Prof. Karen Wiltshire

Prof. Karen Wiltshire is Professor of Climate Science at Trinity College Dublin, where she holds the E3 CRH Chair of Climate Science. A renowned expert in climate and coastal sciences, she focuses on marine socio-ecosystems and is a leading voice in Irish, German and European climate related coastal and marine science.
Karen Wiltshire is known for building large interdisciplinary teams to tackle complex research questions and for advocating holistic, system-level approaches that integrate societal, environmental, and engineering perspectives. Education and capacity building are central to her work. She co-founded the Ocean Training Partnership with POGO and the All-Atlantic SEA Network for sea-going training, and won and directed the NIPPON-POGO Centre of Excellence for Oceanography for 10 years.
A strong proponent of collaborative, science-based solutions to climate challenges, she emphasizes the importance of diversity in communication and a shared commitment to ocean sustainability.
Her career spans leadership roles at major international institutions, including the Max Planck Institute, the University of St Andrews, and most recently, the Alfred Wegener Institute, where she served as Vice Director and Director of Coastal Research since 2006. Under her leadership, the institute became a global leader in coastal climate science.
Wiltshire has also helped shape international science policy through contributions to UNEP, SCOR-UNESCO, IPCC, IIASA, and as the first female Chair of POGO. She currently is lead coordinating Author of GEO 07 “Oceans and Coasts”.
In 2025, she was elected a Professorial Fellow of Trinity College Dublin