Kevin Noone

About me

 I am Professor of Chemical Meteorology at the Department of Environmental Science (ACES) at Stockholm University, where I have worked off and on since 1987. I was founding Director of the Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences (SSEESS) at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 2010-2014 while remaining half time at Stockholm University. From 2004-2008 I was the Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). My background is in Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Oceanography, Meteorology, and Atmospheric Physics. After receiving my PhD degree from the University of Washington, I have been on the faculty at both Stockholm University in Sweden and the University of Rhode Island in the U.S.

My first research project in Chemical Engineering focused on transparent semiconductors for use as solar cells. My primary research interests these days are in the areas of Community Science, Earth System Science and global sustainability. My nerdier research areas include atmospheric chemistry & physics, and the effects of aerosols and clouds on air quality and the Earth’s climate. Nowadays I spend a fair bit of time on outreach activities, trying to narrow the gap between science and society.

I enjoy being active in conveying science to stakeholders and the general public. I work with corporations, NGOs, faith-based groups, security and military organizations, and other stakeholders in the area of sustainability and regularly give presentations and short courses on climate and sustainability issues for non-science audiences, and briefings for political and private sector leaders. I am Senior Visiting Fellow and Chief Scientific Advisor at the International Sustainable Finance Centre (ISFC). I’m also Chief Scientific Advisor for the think tank Re-Define. You can find my blogs about science, economics, and policy issues on their web sites.

I think it is important to bring science and society closer together. I was Chair of the Transdisciplinary Advisory Board (TAB) for the European Joint Programming Initiative on Climate from 2015-2019, and a board member from 2012. The TAB has equal numbers of stakeholders and researchers and provides strategic input to JPI Climate. I work with the Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX), an initiative of the American Geophysical Union to connect communities around the world with scientific expertise to help address their issues. TEX works to “create solutions for the planet, one community at a time.” I was an Advisory Board member from the start of TEX in 2013, was Vice Chair from 2016-2019, and Chair from 2020-2022. In my capacity of Chair, I was a member of the AGU Council, and was part of the Council Leadership Team. During 2021 I was Editor-in-Chief of the Community Science Exchange, a combination of a peer-reviewed scientific journal and a web-based communications platform to provide both a scientific outlet for community science research, but also a platform through which we can communicate how communities and science can enrich each other, address societal challenges, and advance social justice through allowing often disenfranchised communities access to science. This is a joint effort by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Anthropological Association (AAA), American Meteorological Society (AMS), American Public Health Association (APHA), Citizen Science Association (CSA) and Unión Geofísica Mexicana (UGM).

I’ve also been involved in two projects with the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Riksteatern and the Stockholm Environment Institute to couple climate science and the theater. “Antropocen” and “Medan klockan tickar” attempt to move people by moving science and arts closer together.

Privately I enjoy time with my family, cycling and sports involving chasing round objects, pen making and carpentry, and picking up my guitars and trying to remember what I used to do with them.