Climate scientist Valerie Masson-Delmotte honoured
On its 384th Dies Natalis (Anniversary Day), Utrecht University will award two honorary doctorates, to climate scientist Valerie Masson-Delmotte and community psychologist Hirokazu Yoshikawa. In their own way, both researchers have shown that science is an indispensable factor in solving issues such as climate change, inequality and immigration. By awarding these honorary doctorates, Utrecht University wishes to recognise these researchers' contributions to the social debate.
Valérie Masson-Delmotte is a climate researcher working at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE). She has a physics background and her main focus is on the relationship between CO2 emissions and the temperature of the Earth's crust. Her research incorporates a wide variety of fields and disciplines: she compares data from ice cores en results of climate models, to get a better understanding of the current climate change.
Valerie Masson-Delmotte is a role model in the scientific world and is closely involved with the social side of climate research
Masson-Delmotte also serves as a researcher on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a prominent scientific advisory body. The IPCC is a leading global authority when it comes to issues involving both academia and society, and provides firm scientific foundations for global climate policy. For example, the IPCC - and therefore also Masson-Delmotte - played a substantial role in establishing the Paris Agreement in 2015, which aims to keep climate change within a manageable range. It's no fluke that her name is associated with the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was won by Al Gore, but thanks in part to her role in the IPCC.
Masson-Delmotte's multidisciplinary research is both socially and politically relevant and fully in line with the strategic theme of Pathways to Sustainability, which concentrates on achieving a sustainable future by means of multidisciplinary research. Her work also shows that scientists are still a part of society, and that solutions to societal issues require solid scientific foundations. Establishing and maintaining this essential academic groundwork is the key purpose of her research.
Dies Natalis
The celebrations for Utrecht University's 384th Dies Natalis will take place in the Dom Church in Utrecht on 26 March. The theme of the Dies Natalis is 'World Class University'.
Read more about the honorary doctorate for community psychologist Hirokazu Yoshikawa.