David Thompson’s work focuses on improving our understanding of global climate variability using observational data. He researches large-scale atmospheric dynamics, the interpretation of observed climate change, ocean/atmosphere interaction and the climate impacts of atmospheric phenomena.

Thompson has collaborated with researchers around the world as a visiting scholar in Israel, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Thompson is a Fellow with the American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society. He has received several awards, including the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union in 2004, and the Meisinger Award from the American Meteorological Society in 2008.

Thompson earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1994. He then studied atmospheric science at the University of Washington, receiving his M.S. in 1998 and his Ph.D. in 2000.