University of Southern California (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.)
Awards
Petr Beckmann Award (2004)
Scientific career
Fields
Earth science, solar physics
Institutions
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Thesis
Non-equilibrium kinetics in high-temperature gases(1991)
Doctoral advisor
Joseph Kunc
Willie Wei-Hock Soon (born September 30, 1965)[1] is a Malaysian astrophysicist[2] and aerospace engineer[3] who was long employed as a part-time externally funded researcher at the Solar and Stellar Physics (SSP) Division of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.[4][5]
Soon is an anthropogenic climate change denier,[4][6] disputing the scientific understanding of climate change, and contends that most global warming is caused by solar variation rather than by human activity.[7][8] He co-wrote a paper whose methodology was widely criticised by the scientific community.[9] Climate scientists such as Gavin Schmidt of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies have refuted Soon's arguments, and the Smithsonian does not support his conclusions. He is nonetheless frequently cited by politicians opposed to climate-change legislation.[4][6]
Soon co-authored The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun–Earth Connection with Steven H. Yaskell. The book treats historical and proxy records of climate change coinciding with the Maunder Minimum, a period from 1645 to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare.[10]
From 2005 to 2015, Soon had received over $1.2 million from the fossil fuel industry, while failing to disclose that conflict of interest in most of his work.[11] Of this industry funding, over half went on the Smithsonian's facility operating costs, with the remainder going to Soon as his salary.[12]
^"Sunny Occupation". The Star. April 18, 2005. Archived from the original on April 18, 2005.
^"Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Sciences | Smithsonian Fellowships and Internships". www.smithsonianofi.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
^"A Willie Soon Reader". NRDC. December 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
^ abcGillis, Justin; Schwartz, John (February 21, 2015). "Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher". The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
^David Malakoff (June 10, 2015). "Journals investigate climate skeptic author's ties to fossil fuel firm as new allegations arise". Science. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^ abGoldenberg, Suzanne (February 21, 2015). "Work of prominent climate change denier was funded by energy industry". The Guardian.
^"Testimony of Dr. Willie Soon". United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. July 29, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
^Baum, Eric W. (April 14, 2009). "Sunspots May Cause Climate Fluctuations: Harvard astrophysicist says recent cooler temps are a result of fewer sunspots". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
^Cite error: The named reference storm brews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Soon, Willie Wei-Hock; Yaskell, Steven H. (2003). The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun-Earth Connection. World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 978-981-238-275-7.
^Justin Gillis and John Schwartz (February 21, 2015). "Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference Basken 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Willie Wei-Hock Soon (born September 30, 1965) is a Malaysian astrophysicist and aerospace engineer who was long employed as a part-time externally funded...
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