Peter M. Caldwell

Portrait of Peter M. Caldwell
Send Email Download Image
  • Title
    Staff Scientist
  • Email
    caldwell19@llnl.gov
  • Phone
    (925) 422-4197
  • Organization
    PLS-AEED-ATMOSPHERIC, EARTH, ENERGY

Professional Experience

Peter Caldwell leads the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) project for the Department of Energy. He has an extensive background in Earth system modeling with particular emphasis on cloud physics, data science, numerical analysis, and high-performance computing. Peter came to Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) in 2007 as a postdoc working for Dave Bader on regional atmospheric modeling. Before that, he worked on his PhD at the University of Washington (UW) under the tutelage of Christopher S. Bretherton. While at UW, Peter used observations and simple models to understand the physical processes underlying stratocumulus response to warming. Peter is originally trained as a mathematician, with BS and MS degrees in the topic from Western Washington University. 

Professional Employment

Sept 2007–Sept 2009: Postdoctoral Researcher, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

Sept 2009–present: Staff Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

Leadership Positions

  • Leader of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (2025-present).
  • Leader of the Simple Cloud-Resolving E3SM Atmosphere Model (2018-2025).
  • Member of NVIDIA's Physics ML for Climate Science Advisory Council and AI2 External Review Committee (2024-present).
  • Member of the CESM Advisory Board (2025-present).
  • Associate Editor, Geophysical Model Development (2023-present).
  • LLNL Climate Modeling Group leader (2022-2024).
  • Atmosphere Model Working Group Co-Chair for Community Earth System Model (2015–2021).
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Advances in Earth Systems (2017–2021).
  • Deputy Group Leader for LLNL's Cloud Processes Research team (2014–2022).
  • Co-leader for atmospheric model development, ACME/E3SM project (2014–2015).
  • Co-leader for coupled model development, ACME/E3SM project (2014–2015).

Ph.D. Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, 2007

M.S. Mathematics, Western Washington University, 2001

B.S. Mathematics, Western Washington University, 1999

Google Scholar Page