Financial Risks, Science Solutions 

The business sector is subject to risk from many angles and today's business analysts are increasingly challenged to focus on the severe risks posed by Earth itself.  Catastrophic earthquakes and hurricanes are linked to insurance losses and disruptions in retail supply chains. Periods of hot or cold weather lead to dramatic swings in energy prices as well affecting consumer behavior. Floods and drought lead to swings in food and beverage prices that link all the way to supermarket shelves.  Climate change initiatives are forming the basis for a new economy and shifting weather patterns driven by the changing climate are affecting the very datasets that underpin the linkages between weather and business. 

Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has been studying the hazards that underlie these financial risk for over a century.  Scripps is, in fact, one of the world’s oldest, largest and preeminent centers for ocean, earth, and atmospheric research.

While Scripps science has always been in the public realm, today’s business landscape makes it crucial to formalize a link between research and industry. Certain financial risks call for science solutions and Scripps Oceanography is leading the way bridging science and business…

Business Development at Scripps

The Scripps Office of Business Development uses an entrepreneurial approach to connect earth, ocean, atmospheric, and climate science to corporate risk management, business product development, and investment portfolios.  There are three primary initiatives:

• Executive education, focused on the link from earth sciences to business (including weather, climate, natural hazards and biological applications).
  
• Research partnerships, including the Scripps Partnership for Hazards and Environmental Applied Research (SPHEAR).
• Scripps innovation, invention, and new venture creation.

Learn More

Contact Wendy Hunter Barker, Scripps Director of Institutional Initiatives, at whbarker@ucsd.edu.