Jacqueline McGlade

Jacqueline McGlade
Born (1955-05-30) May 30, 1955
Nationality British-Canadian
Fields Science Policy, Environmental informatics, Marine science, Theoretical ecology, Ichthyology
Institutions UNEP, European Environment Agency, University College London, University of Warwick
Alma mater University of Cambridge, University of Guelph, University College of North Wales
Thesis Genotypic and phenotypic variation in the brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchell)[1] (1980)
Notable awards Global Citizen Award, Masaryk Gold Medal, Minerva Prize, Jubileum Award, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation Award in Genetics

Jacqueline Myriam McGlade (born May 30, 1955) is a British-born Canadian marine biologist and environmental informatics professor. Her research focusses on the spatial and nonlinear dynamics of ecosystems, climate change and scenario development.

She was Executive Director of the European Environment Agency from 2003-2013, where she was on leave from her post as Professor of Environmental Informatics at University College London.

In 2014 she became Chief Scientist and Director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme based in Nairobi.

Education

Professor McGlade completed her BSc in Marine Biology, Biochemistry and Soil Science at the University College of North Wales, UK, in 1977. She obtained her PhD degree in 1980 on aquatic sciences and zoology from the University of Guelph in Canada. In 1987, she obtained a MA degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Honorary titles

Research and Science-Policy

Theoretical ecology, spatial dynamics, ecosystems and science-policy

McGlade’s PhD research on the mathematical and statistical analysis of the phenotypic and genotypic variability showed the critical importance of spatial dynamics in determining evolutionary divergence and ecological sustainability in freshwater and marine fish populations. This work led to her establishing the first population dynamics and genetics laboratory and developing spatial Lotka-Volterra models, ecological networks and artificial intelligence to apply earth observations in biological oceanography, fisheries and fleet deployment in Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the USA) and the intelligence systems laboratory at Xerox PARC. From 1987-1990, Professor McGlade continued her research in systematics, ichthyology, population dynamics and coastal issues in Cambridge as the Adrian Fellow at Darwin College, at the International Federation of Institutes of Advanced Study in the Netherlands, and Cranfield Institute in the UK.

In 1988 Professor McGlade was appointed as a Director at KFA (now FZ) Jülich in Germany and led research on theoretical ecology. In 1992 she became Professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Warwick and from 2000 was NERC Professorial Fellow at University College London. She and her research teams developed knowledge about spatial dynamical systems (differential equations, coupled-map lattices, cellular automata and individual based models) to study the behaviour of a wide range of ecosystems. The ideas and theories developed led to significant insights into the role of evolutionarily stable attractors, invasion exponents and phenotype dynamics in a wide range of ecosystems, including the African savannah, marine communities, annual and perennial plants and forests and red grouse.

From 1998-2000, she was Director of NERC's Center for Coastal and Marine Science. She also served as a Board Member of the Environment Agency England and Wales and as a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. In 2013 she was appointed as Chief Scientist of UNEP where she has focussed on the science policy interface, integrated global envronmnetal assessment, near-real time environmental monirtoing systems and the use of geospatial and big data in statistics for sustainable development.

European Environment Agency

Professor McGlade was appointed as Executive Director to the European Environment Agency from 2003 -2013.[3] At the EEA, she introduced SEIS, the Shared Environmental Information System for national reporting and indicator development and brought together key aspects of national and international research outputs, including those from the Copernicus earth observation programme. Under her leadership, the Agency reinforced its capability to produce integrated environmental assessments, analyse the state of Europe’s environment as a whole, and provide reliable projections. Professor McGlade worked to strengthen the link between science and policy. She pointed at the magnitude of climate change and urged policymakers to start developing and applying adaptation measures.

McGlade was a firm advocate of informing and involving the public in all aspects of the environment. To this end, she strove to strengthen the information and feedback channels between researchers, public and policymakers, making environmental information understandable and accessible through technological media.

United Nations Environment Programme

In 2013, McGlade joined UNEP at its Headquarters in Nairobi and in 2014 became Chief Scientist and Director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment.[4] Since joining she has led the development of UNEP Live, an open cross-lingual platform for global exchange of environmental information, and leads UNEP's assessment activities including the Global Environmental Outlook, Emission Gap Report and Emerging Issues.[5]

Academic Prizes & Scholarships

Research interests

References

  1. ↑ WorldCat, Retrieved on 2012-12-27.
  2. ↑ "Honorary graduates 2000-09". University of Kent. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Jacqueline McGlade leaves the EEA after 10 years as Executive Director," EEA website, May 31, 2013. Accessed: May 3.1, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Professor Jacqueline McGlade appointed UNEP Chief Scientist". Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  5. ↑ "About the Chief Scientist". Retrieved 2016-04-11.
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