Meet Dr. Catherine Pomposi, Lecturer in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Written by: Owen Curtin, YC '26
Dr. Catherine Pomposi, Lecturer in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of Yale College's Energy Studies and Climate & Solutions certificate programs, started her role this fall. The Forum caught up with Dr. Pomposi to learn more about her career journey and her goals here on campus.
Tell us about your journey to Yale.
It’s a bit of a winding path. I'm a climate scientist by training. I spent the early part of my career conducting primary academic research, focusing on precipitation variability, particularly in monsoonal systems and other semi-arid regions worldwide.
Throughout my career, I have been motivated to approach questions in climate science from the perspective of “how can we use this information in real-world decision-making settings,” because climate variability and climate change are such important issues that we all find ourselves grappling with, in one way or another, as inhabitants on planet Earth. While I entered the field of climate science first through research, I later made a pivot after my PhD and postdoc to work directly in climate, environmental, and energy-related policy. I was interested in both learning more about how science can drive evidence-based decision-making, as well as contributing my scientific knowledge in new settings. I worked with these goals in mind for a year as a legislative staffer on Capitol Hill and more recently at USAID. (Dr. Pomposi worked at USAID for roughly five years, most recently as a Climate Advisor).
I’ve also had a consistent passion for science communication and working with students. Coming to Yale was primarily driven by a desire to work more directly with students. This generation of students seem to be passionate about environmental issues and recognize that climate science and understanding how humans interact with nature do not need to be contentious issues. Rather, it can be about sharing the one home that we all have and really taking care of that.
I was also very excited to come to Yale and to become once more a part of an academic community where so much research, innovation, and learning can be done around really important topics. I’m humbled, grateful, and excited about the opportunity to be a part of this community.
Can you explain more about your doctoral dissertation at Columbia University?
I was specifically studying West African monsoon variability. Of the global monsoon systems, the West African monsoon remains perhaps the least well understood. Some of that has to do with data limitations. Observational data in certain regions in West Africa can still be pretty scarce, which can limit our ability to study the monsoon. But beyond that, the West African monsoon is a really interesting aspect of large-scale global circulation patterns, as it has changed quite markedly through time, and especially over the 20th century. For example, during the 1950s-1960s the monsoon was relatively strong and then transitioned in the 1980s quite abruptly to a drier state, which had really devastating impacts for individuals and communities living in the region. And since then, there's been additional variability whose drivers are still debated, not to mention questions about how the monsoon may continue to change given climate change.
Since many of the people living in these countries—including Senegal, Mali, Niger, and other sub-Saharan West African countries—are primarily subsistence or small-scale farmers, you can imagine how changes in this monsoon system can have a widespread impact on the ability of a farmer to maintain their livelihood. It impacts how farmers support their families and even broader local economic systems. So there are a number of interesting scientific questions to unpack about how the monsoon system itself has changed and why. It’s important to ask what it might look like in the future and then apply that understanding to help build resilience and be used in real-time applications.
I really enjoy working on interesting science questions, like how a monsoon can be better understood or forecast, with the immediate connection to the utilization of that information. I was very lucky to work with an international team of climate scientists both in the US and in West Africa, providing me with a really nice example of the international, collaborative nature of science. I am very fortunate and grateful that I was able to be a part of that.
I'm curious how you go from doing a doctoral PhD at Columbia on monsoons in West Africa to working in Congress in the office of then-Senator Kamala Harris. Can you walk us through that trajectory and how that is shaping your experience now at Yale?
After my PHD, I wanted to make a bigger pivot to learn about, and contribute to, the policymaking process. I began working in policy through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowships Program. That program brings scientists and engineers into different federal agencies and congressional offices. It's bipartisan in nature and has existed for decades. I was a member of the Congressional fellowships class when I first started on The Hill. There were about 30 of us or so that came from some kind of science, engineering, or technology background. There was a matchmaking interview process, almost akin to what happens in med school, where you interview with offices and talk about topics that you would want to contribute to and what the needs of that office are in terms of their committee assignments, goals, staffing needs, et cetera.
I had recently moved to DC from California, so I was very interested in climate and environmental policy issues in California, both because of a personal connection to the state as well as a broad interest in the myriad topics in environmental, climate, and energy policy that face a state as large and diverse as California. I was also eager to contribute to our office’s work in advocating for the continuation of environmental programs and upholding regulatory measures to protect the environment and vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation.
The fellowships program really elevates and makes a good case for why it's important to have people engaged in policy development who can think very big picture—pick apart different types of data, be able to poke holes in arguments, and do all of this in a very analytical, data-driven and of course, congenial and respectful way. That is, in my opinion, essentially the work of being a scientist too, in its best case. The goal of the program is for fellows to help develop strong policy arguments and proposals given their own expertise and as they work alongside other experts from different disciplinary backgrounds. I was thrilled to be a part of the AAAS program as well as then-Senator Harris’ office. I think we did some really good work that year. And suffice to say, I took a step back away from thinking about the dynamics of the West African monsoon, but I did continue to think through how climate factors into decision-making in other places, including California water resource management, as well as work on a variety of other topics too long to list. It was a great experience.
