Rutgers-Trained Scientist and NOAA Researcher Is Named State Climatologist

John Krasting will lead New Jersey climate office as David Robinson retires

John Krasting, a Rutgers-trained climate scientist whose career has spanned broadcast meteorology, climate modeling and sea-level research, has been named the New Jersey state climatologist, succeeding David Robinson, who is retiring after 35 years in the role.

John Krasting, a Rutgers-trained climate scientist and longtime NOAA researcher, is the incoming New Jersey state climatologist. Based at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, he will lead the state climate office and help turn climate data into practical information for communities across New Jersey.

Krasting, whose name is pronounced to rhyme with "lasting," will begin July 1 as an extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. He will oversee the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist and the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network, known as the NJWxNet, a statewide system of 70 weather stations that provides real-time environmental data.

The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist was established at Rutgers in 1979 by the late Gov. Brendan Byrne to serve as a statewide source of weather and climate expertise. The office gathers, analyzes and shares climate information to support planning, research, emergency preparedness and public understanding across the state.

Krasting's appointment comes at a time when climate information has become increasingly important to decisions about flooding, water resources, agriculture, public health, infrastructure, coastal planning and emergency preparedness.

"We are thrilled to welcome John Krasting back to Rutgers and into this vital role for the university and the state," said Laura Lawson, executive dean of agriculture and natural resources. "John brings together the best of what this moment requires: world-class climate science, deep technical expertise, a gift for public communication, and a lifelong connection to Rutgers. His work has helped advance the models and data systems scientists use to understand a changing planet, and now that knowledge will be brought directly to bear for New Jersey's communities, coastlines, farms and decision-makers."

Krasting earned his bachelor's degree in meteorology from Rutgers in 2003 and his doctoral degree in atmospheric science from Rutgers in 2008. A native of Wenonah, N.J., in Gloucester County, he said the new role feels like both a professional opportunity and a personal return.

"I'm a New Jersey native," Krasting said. "I've lived through the very changes we talk about when we discuss how New Jersey's climate is evolving."

David Robinson, New Jersey's state climatologist since 1991, is retiring after 35 years of statewide public service. The Rutgers Distinguished Professor is the longest-serving state climatologist on record in the United States.

For the past 15 years, Krasting has worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J., where he helped lead climate and ocean modeling projects. His work has included research on sea-level rise, coastal inundation, ocean processes, climate risk and Earth system modeling. He helped lead the laboratory's $5.8 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law research effort to develop datasets and models for sea-level-rise and coastal-inundation products. He also has contributed to next-generation climate and ocean models.

Krasting said he is taking on the role at a moment when climate science increasingly is being called upon to help people make practical decisions.

"We're in a phase where basic climate research has to become information people can use," he said. "What drew me to it is that ability to connect people with the data and information that they need, when they need it."

Krasting will inherit an office shaped by Robinson's long record of public service, scientific leadership and statewide climate communication.

Robinson, a Distinguished Professor in the Rutgers Department of Geography, became New Jersey state climatologist in 1991 and is the longest-serving state climatologist on record in the United States. In addition to his work in the state, Robinson is internationally known for his cryospheric research, particularly the role of snow cover in the climate system and its use as an indicator of climate variability and change.

As state climatologist, Robinson became one of New Jersey's most familiar public voices on storms, heat waves, drought, floods, snowfall and long-term climate trends. Over the years, he gave an estimated 10,000 media interviews. He also helped build the NJWxNet into one of the densest statewide weather networks in the country.

"Few scientists become part of the civic fabric of a state: Dave Robinson has done exactly that," Lawson said. "For more than three decades, he has helped New Jersey understand itself through its weather, its climate and its changing environment. His legacy is measured not only in publications, grants and weather stations, but in trust. Through the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network and his long service as State Climatologist, he helped build a foundation of climate knowledge that supports communities, public agencies, farmers, emergency managers, researchers and residents across the state."

