Two people in an open field are looking at a soil sample. The grass is green around them and there is blue sky in the background.

Professor Gillian Galford (left) is the Director of the Climate Measurements Center of Excellence.

To help communities understand and plan for climate impacts, the interdisciplinary Climate Measurements Center of Excellence will deliver standardized methods and metrics—as well as guidance and tools—for state, local, and regional (subnational) climate assessments. The Center was established at the Gund Institute for Environment in 2024 with support from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

 

The Center has three objectives:

1) Develop standardized methods and measurements for climate impacts and adaptation in the food, health, and water sectors.

2) Create climate impact assessment framework, toolkits, and best practices that can be used by communities and other sub-national jurisdictions to inform local policies and decision-making.

3) Serve as an information and expertise hub for subnational climate assessments.

Building on the Vermont Climate Assessment, the Center will develop standardized climate assessment tools designed in collaboration with the user communities to improve climate adaptation planning and build more resilient communities. The Center’s partners will represent a wide diversity of groups, and its activities and outputs will incorporate risks associated with climate trends in more vulnerable locations and for more vulnerable populations, including women, communities of color, and low-income communities that are underrepresented in climate studies.

The Center's collaborators work in Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Washington, and Vermont. NIST is the primary federal agency funding the Center under award number 70NANB24H080. The interdisciplinary team has expertise in agriculture, climatology, economics, ecosystem services, engineering, environmental science, fisheries, food systems, geography, public health, and water resources and has deep experience in national, state, and regional climate assessments. An advisory group of climate impact and adaptation experts will provide high-level strategic guidance.

Professor Gillian Galford, who has led the two Vermont Climate Assessments, directs the Center. The research working group leads are:
• Food—Eric Roy, University of Vermont;
• Health—Jesse Bell, University of Nebraska, and Jeremy Hess, University of Washington;
• Water—Kate Brauman, University of Alabama.

Join the Team! See job openings for:

• Program Manager
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate Impact Assessment
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate Impacts in Food Systems