Mingfang Ting

Mingfang Ting is a Professor of Climate at the Columbia Climate School, affiliated with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. She co-directs the M.S. in Climate program and serves as Co-Senior Director for Education at the Columbia Climate School. Her research focuses on climate variability, extremes, Asian monsoons, Arctic sea ice, and climate change impacts on agriculture and health.

Education: Ph.D. in Climate Dynamics (Princeton University, 1990), M.S. and B.S. from Peking University (1985, 1983). She has taught climate science at Columbia since 2004.

Research Interests: Investigates weather/climate extremes in a warming world, Asian monsoon dynamics, Arctic sea ice variability, decadal climate modes, and hydroclimate impacts. Recent work emphasizes heatwaves, drought-flood linkages, and climate model projections.

Key Projects (2020–2023):

• Advancing predictive understanding of North American drought
• Asian monsoon response to climate change
• Causal mechanisms of dry/humid heat extremes
• Arctic transport pathways and sea ice loss

Scientific Contributions: Authored/co-authored over 200+ peer-reviewed articles. Her 2022 analysis of the 2021 North American heatwave and 2022 Pakistan floods exemplifies climate attribution science.

Awards:

• AMS Distinguished Scientific Award (2021)
• AGU Fellow (2022)
• NSF CAREER Award (1995)
• Reuters' World’s Top Climate Scientists (2021)

Leadership: Former Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Climate (2020–2023). Active in climate education and global resilience initiatives through the Decarbonization Network.

Labs/Teams: Leads interdisciplinary teams at LDEO focusing on climate dynamics and extreme event analysis. Collaborates internationally on monsoon systems and Arctic research.