The ambition is for AU to move up in the world elite of climate modelling. This is the message from the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University, and with the appointment of Peter Langen from DMI , the department has moved one step closer to achieving this ambitious goal.

“Appointing Peter Langen is a scoop for Aarhus University. Having him onboard will have an enormous impact on our climate modelling, and one of his clear strengths is his vast knowledge about the climate and nature in the Arctic,” explains Carsten Suhr Jacobsen, head of department.

Peter Langen comes from a position at the respected Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), where, for the last three years, he was primarily head of climate research. Previously, he conducted climate and Arctic research at DMI and he has been a lecturer at the University of Copenhagen and Stockholm University. These were educational and exciting times, he says, but he is looking forward to new challenges at Aarhus University.

“I'm very much looking forward to getting started, because building climate models from scratch is an exciting challenge. I’ve been involved in climate research for twenty years, and I have a good network and plenty of ideas for strengthening research at the Department of Environmental Science, but I’m also looking forward to learning from my new colleagues,” says Peter Langen.

Taking the research a step up

The new professor will also be part of the interdisciplinary iClimate centre, which carries out multidisciplinary climate research activities. Among other things, Peter Langen will contribute research knowledge about the Arctic, about how conditions at lower latitudes affect the Arctic changes, and about how global climate change can manifest itself in Denmark.

Today, the Department of Environmental Science, located at Risø near Roskilde, is particularly well known for its atmosphere research, including research into air pollution. This strong position in atmosphere research will form the basis of the new climate modelling ambition headed by Peter Langen.

“Now, we’ll step up our research and add another layer to the atmosphere research area in which we’re already extremely strong. Peter Langen has a firm base in climate research and the Arctic, and his input, combined with our current knowledge, will take us to a new level. I believe that he can help put us on the world map of climate modelling, and that he’ll add to AU’s overall research strongholds within High Arctic climate issues,” says Carsten Suhr Jacobsen.

Peter Langen will take up his position on 1 June 2020. The date of the new professor's inaugural lecture has not yet been set due to Covid-19.

Professor Peter L. Langen

• Born in Kolding in 1978.
• Graduated with a master’s degree in geophysics from the University of Copenhagen in 2002. Subsequently completed a PhD from the same university in 2005 and continued as a postdoc until 2009.
• Visiting researcher and lecturer at Stockholm University in 2009-2010.
• Associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, Centre for Ice and Climate in 2011-2012.
• Climate researcher at the Climate and Arctic Research Section at DMI from 2012 and head of DMI’s climate research since 2017.
• Honorary associate professor of climate physics at the University of Copenhagen from 2014-2024.
• Lives in Brønshøj with his wife and three children.