Dr. Caroline Normile served as the 2017–2018 American Meteorological Society Congressional Science Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, where she was responsible for a portfolio including environment, climate, and energy issues. During her fellowship year, Caroline developed and shepherded innovative environmental data and monitoring legislation and amendments with the aim of recruiting bipartisan support. This work included advancing national ocean data and monitoring programs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. She also tracked the devastating 2017 hurricane season and western wildfire year with the goal of informing policies to enhance public safety and environmental management.  

Caroline is an atmospheric scientist with expertise in land-atmosphere carbon exchange and greenhouse gas measurement and monitoring. As a NASA Earth and Space Science Graduate Fellow at Penn State University, she examined variability in uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide from vegetation across North America. Her analyses have incorporated surface measurements, atmospheric data, model simulations, and satellite retrievals. Caroline holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology from Penn State and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia. She also holds a B.A. in Environmental Thought and Practice, an interdisciplinary program at UVA that examines current environmental challenges through the lens of economics, politics, national security, energy, and public health. 

Caroline is motivated by emerging solutions for addressing a changing climate: carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture, carbon tax and dividends, offshore wind and wave energy, electric and autonomous transportation systems, efficient and resilient infrastructure, and energy storage. She remains committed to public service and enthusiastic about STEM education and outreach.