Carl Schmitt, PhD, was trained as an Atmospheric Physicist but now is better described as an Environmental Physicist. His research interests range from ice clouds and their impact on climate and representation in climate models to more down-to-earth topics such as air pollution and glaciology. From modeling how air pollution can affect glaciers to studying how the shape of ice particles in clouds 20 kilometers up, Carl’s research always comes down to understanding the physics of the fundamental processes. Carl is one of the co-founders of the American Climber Science Program and is fond of saying that he has climbed more mountains in the name of research than for any other reason. As part of MERI, Carl will focus on research studies on the impact of light absorbing particles (such as often human sourced pollutant, black carbon) on glaciers and snow. Partially due to Carl’s past efforts, the study of light absorbing particles on glaciers has expanded to 5 universities in Peru. Carl advises a number of US and Peruvian students in research projects in a variety of atmospheric and glaciology topics.