Maria Rugenstein – Assistant Professor

Phone: 970-491-8364
Email: Maria.Rugenstein@colostate.edu
Research website

Education

• Ph.D. in Climate Science – 2017 – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland
• M.S. in Atmospheric and Climate Science – 2011 – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland
• B.S. in Environmental Science – 2010 – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland

Research Interests

My research interests focus on understanding the large-scale interactions of the atmosphere and ocean. The timescale of my research questions range from month-to-annual tropospheric radiative adjustments to century-to-millenia deep ocean warming. I study the causes and consequences of spatial and temporal patterns of ocean heat uptake and how they interact with atmospheric feedbacks. I use conceptual models, models with varying degrees of complexity, and large model ensembles. Direct implications of my research are understanding and constraining climate sensitivity, thus increasing our ability to predict how climate changes under a given forcing.

Research Sponsors

• NASA
• National Science Foundation P2C2 and CLD
• European Union Horizon 2020 program
• Humboldt Foundation
• Swiss National Science Foundation

Awards, Honors, and Positions

2021 — Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Geophysical Research Letters
2019 — Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers
2018 — Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Geophysical Research Letters
2018 — Swiss National Science Postdoctoral Fellowship
2014 — AGU Outstanding student presentation award
2012 — ETH medal for master’s thesis
2006 — German National Academic Foundation Student Fellowship