Peter Jan van Leeuwen

Peter Jan van Leeuwen is a Professor of Data Assimilation and Physical Oceanography at Colorado State University (since 2018) and a Professor of Data Assimilation at the University of Reading (since 2009). He holds leadership roles, including Director of the Data Assimilation Research Centre (DARC) and former Director of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). He earned his Ph.D. in Fluid Dynamics from Delft University of Technology (1992) and holds multiple advanced degrees in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics from Dutch universities.

His research focuses on advancing data assimilation techniques (including machine learning), causal discovery in non-intervenable systems, and their applications to geophysical fluids like oceans, atmosphere, and cryosphere. Key areas include ocean dynamics, air-sea interaction, sea-ice prediction, cloud microphysics, and hurricane modeling. He has been funded by NSF, NOAA, NASA, and European agencies like the ERC and NERC.

Notable awards include the George T. Abell Outstanding Faculty Research Award (2025) and the ERC Advanced Investigator Award (2016). He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and co-edited the open-access textbook Data Assimilation Fundamentals. Van Leeuwen leads the Center for Nonlinear Data Assimilation, Causal Discovery, and Prediction, emphasizing cutting-edge methods for high-dimensional systems and climate predictability.