Dr. Philip Jones is an eminent atmospheric scientist and former Director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, where he served from 1997 to 2016 after beginning his career at the institution in 1976. An Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, he has dedicated over four decades to advancing our understanding of global climate patterns and instrumental temperature records. Educated at Lancaster University and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he completed his PhD on hydrological modeling in 1977, Jones rose through the academic ranks from Senior Research Associate to Professor and Director of External Affairs before assuming leadership of the CRU. His career trajectory reflects a deep commitment to methodical climate data analysis, establishing him as one of the world's foremost authorities on instrumental climate records and their interpretation.
Dr. Jones's pioneering work on hemispheric and global surface temperature time series has provided the foundational datasets that underpin modern climate change research, with his meticulous reconstruction of historical climate records spanning more than a century. His research has yielded over 450 scholarly publications throughout his distinguished career, making significant contributions to the understanding of climate variability and change across multiple timescales. His instrumental climate datasets were prominently featured in the 2001 and 2007 IPCC Assessment Reports, where he served as a Coordinating Lead Author for the AR4 Chapter on surface and atmospheric climate change observations. This work earned him and his IPCC colleagues the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, recognizing the critical role of climate science in informing global policy decisions and understanding anthropogenic impacts on Earth's climate system.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Jones has received numerous prestigious honors including the Hans Oeschger Medal from the European Geophysical Society, fellowships from both the American Meteorological Society and American Geophysical Union, and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to climatology. Despite facing significant challenges during the Climategate incident in 2009, his rigorous scientific integrity was ultimately vindicated through multiple independent reviews. As an Emeritus Professor, he continues to contribute to climate science discourse, recently receiving an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of East Anglia in 2024. His enduring legacy lies in establishing robust methodologies for climate data analysis that continue to inform scientific understanding and policy decisions regarding global climate change.
