Allison Lawman is a climate scientist that studies past, present, and future climate variability and change. She is especially interested in the tropical oceans because they are powerful drivers of temperature and rainfall extremes worldwide, affecting nearly all sectors of society and marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Professor Lawman earned her Sc.B. from Brown University and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Professor Lawman’s research uses a combination of observations, geological records of past environmental conditions (paleoclimate proxies), and climate models to understand the mechanisms of past fluctuations in the ocean and atmosphere, and how past climate information can help inform future projections. One aspect of Professor Lawman’s research uses geochemical proxies from corals and other natural recorders of climate to understand how tropical climate varied during pre-industrial times. She also uses paleoclimate data and climate model simulations to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of rapid/abrupt climate change and its mechanisms on timescales from decades to millennia. Professor Lawman’s research also uses future climate projections to diagnose climate impacts on ecosystems, including tropical coral reefs. Her interdisciplinary research has fostered collaborations among atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, geochemists, ecologists, and data scientists.
Professor Lawman teaches courses in the environmental sciences, including Introduction to Global Climate Change and Atmospheric Dynamics. She is passionate about supporting students in the classroom and in research settings.
For more information about Allison Lawman’s teaching and research, please visit her website: .
Education
Ph.D., Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 2020
