Weathering Crisis: Revisiting James Madison’s Contributions to Climate and Citizen Science – A Conversation with Marcia McNutt

Join the American Philosophical Society for a conversation with acclaimed geophysicist and current National Academy of Sciences President, Marcia McNutt. Reflecting on her own experiences and research within the geophysical and Earth sciences, as well as her role as a scientific leader, adviser, and popularizer, McNutt will discuss the 18th-century meteorological records kept by James Madison and their implications for contemporary approaches to climate and citizen science.

From the observations of weather conditions and crop cycles taken at his Montpelier plantation to his support of Thomas Jefferson's efforts to track and document the damage caused by the wheat-destroying Hessian fly, Madison left careful records that speak to the potential and limits of collective scientific work. This program will consider the opportunities and challenges of so-called “citizen science”–both in the 18th century and today–and will offer some strategies for how to mobilize scientific networks in times of crisis.