Daniela Schmidt

Daniela N. Schmidt is a German earth scientist and professor at the University of Bristol. Her research investigates the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. She is the lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability for Europe.

Early life and education
Schmidt completed her undergraduate training at the University of Bremen, where she specialised in geology and palaeontology. During her degree she took part in a RV Polarstern mission to the Bellingshausen Sea. She earned her PhD at ETH Zurich where she studied the macroecology of planktic foraminifers. Her thesis was awarded the ETH Zurich Medal, and Schmidt was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship.

Research and career
After earning her doctorate in 2002 she moved to Royal Holloway, University of London as a German Research Foundation Fellow. Schmidt started her independent scientific career as a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Bristol in 2006.

Schmidt was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellowship in 2015. Her research investigates the causes and impacts of increased carbon dioxide on marine ecosystems. Anthropological carbon dioxide emissions impact the ocean in many ways, resulting in processes such as ocean acidification and warming. Damage to the ocean directly and indirectly impacts the environment, and ecosystem shifts can present considerable challenges to surrounding communities. Schmidt has investigated various ocean ecosystems, with a focus on bivalves, bryozoans and formanifers.

In general, her research combines understanding climate events with modern activity to understand and assess risk. She was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

Awards and honours

 * Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB)
 * 2015 Elected to AcademiaNet
 * 2016 Elected to the Young Academy of Europe