Noted Geographer, Researcher Named To Ohio Women's Hall of Fame

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ellen Mosley-Thompson, an internationally respected Ohio State University researcher and expert on global climate change, has been inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame.

Mosley-Thompson was one of 11 Ohioans named for this honor by Ohio Governor Bob Taft earlier this month.

“These inductees exemplify the accomplishments of Ohio’s women in diverse fields such as arts, business, science, activism and government. In honoring these women, we celebrate Ohio’s strong and vibrant heritage and provide guidance and inspiration for future generations of Ohioans,” Taft said.

A Distinguished University Scholar Award winner and professor of geography at Ohio State University, Mosley-Thompson is cofounder of the Ice Core Paleoclimatology Research Group at the university’s Byrd Polar Research Center.

For more than a quarter-century, Mosley-Thompson and her colleagues have journeyed to remote ice fields on at least four continents to drill and retrieve ice cores which contain a history of the world’s climate extending back more than 100,000 years. Analyses of these cores provided proof of the extent of recent climate change on the planet and the connection between major recurring weather systems across the planet.

A pioneer in promoting the participation of women in remote field research areas, she has served as team leader on numerous ice core drilling and glaciological programs in Antarctica and Greenland. In 1986, she became the first woman to lead an ice core drilling project to a remote field location on the East Antarctic Plateau. She is considered one of the premier paleoclimatologists in the world.

"After meeting the other honorees and hearing about their contributions and accomplishments, it was very humbling to be included among a group of such spectacular women who have generously contributed their time and talents to serve others and thereby improve conditions for humanity," Mosley-Thompson said.

Along with her university teaching and research duties, Mosley-Thompson served on the National Research Council’s committee on Environmental and Geophysical Data, and chaired the Committee on Glaciology under the NRC’s Polar Research Board, as well as the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Board for Polar Programs. For five years, she served on the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Global Change.

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Contact: Ellen Mosley-Thompson, (614) 292-6662; Thompson.4@osu.edu Written by Earle Holland, (614) 292-8384; Holland.8@osu.edu