Koutian Wu

Koutian Wu

AI4Sci PhD @ UT-Austin. ex-Undergrad @ USTC.

Geeta G. Persad — Wikipedia-Ready Timeline

Geeta G. Persad — Wikipedia-Ready Timeline

Comprehensive Chronology with References

Early Life and Background

Childhood in Austin

Event: Grew up in Austin, Texas
Detail: Spent childhood exploring the Texas Memorial Museum, auditing classes and attending evening lectures at The University of Texas at Austin
Family: Family originates from Trinidad and Tobago, whose economy has been shaped by petrochemical resources — a formative influence on Persad’s awareness of the tension between energy needs and climate realities
Reference: JSG UT Austin profile (2020)1; CHEER Spotlight (2023)2

Education

Undergraduate — Stanford University

Degree: B.S. in Geophysics
Institution: Stanford University
Year: 2010
Location: Stanford, California, USA
Note: Left Austin for Stanford approximately 2006; returned to Austin 14 years later as faculty
Reference: JSG UT Austin profile (2020)1; Persad Climate Group people page3

Pre-PhD — NOAA Physical Scientist

Position: Physical Scientist
Institution: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Period: Before 2011 (between Stanford B.S. and Princeton PhD enrollment)
Reference: Stanford Woods Institute profile4; NOAA CSL seminar bio (2023)5

Doctoral Education — Princeton University

Degree: Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Institution: Princeton University
Year: 2016
Location: Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Dissertation focus: Atmospheric aerosols — particle air pollutants produced by transportation, fossil fuel combustion, and agricultural burning; how these pollutants impact the climate system and how countries’ emissions patterns have changed over recent decades
Fellowships:

  • NSF Graduate Research Fellow5
  • HMEI-STEP Graduate Fellowship (Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy)6
  • Ford Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Fellow5

Certificate: Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy — Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (2016)
Adviser: Michael Oppenheimer (STEP adviser)
Notable experience: Attended UN Rio+20 Conference in Brazil through Princeton Energy and Climate Scholars Group
Reference: Princeton C-PREE Q&A (2020)6; Persad Climate Group people page3; NOAA CSL seminar bio (2023)5

Awards during PhD:

  • Consecutive Outstanding Student Paper Awards, American Geophysical Union (for work on aerosol/climate interactions)4

Postdoctoral and Research Career

Joint Position — Carnegie Institution for Science & Union of Concerned Scientists

Positions:

  • Research Associate, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology, Stanford University (with Dr. Ken Caldeira)
  • Senior Climate Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists — Western Water and Climate Program

Period: 2016–2020 (approximately)
Location: Stanford, California, USA
Research focus at Carnegie: Global climate modeling; understanding how climates might change as emissions patterns vary across the world; mapping who feels the effects of climate and air quality changes; translating findings to policy-relevant metrics
Research focus at UCS: Applied climate modeling to water resource questions in the Western US, especially California’s complex managed water infrastructure; advocated for policymakers to use future climate predictions rather than historical data for water planning
Reference: Princeton C-PREE Q&A (2020)6; Stanford Woods Institute profile4; NOAA CSL seminar bio (2023)5

Academic Career

Assistant Professor — UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Position: Assistant Professor of Climate Science
Department: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (formerly Geological Sciences), Jackson School of Geosciences
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Start date: 2020
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Lab: Persad Aero-Climate Group (ggpersad.com)
Note: Returned to Austin — her hometown — after 14 years away
Reference: JSG UT Austin profile (2020)1; JSG researcher page7

Teaching (selected courses):

  • GEO 416W: Climate/Water/The Environment (Spring 2024)
  • GEO 391: Climate System Physics (Fall 2023)
  • GEO 371T: Climate System Physics (Fall 2023)
  • GEO 303: Introduction to Geology (Spring 2023, 2021)
  • GEO 391: Climate Data (Fall 2022)
  • GEO 347P/387P: Climate System Physics (Fall 2021)

Curriculum development: Critical driver in developing the new climate system science major in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences8

Research Focus

Core Research Areas

  • Atmospheric aerosols and their role as a radiative forcing offset to greenhouse gases
  • Inter-regional differences in the magnitude and rate of climate change
  • Emergence of heat and hydroclimate extremes
  • Climate and hydrology interface — water management stress in the Central and Western U.S.
  • Climate policy and decision-making
  • Air quality and climate co-impacts

Areas of expertise: Atmospheric Aerosols, Climate Change, Climate Modeling, Air Pollution, Global Hydrologic Cycle, Monsoon Systems, Western U.S. Climate Impacts, Climate Policy and Decision-Making7

Key Research Themes

Aerosol-climate interactions:
Aerosol particles (sulfur dioxide, black carbon, etc.) have a cooling effect that can mask greenhouse gas warming — but also cause severe effects on human health and precipitation. Persad’s work investigates how aerosol emissions from different regions affect the global climate system, and how rapidly evolving aerosol emissions represent an underappreciated near-term climate risk.9

