Lonnie G. Thompson is a trailblazer in climate science whose life's work has revealed the story of Earth's changing climate locked inside ancient ice. Over the last 50 years, he has led 68 expeditions to some of the most extreme environments on Earth — from the Andes and Himalayas to Mount Kilimanjaro — retrieving ice cores from glaciers in over 16 countries.

As a pioneer in paleoclimatology and glaciology, Lonnie was the first to develop lightweight, solar-powered drilling systems capable of operating at high altitudes. These innovations allowed him and his team to extract climate records from remote tropical glaciers once thought unreachable. His findings, published in more than 280 scientific articles, have fundamentally reshaped our understanding of Earth’s climate history and provided undeniable evidence of human-induced climate change.

Lonnie’s extraordinary contributions have been recognized with some of the highest honors in science, including the U.S. National Medal of Science, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He is also a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2022, Lonnie and his wife and long-time collaborator, Dr. Ellen Mosley-Thompson, were awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change for their pioneering research on disappearing mountain glaciers.

In 2023, Lonnie’s story was brought to the screen in the acclaimed documentary Canary. The film chronicles his career, scientific breakthroughs, and personal health struggles, weaving a powerful narrative about perseverance, discovery, and the urgent need for climate action. Canary serves as both a portrait of a remarkable life in science and a call to the next generation to rise to the global climate challenge.

In 2024, Lonnie was elected a National Fellow of The Explorers Club — a fitting tribute to a scientist who has spent his life exploring the frontiers of our planet to safeguard its future.