James “Marshall” Shepherd
Regents and Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor, University of Georgia
Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd is a leading international weather-climate expert, a 2025 Regents' Professor, and is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia. Dr. Shepherd was the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation’s largest and oldest professional/science society in the atmospheric and related sciences. Dr. Shepherd serves as Director of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Atmospheric Sciences Program, the Associate Director of Climate and Outreach for the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, and Full Professor in the Department of Geography where he was a previous Associate Department Head. In 2023, he was appointed Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship and Partnerships in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. His areas of research include urban climate, hydrometeorological extremes, weather-climate risk, and innovative outreach strategies.
Dr. Shepherd was the 2024 recipient of the American Association of Geographers Presidential Achievement Award. In 2023, he moderated a discussion with Vice President Kamala Harris on climate change and received the prestigious Environmental Law Institute Award. In 2022, he was selected as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Professor of the Year following a historic accomplishment the previous year. In 2021, Dr. Shepherd was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Prior to UGA, Dr. Shepherd spent 12 years as a Research Meteorologist at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and was Deputy Project Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a multi-national space mission that launched in 2014. President Bush honored him on May 4th 2004 at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for pioneering scientific research in weather and climate science. Dr. Shepherd is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Dr. Shepherd is frequently sought as an expert on weather, climate, and remote sensing. He is also the host of The Weather Channel’s Award-Winning Weather Geeks, a pioneering TV talk show/podcast and a Senior Contributor to Forbes Magazine. He routinely appears on CBS Face The Nation, NOVA, The Today Show, CNN, Fox News, The Weather Channel and several others. His 3 TED Talks have nearly 3 million viewers, and he is also frequently asked to advise key leaders at NASA, the White House, Congress, Department of Defense, and officials from foreign countries. In February 2013 and 2019, Dr. Shepherd briefed the U.S. Congress on climate change and extreme weather. He has also written several editorials for CNN, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and numerous other outlets and has been featured in Time Magazine, Popular Mechanics, and NPR Science Friday. He has nearly 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications. Dr. Shepherd has attracted several millions of dollars in extramural research support from NASA, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, U.S. Forest Service and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Dr. Shepherd was also instrumental in leading the effort for UGA to become the 78th member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
Dr. Shepherd is a past member of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board and currently serves on its Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. He is a past chair of the NASA Earth Sciences Advisory Committee and also currently serves on the UGA Athletic Association Board. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Nature Conservancy (Georgia Chapter), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Science Advisory Board, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s Hazard Preparedness Advisory Group United Nations World Meteorological Organization steering committee on aerosols and precipitation, 2007 Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR4 contributing author team, National Academies of Sciences (NAS) Panels on climate and national security, extreme weather attribution, and urban meteorology. Dr. Shepherd is a past editor for both the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology and Geography Compass, respectively.
Dr. Shepherd received his B.S., M.S. and PhD in physical meteorology from Florida State University. He was the first African American to receive a PhD from the Florida State University Department of Meteorology, one of the nation’s oldest and respected. He is also the 2nd African American to preside over the American Meteorological Society. He is a member of the AMS, American Geophysical Union, Association of American Geographers (AAG), Sigma Xi Research Honorary, Chi Epsilon Pi Meteorology Honorary, and Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary. He is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and serves on various National Boards associated with his alma mater. Dr. Shepherd co-authored a children’s book on weather and weather instruments called Dr. Fred’s Weather Watch. He is also the co-founder of the Alcova Elementary Weather Science Chat series that exposes K-5 students to world-class scientists. Dr. Shepherd is originally from Canton, Georgia.