The Men in Black Session : Three Scientists. Three Systems. One Planet. Part I: Atmosphere: Reading the Signals of a Changing Climate

Professor Fei Chen is Associate Head and Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A leading urban climate scientist, he spent more than 26 years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States, where he led major advances in land, hydrology, weather prediction and regional climate modelling. Chen is internationally recognised for his work on land-atmosphere interactions, urban meteorology and climate resilience. He led the development of the widely used WRF-Urban modelling system, adopted by weather prediction centres and research institutions worldwide. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the World Meteorological Organization Urban-Predict Project, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Urban Climate, and Co-Chair of the Urban Meteorology Committee of the Chinese Meteorological Society. He is a Fellow of both the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union. His honours include the AMS Helmut E. Landsberg Award and the 2025 IAUC Luke Howard Award, the highest international accolade in urban climatology. At HKUST, Chen is advancing high-resolution climate information for tropical Asian cities, including through SEA4C, which supports adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable urban planning across Southeast Asia.