Katharine Hayhoe to present ninth Patrusky Lecture at ScienceWriters2021

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe (@KHayhoe) has been selected by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW) to present the ninth Patrusky Lecture on October 6, as part of New Horizons in Science, CASW’s annual briefing on emerging research and issues in science.

In a virtual address to science writers attending the ScienceWriters2021 conference, Hayhoe will share her experiences communicating the importance of climate change across America’s political divide. The conference is jointly organized by CASW and the National Association of Science Writers and incorporates CASW’s science sessions and NASW’s professional development programming.

In her talk, “Science in a Fact-Free World: Applying Lessons from the COVID Crisis to Climate Communication,” Hayhoe will argue that by applying important lessons from social science, it is possible to move audiences toward positive action on climate change based on a foundation of shared values and concerns.

“We are extremely excited and grateful that Katharine Hayhoe will share her extensive expertise in bridging knowledge divides with conference attendees during this prolonged period of significant global challenges,” said CASW President Robin Lloyd. “As communities and governments work during a pandemic to respond proactively to the latest assessment report released in August by the International Panel on Climate Change, Hayhoe’s insights will help science writers think about increasingly effective ways to communicate about deeply important issues that are both raised by scientific research and frequently distorted by agents of misinformation.”

Katherine Hayhoe is chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and also Paul W. Horn Distinguished Professor and Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. Her research in atmospheric science focuses on developing and applying high-resolution climate projections to understand what climate change means for people and the natural environment. She served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments. She earned her PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois.

Recognitions for Hayhoe’s skill as a communicator include the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize, the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Stephen H. Schneider Climate Communication Award. A UN Champion of the Earth, she hosts and produces the PBS Digital series “Global Weirding: Climate, Politics, and Religion” and serves on advisory committees for a broad range of organizations, including the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Earth Science Women’s Network, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For her work bridging the gap between scientists and Christians, she has also been named by Christianity Today as one of their 50 Women to Watch and serves as the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador. Her second book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientists’ Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, is due out this month from Simon & Schuster.

The Patrusky Lectures were launched by CASW in 2013 to honor Ben Patrusky, executive director of CASW for 25 years and director of the New Horizons in Science program for 30 years.