Mika Tosca

Dr. Tosca is a climate scientist, a humanist, an activist. She is an Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an affiliate climate researcher at JPL (the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in southern California.

Her current research and public outreach explores the the synthesis of art and climate science and posits that engaging with artists, designers, and makers is instrumental to solving the climate crisis. Mika is an out and proud transgender scientist (she/her pronouns) and a vocal advocate for the queer and trans communities in Chicago and beyond.

Dr. Tosca earned her Ph.D. in Earth System Science at University of California, Irvine, in the Earth System Science Department, where she was advised by Dr. Jim Randerson and Dr. Charlie Zender. Her doctoral thesis was titled: "Fire and Smoke in the Earth System: Evaluating the impact of fire aerosols on regional and global climate"