Mika Tosca
Scientist Mika Tosca standing with hands in pockets.
Born1985 or 1986 (age 37–38)
OccupationClimate scientist
Academic background
Education
  • University of Connecticut (BS)
  • University of California at Irvine (MS, PhD)
Academic advisorsJames Randerson (UCI), Charles Zender (UCI), David Diner (JPL)
Academic work
DisciplineEarth System Science, Climate Science
Institutions

Mika Tosca (born 1985 or 1986)[1] is a climate scientist. Her research concerns ways in which art and design can impact communication about climate science to more effectively address climate change.[1] Tosca also contributes to science communication, including through science-art initiatives, and she is an advocate for Trans people in STEM, academia, and the media.

Education

In 2006, Tosca earned a BS in Mathematics-Statistics from the University of Connecticut.[2][3] In 2008, she received the NASA Earth and Space Graduate Fellowship (NESSF).[4][5] While completing the fellowship, Tosca earned an MS in Earth System Science from the University of California at Irvine (UCI).[2] She then completed a PhD in Earth System Science at UCI with Charlie Zender and James Randerson in 2012.[2] The fellowship funded the research that Tosca pursued during her MS and PhD programs. NASA also funded Tosca's postdoctoral research.[6]

Career and research

During her PhD program, Tosca researched how the climate system is interconnected with landscape wildfires, and studied aerosol emissions using Earth system models.[6] As a postdoctoral scholar, she continued this work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a NASA-affiliated research lab, working with David Diner.[6][7][8] At NASA, she researched how climate, the clouds, and wildfires interact, using satellite sensors.[6] Her research with NASA took her to Namibia, South Africa, in 2016, where she observed the relationship between wildfire smoke and cloud formation as part of the NASA ORACLES field campaign.[6]

In 2017, Tosca joined the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) as an assistant professor.[6][7] A 2019 PBS profile of Tosca describes how after six years at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she left for the teaching position at SAIC, after becoming "convinced that artists could help scientists better communicate to the public the seriousness of the climate change threat the world is facing."[9] A 2019 Medill Reports report on Tosca describes her concern that scientists are often not creating knowledge for the general public, and her belief that artists and scientists can work together to improve science communication.[10] At SAIC, she researched the connection between art and science, working with artists and designers to investigate the effectiveness of science communication and contemporary climate science questions.[6] As of January 2024, Tosca was no longer employed by SAIC.[11]

Science communication and outreach

Tosca advocates for increased public awareness of climate change.[12][13] In 2017, she spoke with Inman News about the impact of climate change on the real estate industry and what individuals can do to help.[14] In 2019, she spoke with AGU TV (American Geophysical Union) about the environmental effects of wildfire emissions.[15]

In addition, she advocates for how the intersection between contemporary queer, feminist, and environmental issues is related to advocacy about the climate crisis. A profile of Tosca in the University of Bristol's independent student newspaper Epigram describes Tosca identifying an "interesting parallel" when she writes, 'Fifty years ago ... queer folks began a revolution that demanded we be respected as equals – both in life and in law – and that revolution has resulted in enormous progress for LGBT+ people everywhere' and when Tosca then advocates that there is now 'another opportunity for us to be truly revolutionary.'[16] The Windy City Times quoted Tosca discussing "important parallels between the existential crisis facing the planet and the existential crisis that confronts many transgender folks as we begin to reckon with and acknowledge our own gender."[17]

In 2021, Tosca was named as one of the Grist 50, for her work to promote collaboration between scientists and artists.[18][19]

Advocacy for trans people

When the issue arose in the science community as to how science journals would respond to researchers who had transitioned their gender and changed their name, Cell's editor in chief John Pham contacted Tosca for her opinion, even though she has not been impacted by the issue due to pre-transition publications only using her initials, which match her current initials; Tosca told The Scientist, "The biggest thing that [journals can] do with respect to trans people is to allow them to change their names without a cumbersome process."[20]