Robinson said the office has always been about more than collecting data. Its purpose, he said, is to help people understand how weather and climate affect daily life and public decision-making.

"People have some level of knowledge, but they don't appreciate the full impact that weather and climate have on every aspect of society," Robinson said. "Everything, every aspect of our lives, has this underlying influence of weather. It doesn't often rise to the top, but it's there. Occasionally a Sandy comes along, or an Ida comes along, and bam, it's up to the top."

Retiring New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson, left, and incoming State Climatologist John Krasting stand beside weather-monitoring equipment. Both scientists emphasize turning weather and climate data into useful information for communities and decision-makers across New Jersey.

Krasting said he hopes to build on that work while expanding the office's role in areas where his research experience is especially relevant, including coastal flooding, sea-level rise, climate modeling and statewide climate services.

"I like to think I'll be able to bridge everything from the farmlands to the coast and to our urban environment and really think of climate in a very broad sense of how it affects the way people live and move around the state," Krasting said.

He said New Jersey faces both immediate and long-term climate challenges. In the near term, the state over the last two years has been experiencing a prolonged dry period, with recent months marked by below-average rainfall and growing concerns about water management. Over the longer term, coastal communities will continue to confront rising seas and more frequent flooding.

"Over the last century, New Jersey's sea levels have been rising at a rate about three times the global average," Krasting said. "Our land is naturally sinking from the last Ice Age, and at the same time, our ocean is expanding as it gets warmer."

He said the consequences already are visible.

"What once seemed like a distant forecast of rising oceans is already here," Krasting said. "What used to be a once-a-year high-tide flooding event in Atlantic City is now something that happens nearly every month."

Robinson has seen those changes unfold over decades. During his tenure, he said, New Jersey has become warmer, offshore waters have heated up and rain and snow increasingly arrive in bigger events.

"Underlying everything we've seen in my years as state climatologist has been the state getting warmer, undeniably getting warmer," Robinson said. "It's not like it's raining more often, but when it rains, it pours."

That long view is one reason Krasting said he is grateful for the program he is stepping into.

"What I find incredibly inspiring about Dave is that he really was the essence of the office for several decades," Krasting said. "I'm going to be inheriting a wonderful program that has developed over the years into one of the leading state climate offices in the nation."

Krasting brings an unusual mix of scientific and communication experience to the position. Before focusing fully on climate research, he worked as an on-air meteorologist for FOX Television Stations in New York and Philadelphia and was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Award. He said broadcast meteorology taught him how to communicate complex information clearly, quickly and under pressure.

"Broadcasting taught me to take something complex and boil it down to two and a half minutes with limited visuals, and convey it to the public under pressure," he said.

That ability may prove especially important as the state climate office translates technical climate information into practical guidance for decisions about crops, coastlines, classrooms and infrastructure.

Krasting said New Jersey needs a state climate office defined by "authenticity, authority and relatability." He said he wants the office to be accessible and visible across the state.

"Success in my tenure will be if every New Jerseyan feels that they can pick up the phone, call our office and get whatever information they need about our climate from our team," Krasting said. "We're not going to be hidden away behind a computer terminal. We want to be out talking with people across the state, working with community groups, and having a presence in our schools."

He said that outreach should include meeting people where they are and listening to how weather and climate are already shaping their daily decisions.

Robinson said the same public-service ethic has guided the state climate office for decades. The office provides data and expertise, he said, but its ultimate role is to help people act on reliable information.

"We provide information to help people make informed decisions," Robinson said. "We," he said with a smile, "do not make the decisions for them."

Krasting said he sees the office's next chapter as both urgent and hopeful. Climate change can feel overwhelming, he said, but the future is not fixed.

"What I see that's encouraging is that we still have choices that we can make as a society," Krasting said. "Our fate is not sealed."

His goal, he said, is to help people turn climate information into something useful, practical and shared.

"There are things we can do about it that everyone can be a part of," Krasting said.

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