James Renwick is a weather and climate researcher. He is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University, specialising in large-scale climate variations. He was awarded the 2018 New Zealand Prime Minister's Science Prize for Communication by the Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern.
 
James is fascinated by the general circulation of the atmosphere – how the atmosphere transports energy and momentum and what it does to achieve this. In particular, he is interested in how heating in the tropics is communicated to higher latitudes by the excitation of large-scale waves and how this affects the storm tracks and jet streams. In recent years, he has developed an interest in the Antarctic climate, especially the growth and decay of Antarctic sea ice. How does the atmospheric circulation (the wind) affect sea ice extent? How this can be tied back to tropical influences? He is also involved with climate prediction work, from months to centuries.