Peter D. Neff

Peter D. Neff is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota within the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, specifically the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate. He also serves as the Director of Field Research and Data for the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. His email contact is pneff@umn.edu, and he actively engages in science communication via social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok.

• PhD, Victoria University of Wellington, 2015
• MS, University of Washington, 2012
• BS, University of Washington, 2009

Dr. Neff's research focuses on glaciology and climate science, particularly the study of glacier ice core records to understand past climate, environmental conditions, and atmospheric chemistry. His work addresses critical uncertainties in West Antarctic coastal regions regarding sea level rise projections, while also recovering the southernmost annually-resolved ice core record in North America from Mount Waddington in British Columbia. This research spans hydroclimate variability over the last 200-500 years.

The Minnesota NICE Lab (Neff Ice and Climate Exploration) under his leadership combines ice cores, ground-based chemical and geophysical observations, remotely-sensed datasets, and climate reanalysis data to enhance understanding of climate dynamics. Recent projects include the RAICA initiative (collecting 150m ice cores in Antarctica) and collaborations with the Korean Polar Research Institute via the RV ARAON expedition in 2024. His publications highlight interdisciplinary work in climate dynamics, geochemical cycles, and paleoclimatic reconstruction.

• NSF Antarctic Cable Workshop funding (2021)
• NSF grant for Mt. Waddington ice core drilling (2020)
• TikTok Creative Learning Fund (2020)

Dr. Neff's educational background includes a BS (2009), MS (2012), and PhD (2015) from the University of Washington and Victoria University of Wellington. He has participated in four international Antarctic expeditions and mentors PhD student Julia Andreasen, who received the NASA FINESST Award (2021). His lab's fieldwork in the Amundsen Sea and Law Dome regions underscores his commitment to advancing cryospheric research and public science engagement.