Tosca has appeared in the media as an advocate for trans issues. In 2018, after more than 1,600 scientists signed an open letter[21] opposing Trump administration plans for a legal definition of gender,[22] Tosca spoke with Buzzfeed News, stating, "As a trans woman and as a scientist, it’s inherently an attack on my humanity, my ability to exist in the world, and to safely navigate certain spaces," and "It was really important that we gather as many scientists as we could to say that so scientists ourselves were not complicit in promoting this wholly flawed nonscientific effort."[23] In 2019, she spoke with The Chicago Tribune about a United States Supreme Court decision narrowly upholding a Trump administration policy on transgender people in the military, and stated that "it’s important that trans folks be able to participate as full citizens."[24]

Selected works

In 2017, Tosca's work with the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) was featured by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[25]

Personal life

Tosca told the Chicago Reader in 2018 that the movie Ferngully influenced her decision to become a climate/environmental scientist, stating, "The protagonist is a female fairy and even though I was assigned male at birth, I always imagined myself as her—fighting corporations and being a badass chick."[26]

References

  1. 1 2 Navarro, Adriana (May 23, 2022). "Climate scientist pinpoints what exactly is lacking in the scientific method". Accuweather. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mika Tosca Associate Professor". www.saic.edu. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ University of Connecticut. "Commencement Programs: 2006 May 6-7". UConn Library.
  4. ↑ NASA (2008). "NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program - 2008" (PDF). NESSF. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ MSFC, Heather Deiss. "NASA - Graduate Student Fellowships in Earth Systems Science". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Science Adviser Profile: Mika Tosca". Eos. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Chicago Tonight | Climate Scientist Swaps NASA for School of the Art Institute | Season 2019, retrieved December 18, 2020
  8. ↑ "Can Poor Air Quality Mask Global Warming's Effects?". NASA/JPL. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ Caine, Paul (July 9, 2019). "Climate Scientist Swaps NASA for School of the Art Institute". WTTW PBS. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  10. ↑ Snabes, Anne (December 21, 2019). "Art can be part of the scientific process, a climate scientist says". Medill Reports. Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ Harpaz, Beth (January 4, 2024). "Israeli student sues School of Art Institute of Chicago, saying professor targeted her with anti-Israel images". The Forward. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  12. ↑ Economist Impact (March 7, 2023). "Celebrating women in sustainability: 5 women working to change the world". The Economist. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  13. ↑ Bolinger, Becky; Jeromin, Kerrin (March 8, 2021). "Perspective | On International Women's Day, these atmospheric scientists inspire us". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ Franzen, Carl (October 19, 2017). "Climate change will plunge the real estate industry into chaos". Inman News. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  15. ↑ AGU TV 2019 (2019). "Interview with Mika Tosca". AGU TV. Retrieved December 24, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Wong, Carissa (February 17, 2020). "Climate science meets art". Epigram. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ Maxwell, Carrie (February 23, 2020). "Trans scientist kicks off TGNC-affirming symposium". Windy City Times. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Meet 5 artists who will change the way you see the climate crisis". Grist. April 12, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Grist 50 2021". Grist. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ Yasinski, Emma (July 14, 2020). "Publishers Develop Inclusive Name-Change Policies". The Scientist. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people #WontBeErased by pseudoscience". Not-Binary.org. October 26, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  22. ↑ Green, Erica L.; Benner, Katie; Pear, Robert (October 21, 2018). "'Transgender' Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  23. ↑ Ghorayshi, Azeen (November 1, 2018). "1,600 Scientists Just Signed A Letter Opposing A Legal Definition Of A Gender Binary". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  24. ↑ Hawbaker, K. T. (January 22, 2019). "Members of Chicago's trans community have 'complicated' reactions to Supreme Court's revival of military ban". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  25. ↑ "MISR Watches Motion of the Moon's Shadow During Total Solar Eclipse". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. September 19, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  26. ↑ Hawbaker, KT (June 15, 2018). "What were you watching, reading, or listening to when you first came out?". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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