Climate Change: Exploring Solutions to a Complex Problem is a week-long professional development workshop for middle- and high-school science teachers, developed and facilitated by Professor Laure Resplandy, Academic Lab Manager Danielle Schmitt and former graduate student Abigale Wyatt *24. This in-person workshop took place August 19-23 in Guyot Hall. On Friday August 23, the workshop was featured on NJ PBS Spotlight News: Teachers on a quest to better explain scientific topics.

Through content discussions and investigations utilizing active-learning, participants gained an understanding of the scientific basis of climate, climate modeling, predictions and impacts of climate change, and the role of human activities in the climate system. They were also introduced to cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change. The participants explored spatial and temporal patterns of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (including the role of terrestrial vegetation and marine phytoplankton), projected changes in temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and extreme weather events, used a climate simulator to investigate the effects of different CO₂ concentrations, and analyzed how projected temperature changes could impact not only ecosystems, but also both global and regional sea level.

Additions to this year's workshop included a guest lecture and tour of Princeton’s new T.I.G.E.R. (Thermally Integrated Geo-Exchange Resource) provided by Ted Borer, Energy Plant Director and activities exploring the use of art and story-telling in Science Communication, lead by Craig Marshall and Erin Flowers of the Council on Science and Technology.

Funding and support were provided by Princeton’s High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI), Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES), Program in Teacher Preparation and The Department of Geosciences.

QUEST participants tour Princeton University’s T.I.G.E.R. (the Thermally Integrated Geo-Exchange Resource) energy plant