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 |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
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| Thesis | Published work (1988) |
Dame Julia Slingo is a famous British scientist. She studies the weather (a meteorologist) and Earth's climate (a climatologist). From 2009 to 2016, she was the Chief Scientist at the Met Office, which is the UK's national weather service.
She is also a visiting professor at the University of Reading. Before working at the Met Office, she helped start the Walker Institute for Climate System Research. This institute focuses on understanding climate change and its effects.
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Early Life and School
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 studied physics at the University of Bristol. She earned her first degree in 1973. Later, in 1988, she received her PhD (a very high-level degree) from the same university.
Career and Research
After finishing her first degree, Julia Slingo started working at the Met Office. She became a Senior Scientist, focusing on how clouds affect the atmosphere. She found new ways to include clouds in weather forecasts and climate models.
In 1985, she left the Met Office. She worked at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for a year. Then, in 1986, she moved to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the USA. While there, she completed her PhD in atmospheric physics.
Return to the UK
In 1990, Julia Slingo came back to the UK. She joined the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. Here, she started a group that studied tropical climates. She became a leading expert in how tropical weather patterns affect the global climate. She also helped create new, detailed climate models.
She was especially interested in the monsoons in India and China. She worked closely with scientists in those countries. More recently, she has looked into how climate changes affect water and food production. She also stressed the need to better understand the water cycle in climate models.
While at Reading, Dame Julia became the first female Professor of Meteorology in the UK. She also led climate research for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). In 2006, she founded the Walker Institute for Climate System Research. This institute works on solving the complex problems of climate change.
Chief Scientist at the Met Office
As Chief Scientist at the Met Office, Julia Slingo was in charge of the scientific plans. She made sure the Met Office followed high scientific standards. She also managed all the research and development projects.
In 2012, she suggested that less sea ice in the Arctic might be linked to colder winters in the UK. In 2014, she said that climate change likely played a part in the severe storms and floods Britain experienced.
Her research has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Awards and Recognition
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.
- In 2014, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This is why she is called "Dame Julia."
- She won the Buchan Prize from the Royal Meteorological Society in 1998.
- She received honorary degrees from the University of Bristol in 2010 and the University of Reading in 2011.
- In 2014, she was named one of the top 100 scientists in the UK.
- She became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015.
- The same year, she received the International Meteorological Organization Prize.
- In 2016, she was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering.
- In 2020, she was awarded the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal.
Julia Slingo was the first woman to become a Professor of Meteorology in the UK. In 2008, she 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. She lives in Sidmouth, Devon.
