AGU College of Fellows Distinguished Lecturers

The current speakers are available for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 academic years. A new slate of speakers will be available for the 2023/2024 academic year. Speakers are available to present at interested institutions at no charge. Participating AGU Fellows will deliver a live, virtual lecture (~45 minutes). The lectures will provide a high-level synthesis of specific fields and will focus on grand challenges and societal impacts. Each lecture will end with a broad-based question-and-answer session on the excitement and gratification of doing research in geophysical science. There will also be opportunities for speakers to host meet and greet sessions either before or after the event to allow more time to connect with students.

For more information about the program, visit FAQ page. 

To request a lecture, complete speaker request form.

2021/2022 & 2022/2023 Speakers
Speakers and lecture titles are grouped by theme. For more information about a speaker or a lecture topic, click on the name in list below. 

Science Nexus
Alik Ismail-Zadeh	Advancing Frontiers of Disaster Science
Cathryn Manduca	Toward a Successful, Sustainable, Just Future: The Role of Geoscience Education and Geoscience Education Research
Lee Slater	Near Surface Geophysics: Looking into the Critical Zone to Understand Hydrology and Carbon Cycling
Earth Interior
Marie Edmonds	Volcanic gases: a window into the interior of our planet
Karen Fischer	Exploring the Earth’s Interior with Seismic Waves
Barbara Romanowicz	Imaging the Earth's Deep Interior using seismic waves
Ross Stein	How do Earthquakes Converse?
John Tarduno	Earth’s magnetic field: probing planetary evolution and habitability
Earth Covering
Barbara Bekins	Groundwater Quality: Today’s Status and Tomorrow’s Research Needs
Kerry Emanuel	Hurricanes: Past, Present and Future
Sherilyn Fritz	The World Around Us Through the Lens of Time: Tales from the Great Plains of Water, Sand, Salt, Grass, and Microbes
Michael McPhaden	El Niño Southern Oscillation in a Changing Climate
Jonathan Overpeck	Climate Change, Drought and Global Aridification: Understanding Confidence
Kim Prather	Tiny critters, huge impacts: How marine microbes influence climate and health
Bess Ward	Nitrous Oxide:  Unexpected sources and sinks for laughing gas in the ocean
Tong Zhu	The Health Effects of Air Pollution, Why do We Care?
Beyond Earth
Joseph Dwyer	High-Energy Emissions from Thunderstorms and Lightning
James Head	50 Years Since the Apollo Lunar Exploration Program: How We Did It, What We Learned and Why We Need to Return
Rumi Nakamura	How Magnetic Field Lines around Earth Break and Reconnect and can affect your trip to Alaska