Every few years, Benjamin Kirtman had a job to do. He grew up in the coastal city of Santa Barbara, California, in a home with a basement that was in an area prone to El Niño, a weather phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years. “During El Niño events, when the skies would open up and flood everything, our basement would transform into a makeshift swimming pool,” said Kirtman. His family had a pump to clear the water, but young Kirtman was tasked with operating it day and night until the weather event passed.

“One day, I asked my dad why we didn’t simply invest in an automated pump, and he jokingly replied, ‘Pump sitting is what teenage sons are for’,” said Kirtman. After leaving for college, his parents, of course, purchased an automated pump. “The pump-sitting experience driven by extreme rainfall and El Niño ultimately led me to apply my love for mathematics to weather and climate science,” shared Kirtman.

Since 2007, Kirtman has been a professor of atmospheric science at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. His research focuses on climate predictability with an aim on mitigating the impacts of climate variability. He also studies how climate responds to factors from human and natural sources, such as greenhouse gasses or volcanic emissions. To test a hypothesis, Kirtman conducts a variety of numerical experiments, using sophisticated, innovative climate models and experimental real-time prediction. Through his work, the ability to predict events, such as El Niño, have significantly improved.

“My hobby is my work.”

Apart from his climate research, Kirtman also codes—a skill necessary for developing forecasting systems. “I like to write code, whether that is downloading and analyzing data from my Fitbit or writing a not-so-simple weather model to use as a teaching tool in my classes. My hobby is my work,” said Kirtman.

For the past seven years, Kirtman has served as the director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, which unites the research and educational resources of 10 academic partner universities with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is also the deputy director of the University’s Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing where the leads the Earth Systems Science program.

Kirtman’s impact has also been recognized by the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society, two of the most prestigious professional scientific organizations in his field of research. He was elected a Fellow of both organizations. In 2023, he was named the inaugural William R. Middelthon III Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences (shown above: Roni Avissar, Ben Kirtman, and William R. Middelthon II) supporting his research on disaster preparedness and climate variability.

“Dr. Kirtman is an exceptional scholar who has made
outstanding contributions to atmospheric
and earth science that have been recognized
and celebrated by [the research community].”

“Dr. Kirtman is an exceptional scholar who has made outstanding contributions to atmospheric and earth science that have been recognized and celebrated by those research communities. Dr. Kirtman is also a valued and respected member of our faculty, taking seriously his role as an educator,” said Roni Avissar, dean of the Rosenstiel School.

Kirtman, a dedicated mentor and scientist, will receive the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award on Monday, March 31, at 5:00 p.m. during the Faculty Senate Awards Ceremony at the Kislak Center at the University of Miami. The Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award recognizes either a single outstanding scholarly achievement or a lifetime of distinguished accomplishment in any area of research or creative activity. Award winners are nominated by faculty of the University and are selected by a committee.  Learn more about the awards.

This profile is part of a 2024–25 Faculty Senate Awards series recognizing all awardees.

SOURCE:  NEWS@TheU Story “El Niño Inspires a Young man’s Passion for Science” by Karina Valdes | March 21, 2025