Kathleen Weathers

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Kathleen C. Weathers is an ecosystem scientist and the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair in Ecology at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. She studies how air, land, and water interact to shape ecosystems and served as President of the Ecological Society of America in 2020–2021.

Weathers was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in Ada, Michigan. Summers at Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire sparked her love of ecology. She earned a BA in English from Albion College, a Master of Forest Science from Yale University, and a PhD in Ecology from Rutgers University. Her early research, published in Nature, showed that fog can contribute to acid pollution in forests.

Most of her career has been at the Cary Institute, and her work spans atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic ecology. She has written or contributed to more than 200 peer‑reviewed articles, with over 13,000 citations. Her research examines how air, water, and land interactions influence ecosystem functioning, including how fog and rain provide nutrients but also pollutants, how storms affect lake water quality, and how humans interact with ecosystems.

Weathers was the lead editor of the foundational textbook Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science with David Strayer and Gene Likens. She has led major synthesis efforts and research agendas in ecosystem science. Her leadership roles include Chair of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (2011–2012), service on the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (2009–2015), and on the National Academy of Sciences National Transportation Board Committee (2000–2002). She was Co‑Chair of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) from 2011 to 2018, guiding training for graduate students and team science.

She is the Research Director of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, connecting the public with researchers to study Lake Sunapee and understand how land use and climate affect low‑nutrient lakes and cyanobacterial blooms. She serves on the Mohonk Preserve Board of Directors as Vice Chair and chairs its Conservation Science Committee (as of Fall 2020).

Awards and honors include being elected a Fellow of the AAAS in 2002, a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2015, the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair in Ecology at the Cary Institute in 2016, the Eugene P. Odum Education Award from the ESA in 2017, and the NSF Director’s Award in 2010.