Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC) Associate Professor Tim Canty has been appointed the Associate Director of Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), effective July 1, 2026.
Canty has been with the University of Maryland since 2007 and helped create the undergraduate program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. In 2019, he stepped down as the undergraduate director to become the Robert E. Menzer Director of the system-wide Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences Graduate Program (MEES). Canty’s professorial appointment in AOSC will continue through this new role.
“ESSIC is home to some of the world’s leading scientists conducting groundbreaking research. I’m hoping to build on these strengths by developing deeper connections across the state and region to ensure that the best science is accessible and actionable for our communities,” said Canty, “I’m excited to work with such talented colleagues while helping to address current environmental challenges and prepare for those that lie ahead.”
Canty will join ESSIC’s leadership team alongside Director Lars Peter Riishojgaard. ESSIC is a center established in 1999 through a cooperative agreement with the Earth Sciences Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to support research, teaching and career training in Earth system science. ESSIC also administers the Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS), a joint center with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service.
“Tim’s leadership at AOSC, MEES, and Hydronet, alongside his expertise in earth science, climate resilience, and policy-driven research, will be instrumental in advancing ESSIC’s mission,” said Riishojgaard, “His collaborative mindset and innovative perspective will strengthen the Center’s partnerships and drive impactful work across Maryland.”
Canty’s primary research focuses on air quality science and policy, stratospheric ozone, and climate change. Since 2010, he has led the air quality policy modeling efforts at UMD in partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment. His team uses observations from satellites, balloons, aircraft and ground based instruments to test our understanding of atmospheric composition represented in photochemical models. This information is used by policy makers to ensure that the best available science informs the development of air quality regulations. Canty is also a faculty fellow at the Robert H. Smith School of Business Enterprise Risk Consortium, where he has created a new executive education program and a graduate program in climate finance risk.
Canty is a co-investigator of the Climate Resilience Network, a UMD Grand Challenges-funded project that unifies the expertise of UMD’s scientists with the immediate requirements of Maryland’s decision-makers to address the complexities of climate change. Canty leads the UMD Hydronet, a water sensor network that collects high-frequency data on water levels to support forecasting, climate research, and community resilience throughout Maryland.
Before joining UMD, Canty was a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and a lecturer in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UCLA. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Caltech and NASA JPL.
Canty succeeds Ralph Ferraro, who joined ESSIC’s leadership as Associate Director in 2021 and served as Interim Director from December 2023 to December 2024. Ferraro retired in 2025.
