Mathematics and Statistics

Dr May Chim

Dr May Chim (she/her)


Mathematics and Statistics

Dr. May Chim is an Earth scientist specialising in climate modelling, climate-volcano interactions, and atmospheric chemistry. She is a Croucher Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics hosted in Prof. Jim Haywood's group.

 

Before pursuing her PhD, she gained experience in environmental policy and governance through roles at organisations including the United Nations Environment Programme, the Hong Kong Observatory, and the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge with Prof. Anja Schmidt, Prof. Thomas Aubry, and Prof. Nathan Luke Abraham prior to joining Exeter.

 

Her research focuses on understanding the climate effects of volcanic sulfate aerosols and exploring the complex interactions between climate and volcanoes. She uses state-of-the-art Earth System Model (UKESM) to investigate climate-volcano feedbacks under global warming, including their effects on climate extremes, crop production and global food security, linking climate perturbations to real-world societal risks.

 

Selected Publications

  1. Chim, M. M.*, Stiller, D.*, Ziegler, E.*, Aubry, T. J., Boissel, L., Guillet, S., Rodgers, B., Toohey, M., Pohl, C., & Rozanov, A. Stratospheric aerosol forcing for CMIP7 (part 3): Comparison with CMIP6 and evaluations using observations, egusphere, submitted. (*co-first authors)

  2. Chim, M. M., Abraham, N. L., Aubry, T. J., Johnson, B., Garny, H., Solomon, S., & Schmidt, A. (2026). Future volcanic eruptions may delay the recovery of lower stratospheric ozone over Antarctica and Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 26, 6781–6797.

  3. Chim, M. M., Aubry, T. J., Smith, C., & Schmidt, A. (2025). Neglecting future sporadic volcanic eruptions underestimates climate uncertainty. Communications Earth and Environment, 6, 236.

  4. Chim, M. M., Aubry, T. J., Abraham, N. L., Marshall, L., Mulcahy, J., Walton, J., and Schmidt, A. (2023).
    Climate projections very likely underestimate future volcanic forcing and its climatic effects. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(12), e2023GL103743. (see Press release, selected as AGU Eos Research Spotlight).

  5. UNEP (2019). Waste-to-Energy: Considerations for Informed Decision-Making. ISBN: 978-92-807-3754-7.
    Lead author: Chim, M. M. (see Press release)

 

Selected Awards

  • Fellowships and Scholarships:

- Croucher Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2025

- Joseph Needham Merit Scholarship, 2023

- Croucher Cambridge International Scholarship, 2021

  • Presentation Awards:

- Early Career Researcher Poster Presentation Award, CMIP Community Workshop, 2026

- STEM for Britain, Finalist, UK-wide early career scientist research poster competition, 2023

- AGU Outstanding Student Presentation Award (Oral), 2023

- Bob Hunter Prize, Honourable Mentions (best student oral presentation), Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group, Geological Society of London, 2023

- AGU Outstanding Student Presentation Award (Poster), 2021

  • Other Recognition

- Top-viewed paper of 2023 in Geophysical Research Letters

 

Academic Services

- CMIP Community Workshop 2026, "CMIP7 Frontiers: Forcings, Datasets and Model Responses"

- CMIP Community Workshop 2026, "Carbon Cycle, Fire, and Earth System Dynamics"

- IAVCEI General Assembly 2025, "Volcanic Impacts to Climate and Societies"

- IAVCEI General Assembly 2023, "Interactions between Volcanic Eruptions and Climate"

  • Peer Reviewer: Nature Geoscience, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Geoscientific Model Development, PLOS Climate, Volcanica, and the United Nations Environment Programme

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