The University of Utah College of Science has announced that Fielding Norton has been appointed to the role of Senior Fellow.

In this role, Norton will serve as a resource for the College’s faculty and staff, focusing on the intersection of climate science, technology, and insurance. He will help develop project-based learning opportunities for students in the College and identify ways to unlock the commercial potential and societal benefit of research & innovation across the College. Norton will also serve as an advisor to the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and serve on the College’s Energy & Environment Advisory Board.

Norton currently advises insurtech and climatech companies that use AI and other technologies to enable a profitable transition to a low-carbon economy. His career spans more than 35 years, first as a science and math educator in Kansas and Maine, then as recipient of teaching awards while earning a MS in applied physics and a PhD in earth & planetary sciences at Harvard University. Later, in the global reinsurance industry, he and his teams managed and priced the risk of extreme disasters including hurricanes, floods and wildfires. Among his recent leadership roles, Norton worked in Bermuda as chief enterprise risk officer of XL Group, a Fortune 100 global insurer and reinsurer.

“I am thrilled to join the College of Science as Senior Fellow,” said Norton. “The College and the Wilkes Center can play a pivotal role in creating common sense, pragmatic solutions to complex environmental, societal and economic problems. I look forward to working with Dean Trapa and the faculty and staff of the College to help Utah flourish and find opportunity in the environmental challenges we face.”

“Fielding Norton is a world-class innovator with deep roots in climate science and STEM education,” said Peter Trapa, dean of the College of Science. “I am eager to collaborate with Fielding to bring his wide-ranging expertise to our students across many disciplines.”

College of Science Senior Fellows represent a variety of industries and provide key insights and guidance to leadership and faculty. Fielding Norton joins Tim Hawkes, attorney and former Utah legislator, and Berton Earnshaw, AI Founding Fellow at the clinical-stage “techbio” company Recursion, as senior fellows.

By David Pace