OmniTRAX/Broe Quest Series
Gordon McBean
Professor and Research Chair,
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and
Departments of Geography & Political Science
The University of Western Ontario
Dr. Gordon McBean received his B.Sc. in Physics and Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of British Columbia and a M.Sc. in Meteorology from McGill University. He was a scientist in Environment Canada from 1970 to 1988 when he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Atmospheric Science Program at UBC. In 1992, he was appointed Head, Department of Oceanography. From 1994 to 2000, he was Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Meteorological Service of Environment Canada. He was appointed to his present position in July, 2000.
Dr. McBean’s research interests are in atmospheric and climate sciences, ranging in scope from the natural sciences of the phenomena to the policies of governments and responses of people to them. He was Chair, international Scientific Committee for the World Climate Research Programme of the UN agencies from 1988 to 1994. During his chairmanship, the Arctic Climate System Study (ACSyS) was initiated. He was a lead author for the First and Second Assessment Reports of the IPCC. As ADM for the Meteorological Service, he was responsible for climate and atmospheric science in the federal government and a member of the Canadian delegation to Kyoto and other meetings. He was also responsible for the Canadian Ice Service and weather forecasting across Canada, including the Arctic. He was also a member of the Executive Council of th World Meteorological Organization (1994-2000) and the Inter-American Institute for Global Environmental Change (1995-2000).
He is now undertaking research on changing climate and weather systems and the science-policy interface as Lead for the Integrating Theme of ArcticNet, a newly established research program on climate change and its impacts in the coastal Canadian Arctic. An area of interest is the changing occurrence of extreme weather events with climate change, their influence on public systems and strategies for adaptation.
In addition to his activities at UWO, Dr. McBean is active nationally and internationally. He is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, lead author for the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment’s chapter on the climate system, Co-Chair of the Global Environmental Change START (regional research networks and capacity building) Program under the Earth System Science Partnership and member of the Board of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. He is a member of the Canadian Committee for the International Polar Year, the DFO Scientific Advisory Committee and the ADM Committee on Northern Science and Technology.
He has received the Patterson Medal for distinguish contributions to meteorology by a Canadian and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and the American Meteorological Society.
Gordon McBean can be reached at mcbean@eng.uwo.ca