Nathan Lenssen
Teaching Assistant Professor, Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Nathan Lenssen is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Colorado School of Mines and a visiting scientist at the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR). He received his PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences and MA in Statistics from Columbia University. As an instructor, Nathan develops data science and climate science curricula with a focus on project-based learning and using statistics to better ask and answer questions about the world. His research aims are to better understand variability, predictability, and change of the climate system, while accounting for uncertainty in observational data and biases in dynamical climate models. He develops statistical and dynamical models as well as the computational methods needed to apply these models to extremely large datasets.
Education
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B.A. in Mathematics and Physics, Claremont McKenna College
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M.A. in Statistics, Columbia University
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Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University
Research Areas
- Statistical prediction of dynamical systems
- Spatial statistics for geoscience applications
- Large-scale atmospheric and oceanic dynamics
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Impacts of climate change on natural and human systems
Current Courses
- Math 201: Probability and Statistics for Engineers
- Math 334: Introduction to Probability
Publications
- Schwarzwald, K., & Lenssen, N. (2022). The importance of internal climate variability in climate impact projections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(42), e2208095119.
- Lenssen, N., Goddard, L., & Mason, S. (2020). Seasonal forecast skill of ENSO teleconnection maps. Weather and Forecasting, 35(6), 2387-2406.
- Lenssen, N., Schmidt, G. A., Hansen, et al. (2019). Improvements in the GISTEMP uncertainty model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(12), 6307-6326.