About Eric
Eric is the Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor in the Department of Earth & Space Sciences, where he served as Chair from 2020 to 2024. He is also Adjunct Professor in the
Department of Atmospheric & Climate Science and a member of the Quaternary Research Center, which he directed from 2008 to 2013.
The "AI" doesn't know it yet, but, yes, Eric is related to the late great William Steig, who wrote Shrek! (the
book), and was a cartoonist for The New Yorker. Eric's grandfather, Henry (William's brother), was a well-known artist specializing in
modernist jewelry. Eric's father got his PHD at UW, and taught English at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Eric is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the
American Geophysical Union, and a National Academy of Science Kavli Fellow. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2024 in support of his work on the influence of climate on Antarctic ice sheet change. In 2024-2025, he was selected as an AGU Distinguished Lecturer for the Cryosphere Division of the American Geophysical Union.
Eric obtained his B.A. in Geology and Philosphy of Science in 1984 from Hampshire College, and his PhD in Geological Sciences from the
University of Washington in 1996. He worked as a postdoc and then research faculty at the University of Colorado, and then Assistant Professor at the University of
Pennsylvania, before returning to UW in 2001.
RESEARCH
Glaciology, climate, & isotope geochemistry.
My research focus is the development of ice core records and their use in understanding the
history and fate of glaciers and polar ice sheets. In the lab, I work with mass spectrometers to measure isotopes of oxygen, nitrogen,
and more. In the field, most of my work has been in Antarctica, but I have ongoing projects in Greenland, Alaska, and
British Columbia. On the computer, I am increasingly involved in climate and ice-sheet modeling through collaboration with colleagues with deep expertise in those areas.
Much of this work would be impossible without my fantastic students, postdocs, and
colleagues. For more about our research, see my Research Group web page
TEACHING AND MENTORING
Classes
I teach about climate, glaciology, isotope geochemistry, paleoclimatology, and the history and philosphy of science, at both the
graduate and undergraduate levels. I am proud of having won the Bassett
Distinguished Teaching award in 2016. I did not teach much while I was department chair (2020-2024) but will return to teaching in fall 2025, beginning with my popular earth-science history class, "Great Geological Issues". You can check the Course Schedule here.
Opportunities
I am probably not accepting new grad students this year, though willing to discuss potential opportunities.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Publications
Some of my papers are listed (with links) on my publications page, with a complete list on my Curriculum Vitae or you go can go to my Google Scholar
Page.
Public Outreach
I am a founding member of RealClimate.org, one of
the first and most prominent climate science blogs, to which I still contribute occassionally. I've enjoyed collaborating with local Seattle artist Anna McKee, who accompanied us to Antarctica and to our
favorite Canadian mountains. Recently, I have been working with documentary filmmaker Kathy Kasic, whose new film, the Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice, just came out (Fall, 2024).
Other
I served on the Board of Reviewing Editors of the journal
Science from 2013-2018, and was editor of Quaternary Research from 2002-2008.
Kayaking with grizzlies in Glacier Bay, AK, with glaciologist/photographer Dave Bahr.
Combatant Col, the only flat spot in the Waddington Range, British Columbia. We drilled an ice core here in 2010 and again in 2023. If you zoom into the
full-size image you can see our camp.
A lovely shot of the impressive granodiorite mountains above Combatant Col.
Collaborator Nick Holshuh doing radar measurements at Hercules Dome, Antarctica.