How do you see the through lines of education and policy advocacy in your career lending into your work as the director of the Energy Certificate and the Climate Certificate at Yale? Where do you see the certificates going?
What I hope to bring to this role is my unique perspective and experience having been a part of both the academic climate and policy communities. I think for a lot of the students going through the Certificates, some will have a natural desire to continue studying the science, whether that's climate science itself or the scientific development and technological deployment of new energy sources, etc. Some other students may want to move directly into policy-related work or advocacy work—perhaps working with an NGO or state-level government.
My role is to help students ask themselves these questions and then, wherever possible, provide support as they are figuring out their own independent journey. My perspective is that we need everyone across each of these spaces and more. These are such big, intractable global problems that we're talking about. The tent is wide enough for everyone. So, I am here encouraging students to really think about what lights them up and where they want to go professionally. And with my experience and background, I hope that I can help them in making connections that allow them to advance their goals, or refine what they are looking to do next, or otherwise help them dive more deeply into climate science and climate and energy policy topics, depending on their interests.
Part of the draw of Yale for me is that I consider myself a lifelong learner and very naturally curious. I've been lucky to have had different professional experiences and mentors who have been very encouraging as I have studied and pursued roles that might not always seem immediately related. Some of the best advice I have been given that I want to also share with students is to keep saying yes to things that spark your curiosity, passion, and excitement.
Do you have any goals for yourself or for either of the certificate programs in your first few years at Yale? Is there anything that you really want to address within the certificates, any people you want to bring on, any subject areas you want to explore more?
Something that I would love to do is to continue to cultivate a robust network of students and alumni who have been a part of the certificate programs. In some ways, since the Energy Studies Certificate has existed for longer, it's a bit more advanced in terms of the number of students who have pursued that academic credential and gone on to continue working in, or tangential to, energy-related matters. And I'd love to strengthen similar connections with and for students who are in the Climate Science and Solutions Certificate.
This may be beyond the scope of the program right now, but I would also like to continue to think about ways that students enrolled in both certificates can experience hands-on learning opportunities. This could take the form of a course focused on seasonal climate forecasting where students can directly work with data that emulates the ways in which physical scientists produce forecasts that are then utilized by decision makers at local to federal levels. Or, there may be opportunities to continue to find ways for students in the Energy Studies Certificate to visit and speak to folks who are engaged in aspects of the clean energy transition. I think it would be exciting for students to be able to take concepts they learn in the classroom and then go and explore them in real-world applications.
As you see Yale students move through the Energy Certificate and Climate Certificate, what do you hope to see in the next generation of climate and energy leaders?
I really want to encourage my students to think analytically and critically about fundamental elements of climate science as contrasted with the development of climate policy proposals. What I mean to say is that, while climate science is complex, it is well established and documented scientifically that climate has changed in the past, is changing now, and will continue to change into the future. I hope that the students enrolled in both certificate programs (and in general) recognize the difference between this as a scientific matter and the perhaps more difficult topic of how to work together and/or debate policy proposals given this science. For all the students that I work with at Yale, I hope to help them think critically about what this all
Something that I've really reflected on over the past several years, and in my own career, is that science can tell us a lot about how systems work—how A causes or relates to B—but policy is where you start making value-level decisions. And those are often going to be very hard choices to make.
I remember my first few weeks working in D.C. were strange because it seemed from the outside that all policy decisions were black and white. There's a good and a bad policy. I came to learn that in many ways, policymaking requires making a lot of difficult choices. In terms of large-scale climate and clean energy policy, I very strongly believe we need to aggressively mitigate carbon emissions, transition to a clean energy economy, and provide opportunities to build more resilient and adaptive communities, given the underlying scientific consensus on how dire our warming trajectory is. But how to get to that state is still very difficult in terms of policy-making, and it is almost certain to involve difficult tradeoffs.
But again, here is where I hope that students are also starting to grapple with this and think through how they can be changemakers and leaders in these spaces and conversations, demonstrating both an appreciation and respect for the planet, but also other people in all their diversity.
For future environmental leaders, I would encourage them not to get discouraged. I personally derive a lot of energy from working with students who are so passionate about these issues, not to mention smart and innovative. Whether working squarely on energy and climate-related topics is a future career path for them, or they just want to remain engaged as a citizen, it’s important for this generation to stay informed and involved. It's a bit too common as you get older to get a little bit more tired or frustrated. And this is all hard work, right? But I don’t want students to give up. I want to challenge and hopefully inspire them to be brave and to lead with compassion and passion.
If I could end with one final thought, it would be to keep saying yes to opportunities and to not give up on your climate and energy-related individual journeys. Let’s work together to make the future a bit brighter, better, and less anomalously warm.