Ian Renfrew

Ian Renfrew is a Professor of Meteorology and Head of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA). His research focuses on polar weather systems, atmosphere-ocean interactions, and climate processes, with expertise in Arctic and Antarctic dynamics. He leads major international projects such as the Iceland Greenland Seas Project and contributes to initiatives like the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP). Renfrew has held roles including Associate Dean for Research (2017–2022) and REF2021 Lead for the Faculty of Science. His work improves weather and climate models, including updates to surface exchange parameterizations at the Met Office and ECMWF. He has a PhD in Meteorology from the University of Reading and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh.

Research Interests: Mesoscale meteorology, air-sea-ice interactions, polar cyclones, and climate modeling. Collaborations span institutions in Canada, Norway, Iceland, and the UK, with over 75% of publications involving international co-authors. Key projects include Arctic Summertime Cyclones (2020–2024), Southern Ocean Clouds (2020–2025), and FOGGI (India weather services).

Awards: Adrian Gill Prize (2018), Bjerknes Fellowship (2017), and Law’s Prize (2003). Active in policy and education, Renfrew advises PhD students on polar and climate-related research. His work bridges academic research with operational forecasting, enhancing model accuracy for climate prediction and weather services.

Labs/Teams: Member of ClimateUEA and the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Collaborates with the Met Office, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and international field campaigns like THINICE and SOC.