Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 216, Boulder, CO 80309-0216
Tel: (303) 492-4524, Fax: (303) 492-1149, email: Konrad.steffen@colorado.edu
US and Swiss Citizen, married and two kids
Education
Dr.sc.nat.ETH,1983 Surface temperature distribution of an Arctic polynya: North Water in winter; advisor Prof. Dr. Atsumu Ohmura, ETH-Zürich.
Dipl.nat.ETH, 1977 Snow distribution on tundra and glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island, NWT, Canada; advisor Prof. Dr. Fritz Müller, ETH-Zürich.
Professional Experiences
2005- present Director, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado (CU)
2004-2005 Interim Director, CIRES, University of Colorado (CU)
2003-2004 Deputy Director, CIRES, University of Colorado (CU)
2002-2003 Interim Director, CIRES, University of Colorado (CU)
1998-2005 Associate Director Cryosphere and Polar Processes, CIRES
1997-present Professor at Dept. of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder
1993-present Faculty, Program in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences
1991-1997 Associate Professor at Dept. of Geography, University of Colorado
1991-present Fellow CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder
Sept.-Oct. 1987 Visiting Professor at Dept. of Geography, McGill University, Montreal
1986-1988 Visiting Fellow at Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), on leave from ETH for two years
1985-1990 Oberassistent (Lecturer) at Climate Research Group, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland
1983-1985 Assistant at Climate Research Group, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland
Thesis supervisor
2007 Main advisor of 5 Ph.D. and 1 Master students
Recent Graduate Students
Dr. Waleed Abdalati, NASA Headquarters
Dr. Jason Box, Ohio State University, Assist. Prof. in Geography
Dr. Nicolas Cullen, Department of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Dr. Marcel Haefliger, Swiss Meteorological Institute, CH-8044 Zurich; Switzerland
Dr. John Heinrichs, Fort Hays State University, Assoc. Prof. in Dept. Geosciences
Dr. Russell Huff, CU/CIRES Post Doc
Dr. David Levinson, Climate Monitoring Branch, NOAA/NESDIS, Asheville, NC
Dr. Axel Schweiger, Polar Science Center/Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington
Dr. Andrew Slater, NSIDC/CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
Dr. Julienne Stroeve, NSIDC, University of Colorado
Dr. Sandy Starkweather, VECO Polar Resources
Summary of Graduate Students and Postdoctorals Schoolars Sponsered
1992-2006 7 Master Students; 14 Ph.D. Students; 7 Post. Docs
Teaching cires.colorado.edu/steffen/classes/
University of Colorado at Boulder (CU)
Physical Climatology: Principles (GEOG 4211), Applied (GEOG 4221)
Physical Climatology: Field Methods (GEOG 5231/4231)
Remote Sensing of the Environment (GEOG/GEOL 4093/5093)
Remote Sensing Field Methods (GEOG 6181)
Research /cires.colorado.edu/science/groups/steffen/projects/
1976-1984 North Water Project, Canadian high Arctic, Swiss National Science Foundation.
1979-1981 Energy flux measurements in the Swiss Alps (RHONEX, ALPEX).
1984-1985 Reevaluation of energy balance in North Water area.
1985-1987 Energy flux measurements on Glacier No.1, Tienshan, China.
1987-1990 Validation of sea ice parameters derived from passive microwave data)
1987-1993 Reevaluation of global energy balance
1990-1992 Greenland Ice Cap, Climate and Climate Processes
1990-1993 Application of Multispectral Satellite Data in Polar Surface Energy Flux Estimates., NASA
1991-1995 Parametrization and Scaling of Arctic Ice Conditions, NASA
1993-1994 Energie and Massenbilanz auf dem grönländischen Eisschild, Swiss NSF
1993-1996 Ice Surface Retrieval from AVHRR, ATSR, and Passive Microwave Satellite Data, NASA
1993-1996 Assessment of Climate Variability of the Greenland Ice Sheet, NASA
1994-1996 Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Arctic Surface Radiation Budget, NSF/OPP
1994-1996 Assessment of Variations in the Snow Accumulation Rate in northern Greenland, NSF.
1995-1996 Assessment of Climate Variability of the Greenland Ice Sheet, NASA.
1995-1997 Absolute Gravity/GPS Measurements in Greenland, NASA.
1996-1997 Instrumentation for Snow Hydrological Research, DoD
1996-1999 Sea Ice and Ocean Processes in Baffin Bay, NASA
1996-2000 Greenland Ice Sheet Climatology and Surface Energy Balance Modeling, NASA.
1997-1999 Hyperspectral Imaging and Related Field Methods: Building the Science, NASA-MTPE
1997-2000 Documenting, Understanding, and Predicting the Aggregate Scale Surface Radiation Flux for SHEBA
1999-2002 Investigation of Photochemical Transformation within Snow and their Effects,NSF
1999-2000 NASA Cryospheric Sciences, RADARSAT Wide ScanSAR images over Bering Sea and Baffin Bay, NASA
2000-2004 Climatology of Arctic Canada, March 2000 – Feb 2004, NASA-GSFC
2001-2005 Greenland Ice Sheet Climatology and Surface Energy Balance Modeling: Greenland Climate network, NASA
2002-2005 Assessment of Basal Melt of Petermann Gletscher in Northwestern Greenland, NSF/NASA
2002-2005 Greenland ice sheet melt climatology based on passive and active satellite data: SSM/I and QuikSCAT data, NASA
2002-2005 Reanalysis of the energy Budget of the ice sheet, NASA
2005-2007 Greenland - Accumulation and Melt Layer, NASA.
2006-2008 Melt flow acceleration of the Greenland ice sheet, NASA GSFC.
2006-2007 Monitoring Moulin Depth and Pathways in the Pakisoq Region, West-Greenland Ice Sheet, NASA
National and International Committee and Editorial Membership
1986-1987 Associate Scientific Editor, Annals of Glaciology
1986-1991 Member, executive board of "Schweizerische Geographische Gesellschaft".
1987-1991 Member, SSM/I Validation Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt.
1988-1991 Member, SSM/I Sea Ice Archive Working Team (SSIAWT), NASA GSFC.
1989-1993 Member, executive board of the Program for International Polar Ocean Research (PIPOR).
1991-1992 Chief Editor, Annals of Glaciology – Remote Sensing of Snow and Ice
1991-1999 Chairman, Polar Data Archive Distribution Advisory Group, NASA/EOSDIS.
1992-1995 Council Member, Executive Board, International Glaciological Society.
1994-1998 Member of EOS Science Operation Focus Team, NASA/EOSDIS.
1995-present Member, Radarsat Geophysical Processor System Team (NASA/RGPS)
1995-present Member, Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (NASA/PARCA)
1996-1999 Council Member, Executive Board, International Glaciological Society.
1996-2001 Associate Editor, Journal of Applied Meteorology
1999-2000 Chief Editor, Annals of Glaciology - Cryosphere Models and Validation
1999-2004 Chairman, World Climate Research Program ,CliC Observation Products Panel
2003-2005 Vice President, International Commission of Snow and Ice, IAHS
2003-present Theme leader for sea level change, WCRP/CliC
2003-present SEARCH Science Steering committee member
2004-2007 Vice President IUGG Commission on the Cryospheric Sciences (CCS)
2006-present Co-Chair WCRP/climate and Cryosphere program
2006-2007 CReSIS advising board chair, NSF STC, University of Kansas
2006 –present NASA Earth Science Subcommittee advising board member
2007-present CCSP Abrupt Climate Chance committee member
IInternational Organizations Membership
International Glaciological Society, Cambridge, England
American Geophysical Union
American Meteorological Society