John Walsh is Research Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College (B.S., Mathematics, 1970) and the Massachusetts institute of Technology (Ph.D., Meteorology, 1974). His primary research interests are Arctic climate, including interactions between the atmosphere, sea ice, snow cover, and the land surface. His interests also include severe weather and climate events. He has co-authored a textbook, Severe and Hazardous Weather. Prior to coming to Alaska, in 2003, he was a faculty member in the University of Illinois' Department of Atmospheric Sciences.