René Wijngaard currently works as a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC-funded DROP project, using the WRF (Weather Research & Forecasting) model to understand the drivers and origins of high-altitude precipitation at different scales in High Mountain Asia. He received his PhD degree in Physical Geography at Utrecht University in 2019, with a focus on cryospheric-hydrological impacts of climate change in mountainous river basins located in High Mountain Asia (upstream Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra) and the European Alps (Ötztal). After completing his PhD, he worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Irreversible Climate Change Research Center (IRCC; Yonsei University) in Seoul, South Korea (2020-2022) and at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU; 2022-2025). At the IRCC, René conducted research on the snow-monsoon relationship and started working with VR-CESM (Variable-Resolution Community Earth System Model) to investigate the capabilities of VR-CESM in simulating cryospheric-hydrological variables, such as glacier surface mass balance, over High Mountain Asia. At IMAU, René worked with VR-CESM to study present-day and future regional climate (extremes) in the Arctic and Antarctic. His research interests focus on the atmosphere and land surface, including its interactions.