Ian Howat

Ian Howat

Ian Howat

School Director, ENGIE-Axium Professor, Distinguished University Scholar
he/him

howat.4@osu.edu

Mendenhall Lab 275D

Areas of Expertise

  • Glaciology
  • Remote Sensing

Education

  • Ph.D. University of California - Santa Cruz 2006

Dr. Ian M. Howat is a leading glaciologist and geoscientist whose research focuses on ice sheet and glacier dynamics, hydrology, and remote sensing of Earth's surface processes. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in satellite-based mapping of ice flow and elevation change, particularly in Greenland and Antarctica.

Dr. Howat serves as Director of the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University, where he also holds an ENGIE-Axium Endowed Professorship. He has led or contributed to numerous high-impact research initiatives, including the ArcticDEM, REMA, and EarthDEM projects, and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications with more than 18,000 citations. Howat was Director of Ohio State's Byrd Polar & Climate Research Center from 2018 to 2025.

A recipient of the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), Dr. Howat has also been honored with the University Distinguished Scholar Award and multiple teaching and mentoring awards at Ohio State. He is a frequent contributor to national and international media on climate and polar science and has advised NASA, NSF, and other agencies on polar research and remote sensing.

Dr. Howat earned his Ph.D. in Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his B.A. in Geology from Hamilton College.

Howat CV

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