photo of Matt Osman

Matt Osman

Principal Investigator

mo549 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/osman/

mattosman

Scholar profile

I’m interested in Earth’s climate system: how it operates, changes, interacts, and dissociates through time. This system is both fascinating and complex … but understanding its vitality and stability is also crucial to sustaining life as we know it.

I help run C3PO by mobilising talented and creative individuals — those listed below — to tackle “big picture” science problems. We focus on interesting and relevant questions that have potential to improve understanding of how Earth’s climate changes.

You can find plenty of about me elsewhere on this site.


photo of Witek Bagniewski

Witek Bagniewski, PhD

Research Associate

wb350 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://bagniewski.github.io/

Scholar profile

I’m a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geography, Cambridge, working in collaboration with Downing College and the Cambridge Centre for Climate Repair. I am interested in abrupt climate transitions and feedback processes that either amplify or diminish climate change and its impacts. My current aim is to reconstruct past changes in the global carbon cycle by combining earth system model simulations with climate proxy records from across the globe.

I completed my undergraduate studies in Geosciences and Astrophysics at Jacobs University Bremen, followed by an MSc in Oceanography at the University of Maine and a PhD in Climate Science at the University of New South Wales. I then undertook a postdoc position at the École Normale Supérieure – PSL before joining the University of Cambridge in 2024.


photo of Emily Kraus

Emily Kraus

Research Assistant

enk21 (at) cam.ac.uk

Scholar profile

I am a Research Assistant and recent Gates Cambridge alumni working in the Department of Geography here at Cambridge, where my research focuses on reconstructing and understanding the Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS11) “super-interglacial” using climate proxies and models. More broadly, however, I am interested in understanding the fundamental differences between past periods of global-scale warming, and in reducing model uncertainties in predicting the impacts of anthropogenic climate change using evidence from the past.

Growing up just outside New Orleans, I developed an appreciation for the urgency of climate change, which led me to pursue a B.S. in Environmental Earth Science with a minor in Marine Biology at Tulane University. I feel fortunate to be here in Cambridge, and to have discovered my passion for using clues from the past to better understand our planet’s future. When I’m not thinking about MIS11, you can usually find me watching an episode of Parts Unknown, listening to Ethiopian jazz, or spending time outdoors with friends.


photo of Sizhe Chen

Sizhe Chen

PhD student

sc2348 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/chen/

I am a PhD student in the Department of Geography, where I’m affiliated with the Cambridge Centre for Climate Repair. My PhD focuses on developing physically consistent and dynamically verifiable reconstructions of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (i.e., AMOC) that allow for direct comparison with observations. My research draws on large-ensemble climate model output, global compilations of proxy records, and advanced statistical techniques. Using these tools, I investigate past AMOC variability and its interactions with other components of the climate system within and beyond the North Atlantic. I am broadly interested in the coupled behaviour of the ocean, atmosphere, and cryosphere; studying any one element in isolation risks overlooking the feedbacks of the climate system as a whole.

Before coming to Cambridge, I received my B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences in China, where I investigated how state-of-the-art climate models simulate the behaviour of Asian summer monsoon. When I am not coding or pouring over climate data, I perform as the lead vocalist and guitarist of a Cambridge-based rock band and row with a local club on the River Cam.


photo of Crystal Fu

Crystal Fu

PhD student

cyf25 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/fu/

CrystalCYFu

I’m a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), researching Arctic sea ice sensitivity – how responsive the ice cover is to changes in forcings, particularly in light of its recent rapid decline. My work integrates geological records with climate models to investigate long-term variations in Arctic sea ice, especially during past warm periods, in order to better understand feedback processes and improve future climate projections. When I’m not puzzling over our complex planet, you’ll usually find me outdoors looking for cool rocks and/or cute cats.