Western U.S. water and climate:
Applied climate modeling to understand how climate shifts will stress water management in California and the broader Western U.S. — work conducted in partnership with the Union of Concerned Scientists and continued at UT Austin.62

Black carbon and international trade:
HMEI-STEP dissertation project examined how international trade affected the location of black carbon aerosol emissions, particularly studying China’s emissions driven by trade with other nations.6

Indonesia precipitation and aerosols:
Research on how aerosol particles such as soot generated in the United States can suppress rainfall in far-off places like Indonesia.10

Grants and Funding

NOAA Grant — Near-Term Aerosol Climate Risk (2023)

Award: NOAA research grant
Project: Studying how changing aerosol pollution could influence climate change in the United States in the coming decades
Date: November 2023
Reference: JSG UT Austin news (2023)9

NSF CAREER Award (2025)

Award: Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award
Funder: National Science Foundation
Announced: July 22, 2025
Research component: Understanding how aerosol pollutants that produce smog contribute to compound climate risks — extreme temperature, rainfall, and humidity occurring simultaneously
Education component: Developing a computational field trip and climate system modeling workshop with the Texas Advanced Computing Center; day-long outing for undergraduates to learn how Earth system model data is generated and used to assess climate risk; students create their own data visualization and storytelling around climate projections
Significance: Recognizes early-career faculty with potential to serve as academic role models in research and education
Reference: JSG UT Austin news (2025)8

Awards and Recognition

Outstanding Student Paper Awards — American Geophysical Union

Award: Consecutive Outstanding Student Paper Awards
Organization: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Focus: Work on aerosol/climate interactions
Period: During PhD at Princeton
Reference: Stanford Woods Institute profile4

EDF “Generation Climate” Leader (2021)

Award: “Generation Climate” Leader recognition
Organization: Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Date: 2021 (featured in summer edition of EDF Solutions magazine)
Detail: One of eight honorees featured on the cover of EDF’s Solutions magazine; recognized for work illuminating the role of aerosol pollution in climate change and climate risk worldwide; highlighted research on California water supply and aerosol effects on Indonesian rainfall
Quote from Michael Oppenheimer (EDF former chief scientist and Persad’s mentor): “Geeta is a very sharp scientist who’s not satisfied to let others make the world a better place. She’s eager to do some of that heavy lifting herself.”
Reference: JSG UT Austin news (2021)10; CHEER Spotlight (2023)2

NSF CAREER Award (2025)

(See Grants and Funding section above)

Public Engagement and Outreach

  • Spoken on aerosols and climate impacts in several international venues2
  • Passionate about building a diverse geoscience enterprise through mentorship and outreach2
  • Participated in UN Rio+20 Conference in Brazil as a Princeton graduate student6
  • CHEER (Center for Health and Environment: Education and Research) Steering Committee member, UT Austin Dell Medical School2
  • NOAA Climate Program Office — Women’s History Month feature (2025)11

Geographic Journey

PeriodLocationRole
ChildhoodAustin, TexasGrew up; family connection to UT Austin
~2006–2010Stanford, CaliforniaB.S. in Geophysics, Stanford University
Pre-2011Princeton, NJ / NOAAPhysical Scientist, NOAA
2011–2016Princeton, New JerseyPh.D., Princeton University
2016–2020Stanford, CaliforniaCarnegie Institution / Union of Concerned Scientists
2020–presentAustin, TexasAssistant Professor, UT Austin Jackson School

References

  1. UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. “Geeta Persad: Assistant Professor.” November 12, 2020. https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2020/11/geeta-persad-assistant-professor/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. UT Austin Dell Medical School / CHEER. “CHEER Spotlight: Geeta G. Persad.” July 2023. https://dellmed.utexas.edu/blog/cheer-spotlight-geeta-persad ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Persad Climate Group. “People.” https://www.ggpersad.com/people ↩ ↩2

  4. Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “Geeta Persad.” https://woods.stanford.edu/people/geeta-persad ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory. “2023 Seminar: Geeta Persad.” https://csl.noaa.gov/seminars/2023/Persad.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. Princeton C-PREE. “Q&A with Prof. Geeta Persad PhD ‘16.” November 17, 2020. https://cpree.princeton.edu/news/2020/qa-prof-geeta-persad-phd-16 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  7. UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. “Researcher: Geeta Persad.” https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/researcher/geeta_persad/ ↩ ↩2

  8. UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. “Geeta Persad Receives NSF CAREER Award.” July 22, 2025. https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2025/07/geeta-persad-receives-nsf-career-award/ ↩ ↩2

  9. UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. “New Project Investigating How Aerosols Could Affect Climate Change in Near Future.” November 2023. https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2023/11/ut-austin-investigating-how-aerosols-could-affect-climate-change-in-near-future/ ↩ ↩2

  10. UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. “Persad Named Climate Leader.” November 1, 2021. https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2021/11/persad-named-climate-leader/ ↩ ↩2

  11. NOAA Climate Program Office. “Women’s History Month: A Conversation With Dr. Geeta Persad.” March 2025. https://cpo.noaa.gov/womens-history-month-a-conversation-with-dr-geeta-persad/ ↩