries.
She also looked into how climate changes affect water supplies and how much food crops can grow. She became the first female Professor of Meteorology in the UK. She also led climate research for the Natural Environment Research Council. In 2006, she started the Walker Institute for Climate System Research. This institute aims to solve complex problems related to climate change.
Leading Science at the Met Office
As the Chief Scientist at the Met Office, Julia Slingo was in charge of the scientific plans and goals. She made sure the Met Office followed high scientific standards. She also directed and managed all the research and development projects.
She also represented the Met Office in science and technology discussions with the government. In 2012, she suggested that less ice in the Arctic Ocean might be linked to colder, drier winters in the UK. In 2014, she said that climate change was likely a reason for the severe storms and floods Britain had experienced.
Her research has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.
Awards and Recognitions
Julia Slingo has received many important awards for her work.
- In 2008, she was given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for her services to environmental and climate science.
- In 2014, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This is a very high honour, similar to a knighthood, for her work in weather and climate science.
- In 2015, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), which is a group of the UK's most famous scientists.
- She also received honorary degrees from the University of Bristol and the University of Reading.
- In 2014, she was named one of the top 100 scientists in the UK by the Science Council.
- In 2015, she received the International Meteorological Organization Prize from the World Meteorological Organization.
- In 2016, she became a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.
- In 2020, she was awarded the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal by the American Meteorological Society.
Julia Slingo was the first woman to become a Professor of Meteorology in the UK. In 2008, she also became the first woman President of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Personal Life
Julia Slingo married Anthony Slingo in 1978. He was also an environmental scientist. He passed away in 2008. They had two daughters together. Julia Slingo lives in Sidmouth, Devon.
