This week, Prof. Pao-Kuan Wang (Academia Sinica) joins Dr. Philip Gooding (IOWC, McGill) to discuss the Reconstructed East Asian Climate Historical Encoded Series (REACHES) database, a staggering initiative that, under Prof. Wang’s directorship, standardizes and makes available climate data based on historical records spanning Ming and Qing China. Their conversation covers the long history of Prof. Wang’s research in historical climatology, the creation of the REACHES database, and its value as a research tool for both scientists and humanists.

After a long career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he still holds an Emeritus professorship, Prof. Wang was elected a Fellow of Academia Sinica in 2013 and is currently also a Visiting Distinguished Chair in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at National Cheng Kung University.

Links:

Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata2018288

Website: https://academicians.sinica.edu.tw/index.php?r=academician-n%2Fshow&id=713&_lang=en

The Indian Ocean World Podcast is hosted by Dr. Philip Gooding, produced by Sam Gleave Riemann, and published under the SSHRC-funded Partnership “Appraising Risk, Past and Present.”