Professor Michael Taylor is a Professor of Climate Science and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. He is also Co-director of the Climate Studies Group at the Mona Campus. He was a Coordinating Lead Author for Chapter 3 of the Special Report on 1.5 Degrees of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the 2019 ANSA Caribbean Laureate for Excellence in Science.

A UWI alumnus, Professor Taylor has done outstanding work in the area of climate change. He has been a Director of the Climate Studies Group at Mona since 2007 and has successfully positioned it as a centre of regional thought and expertise with respect to climate change science and the leading entity for coordinating regional climate modelling efforts.

Professor Taylor’s research which has produced over 100 publications and garnered over US$20 million in research grants and funding for The UWI has focused on determining the scientific impact of climate change in the Caribbean islands. His work has been invaluable in shaping the understanding of the region’s vulnerability to climate change; building Caribbean Climate databases; developing climate tools and improving our ability to predict Caribbean climate on seasonal timescales. These practical and timely solutions are celebrated at The UWI as the kinds of contributions that demonstrate the university’s close alignment with Caribbean needs, as set out in the 2017-2022 Triple A Strategy (strategic plan). He was bestowed an individual Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in 2013 and another in 2018 as part of the Climate Studies Group for Excellence in International Collaboration (Globalisation Award) for the Regional Climate Science Initiative (RCSI) Project.

Professor Michael Taylor is also involved in several projects focused on climate change and sustainability in the Caribbean. These include the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR): Regional Track, Tropical Storm Modelling for Caribbean Weather Impacts Generator (CARIWIG), the Sustainable Water Management under climate change in small island states of the Caribbean (Water AccIS) and the Ensemble Climate Modeling in the Caribbean Region.