Biography
I have an undergraduate degree in physics (2004, Harvard) and a PhD in applied math (2008, Harvard). I came to the University of Chicago as a Chamberlin Fellow and stayed on as a faculty member.
Research Interests
I use mathematical and computational models to understand and explain fundamental problems in Earth and Planetary Sciences. I have worked on problems related to climate, paleoclimate, the cryosphere, planetary habitability, and exoplanets, but I'm always excited to think about new things. I work best with students who have strong mathematical skills that they want to apply to cool problems. Recently I've been focusing a lot of effort on terrestrial exoplanets and habitability. We have a really great community with three faculty in our department and three in astronomy working on exoplanets. Here is a list of our recent PhD graduates in the area.
Selected Publications
Olson, S.L., M. Jansen, and D.S. Abbot (2020), Oceanographic Constraints on Exoplanet Life, Astrophysical Journal, 895:19. arxiv
Komacek, T.D., T.J. Fauchez, E.T. Wolf, and D.S. Abbot (2020), Clouds will likely prevent the detection of water vapor in JWST transmission spectra of terrestrial exoplanets, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 888:L20. arxiv
Finkel, J., D.S. Abbot, J. Weare (2020), Path properties of atmospheric transitions: illustration with a low-order sudden stratospheric warming model, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 77(7), 2327-2347. arxiv
Fun stuff