photo of Claudia Offner

Claudia Offner

PhD student

ccfo2 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/offner/

Claudia-Offner

I am a data scientist specialised in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and my research focuses on climate change, extreme weather and public health. Working as a Research Assistant in the nutrition group of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, I developed a keen interest in bridging gaps in methods and data between climate- and health-related disciplines. This led me to pursue a PhD with the University of Cambridge Geography Department, where I am supervised by a diverse team of supervisors from the British Antarctic Survey, Judge Business School and Met Office. My thesis aims to provide early warning predictions of extreme weather impacts on health care in the UK and India. In my spare time, I volunteer with MapAction to provide cartographic expertise for disaster response. When I am not travelling, I enjoy reading, cooking and exercising.


photo of Olivia Reeves

Olivia Reeves

PhD student

or324 (at) cam.ac.uk

Scholar profile

I am a PhD student based both at the British Antarctic Survey and the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. My research focuses on past interglacial periods and what they reveal about how global and regional systems respond to warmer temperatures due to stronger orbital forcing. By studying these analogues, the aim is to better understand possible trajectories of future climate change and the rates of potential change. More specifically, my work investigates Marine Isotope Stage 31 (MIS 31), a super-interglacial of the early Pleistocene that was exceptionally warm relative to other interglacials. I am particularly interested in the integration of proxy data and climate models to assess model performance and improve the accuracy of climate model predictions for future change.

My studies began at Birkbeck College where I completed a BSc in Planetary Science with Astronomy, followed by an MSc in Climate Change from UCL, where my research on the rates of global and Arctic climatic changes during the CMIP6 lig127k simulations provided justification for the CMIP7 FastTrack abrupt-127k protocol. Outside academia, I enjoy travelling, reading, spending time with my cat, and attending theatre productions whenever I can.


photo of Peisong Zheng

Peisong Zheng

PhD student

pz285 (at) cam.ac.uk

https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/zheng/

Peisong-Zheng

Scholar profile

I am a PhD student on the AI for the Study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER) programme, jointly based at the British Antarctic Survey and the Department of Geography (Cambridge). I am particularly interested in applying AI and machine‑learning methods to reconstructed and modelled climate data to uncover climate dynamics. My doctoral project develops causal models to untangle the mechanisms behind major ice age climate reorganisations — for example, the last deglaciation and Dansgaard–Oeschger events — by combining palaeoclimate records with machine‑learning‑based causal inference. My work aims to clarify how past changes in ocean circulation, atmospheric CO₂ and ice‑sheet dynamics interacted, ultimately improving our ability to anticipate future abrupt climate change.

Before starting my PhD, I earned an MRes with distinction in Environmental Data Science at the University of Cambridge, where I used Gaussian Mixture Models to map Arctic Ocean water masses beneath sea ice and helped build a deep‑learning pipeline to predict hurricane damage to buildings. Earlier, I worked as a research assistant at Shantou University and completed an MSc in Geography and a BSc in Geophysics at the China University of Geosciences. My PhD is funded by a UKRI studentship.


photo of Fiona Fang

Fiona Fang

UG student

zf276 (at) cam.ac.uk

fionazfang

I’m a geography undergraduate at the University of Cambridge with a strong passion for climate science and numerical modeling. My current research focuses on modeling and data assimilation to investigate ice–climate coupling during abrupt climate transitions. My interest in climate dynamics began in secondary school when I was captivated by Richard Alley’s The Two-Mile Time Machine, but it was during my first-year here at Cambridge, learning about energy balance dynamics, that I confirmed climate modeling was what I wanted to pursue. Since then, I’ve been developing my own climate models both within and beyond coursework.

I am particularly fascinated by feedbacks and couplings in the Earth system, especially during past abrupt events such as Dansgaard–Oeschger and Heinrich events. These rapid transitions are critical for understanding future climate thresholds; I’m interested in understanding their mechanisms through physically grounded models and comparison with proxy data. Outside of academics, I enjoy stargazing, hiking, and sunbathing with my two cats.


alumni

Tom Woolley
previously: Cambridge undergrad
now: MPhil in Polar Studies, Sheffield University

Marco Aquino-López (honourary!)
previously: Research Associate
now: Researcher and Lecture, CIMAT
https://www.cimat.mx/

Yu Huang
previously: Cambridge QCES MPhil
now: Gates Cambridge PhD student, BAS & Cambridge

Emily Kraus
previously: Gates Cambridge MPhil student
now: C3PO Research Assistant!