Speaker: Mariah Pope (Tomorrow.io)
Topic: Weather, AI, and Industry: Data Science at Tomorrow.io

Overview of the Tomorrow.io's work and what it is like to operate in the private sector studying weather and/or climate science. The talk will begin with an introduction to Tomorrow.io, a company working to improve weather forecasting through three integrated components: space-based observations from a constellation of satellites, AI-driven weather forecasting, and decision-focused delivery to customers. Next, the talk will provide context on the current state of weather prediction and how the "AI weather revolution" is reshaping the field. We will discuss how machine learning models are increasingly complementing, and in some cases challenging, traditional numerical weather prediction, and will share examples illustrating how AI-enabled approaches are improving forecast speed, scalability, and accessibility. We will also explore how these same developments are influencing climate modeling and climate-risk applications. Finally, Mariah will reflect on working at the public–private interface on weather and climate questions. This will include a discussion of her role at Tomorrow.io and how interdisciplinary teams spanning atmospheric science, engineering, machine learning, and operations within the private sector, government, and academia can collaborate to build and deploy forecasting systems in a rapidly evolving landscape.