Qinghua Ding

Qinghua Ding is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and affiliated with the Earth Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His research focuses on understanding climate variability and predictability across timescales, particularly in polar regions and their connections to tropical climate systems. Ding holds a Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Hawaii (2008), with postdoctoral experience at the University of Washington and UCSB.

Education

• B.S., Meteorology, Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, China (2000)
• M.S., Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa (2002)
• Ph.D., Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa (2008)

Research Interests

Ding’s work integrates climate models (e.g., isotope-enabled coupled models), observational data, and paleoclimate proxies to study tropical-extratropical teleconnections, polar climate dynamics, and the impacts of natural vs. anthropogenic forcings. Key foci include Arctic and Antarctic climate change, sea ice variability, and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns.

Grants & Awards

• NSF-funded projects on Arctic sea ice variability and Antarctic climate modeling (2016–2022+)
• NOAA grants for seasonal climate prediction and Arctic dynamics (2015–2022+)
• 2021 Editor’s Award, American Meteorological Society (Journal of Climate)

Advising & Collaborations

Current advisees include graduate students Zhe Li and Ian Baxter. Collaborations span institutions like the Polar Science Center (UW) and international groups analyzing ice-core data and climate models.

Labs & Teams

Affiliated with UCSB’s Earth Research Institute, focusing on interdisciplinary climate dynamics research.