Susan Avery

Susan K. Avery (born 1950) is an American atmospheric physicist and President Emerita of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, where she led the marine science and engineering research organization from 2008–2015. She was the ninth president and director and the first woman to hold the leadership role at WHOI. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), where she served on the faculty from 1982–2008. While at UCB she also served in various administrative positions, including director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a 550-member collaborative institute between UCB and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (1994-2004); and interim positions (2004-2007) as vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, and provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Currently she is a senior fellow at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, D.C. Avery began her undergraduate study in physics at Michigan State University, focusing on the physics of the natural world. She specialized in how atmospheric waves propagate in the stratosphere, earning her doctorate in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1978. After earning her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois, she began a career studying atmospheric science and technologies, with a strong interest in incorporating science into public policy and decision support. Avery secured her first faculty position in the University of Illinois' electrical-engineering department. This post enabled Avery to embark on her own research and teaching. Her research included studies of atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. The author or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, Avery helped form an integrated science and assessment program that examines the impacts of climate variability on water in the American West.