Posted to SOEST News on by Marcie Grabowski
Malte Stuecker
Malte Stuecker, associate professor in SOEST, was appointed as director of the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC), with a start date of February 1, 2025. Stuecker, who has a dual appointment in IPRC and the SOEST Department of Oceanography, is focused on the dynamics, predictability, and impacts of climate variability and projected climate change, with an emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region. Specifically, his research has provided new insights into ocean warming, El Niño, changing rainfall patterns, and tropical cyclones.
“I am excited to continue advancing IPRC as a global leader in climate research for the Pacific region,” said Stuecker. “We provide a vibrant international research environment – with strong partnerships in Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, and many other countries – dedicated to improving our understanding of the nature and predictability of climate variations in the Pacific region and to the development of innovative pathways for leveraging climate science to benefit communities and stakeholders.”
Stuecker received a degree from the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany and a PhD in meteorology from UH Mānoa in 2015. He was an assistant project leader at the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) in South Korea and a NOAA Climate & Global Change postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle prior to his return to UH Mānoa as faculty in 2020.
Stuecker received the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union and the University of Hawaiʻi Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research in 2024, the IAPSO Early Career Scientist Medal in Physical Oceanography in 2023, the Kamide Lecture Award from the AOGS Atmospheric Sciences section in 2020, and the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the EGU Climate: Past, Present & Future division in 2016. In 2018, he was a Future Leaders Program Fellow of the Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto (Japan) and in 2022 he received the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award.