Thompson has traveled the world for 30 years drilling ice cores to glean what they can tell us about the Earth's climate history as well as what lies ahead. He was among a select group of scientists and innovators included in Time magazine's Heroes of the Environment 2008 and has conducted 54 expeditions in 15 countries.

While on campus, Thompson also will speak with students in a meteorology course examining physical principles that explain weather change, meet with faculty and students in the departments of Geography and Geological Sciences, and interact with area high school students and teachers.

Former university trustee and alumna Jeanette Grasselli Brown and her husband, Glenn R. Brown, created the Frontiers in Science lecture series in 1991 to promote understanding of science and communication between scientists and non-scientists. The committee that organizes the series invites a leading scientist to campus each year to lecture and meet with faculty and students.

-- From staff reports