AS ONE OF THE WORLDS BEST AND MOST ESTABLISHED MEETING FORMATS IN THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES THE GRC PROVIDES AN EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY TO ACCELERATE THE QUALITY AND FREQUENCY OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE ON CLIMATE ENGINEERING (CE). EXISTING DISCIPLINARY CONFERENCES ARE INADEQUATE FOR BUILDING THE NECESSARY CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS AND THE GRC FORMAT WITH EMPHASIS ON IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS IS IDEAL FOR PROMOTING THESE. TO START THE CE FIELD IS YOUNG WITH MANY UNANSWERED SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS. WHILE THERE IS OFTEN OVERLAP WITH EXISTING CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE TRULY DISTINCT WHEN CONSIDERING INTENTIONALLY INTRODUCING PERTURBATIONS INTO THE CLIMATE SYSTEM SUCH AS EXPLORING DIFFERENT AEROSOL COMPOSITIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON STRATOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND OZONE OR THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL CLIMATE OF PERSISTENT REGIONAL ALBEDO INCREASES TO NAME JUST A FEW. THESE TOPICS WILL BE DISCUSSED AT THE GRC. THIS FIELD IS ALSO FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM ESTABLISHED CLIMATE SCIENCE IN THAT THERE IS NO CE OUT-THERE TO BE DISCOVERED BUT RATHER A CHALLENGE TO DESIGN CE IN A WAY THAT BALANCES BENEFITS AND RISKS AGAIN MEANING THAT THERE IS NO EXISTING CONFERENCE THAT IS APPROPRIATE. BOTH BECAUSE OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF THE FIELD AND THE BREADTH OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT THIS BRAND NEW 2017 GRC ON CE WILL ATTRACT UP TO 200 ATTENDEES IN THE US AND ACROSS THE WORLD AND WE EXPECT THAT INTEREST WILL REMAIN VERY HIGH FOR THE LONG-TERM AS CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON. THIS MEETING WILL FOSTER TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS AND STRENGTHEN THE CE FIELD BY PROVIDING AN EXCELLENT VENUE FOR IN-DEPTH INTERACTIONS AMONG INVESTIGATORS. MOREOVER THE GRC WILL INCLUDE BOTH SCIENTISTS WITH A LONG TRACK RECORD WORKING ON CE AND SCIENTIFIC LEADERS WHO ARE INTERESTED (IN SOME CASES INTERESTED AND SKEPTICAL) BUT WHO HAVE NOT YET WORKED ON THE TOPIC. IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE YOUNG RESEARCHERS WHO ARE NEW TO CE. THE GRC WILL HAVE A GREAT IMPACT ON YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD ENABLING THEM TO ADVANCE THEIR WORK ON KEY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT AND ESTABLISH NEW COLLABORATIONS. FURTHERMORE THE GRC WILL ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE ON CE IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE 2014 NASA STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE OF EARTH AS A SYSTEM TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND TO IMPROVE LIFE ON OUR PLANET. CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING ISSUES FACING HUMANITY THIS CENTURY. TWO APPROACHES THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE CLIMATE RISKS BY MID-CENTURY ARE ADAPTATION AND SOME FORM OF CE THAT REDUCES INCOMING SOLAR SHORTWAVE RADIATION (OR INCREASES OUTGOING LONGWAVE). CE COULD ACT FAST BUT ALSO INVOLVES MANY RISKS FROM BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN FACTORS. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS REQUIRED BOTH TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS AND TO LEARN HOW TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES. THERE ARE SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER STRATOSPHERIC AEROSOLS CIRRUS THINNING OR MARINE CLOUD BRIGHTENING COULD BE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED. THE GRC WILL COVER THESE ISSUES. MOREOVER WHILE THE SUBJECT HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE CONTROVERSIAL THERE IS NOW BROAD SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS THAT RESEARCH INTO THE SUBJECT IS WARRANTED WITH THE US NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES RELEASING A REPORT IN 2015 CALLING FOR MORE RESEARCH. THE MOTIVATION COMES FROM A CLEAR AWARENESS THAT THERE WILL BE SERIOUS IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE REGARDLESS OF SOCIETY S EMISSION CHOICES AND THUS A TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE THOSE HARMS DESERVES ATTENTION. THIS CONSENSUS ON THE NEED FOR RESEARCH MAKES A CONFERENCE FOCUSED PURELY ON CE EXTREMELY TIMELY.