van ypersele received a phd in physics from uclouvain in 1986 (with highest honours), with his dissertation on his work done at the united states national center for atmospheric research (ncar) on the effect of global warming on antarctic sea ice. the choice for the national center for atmospheric research was related to its large available technological means for atmospheric science research. at the ncar he worked with climatologist stephen schneider. promoters of his phd were professors andré berger (uclouvain) and albert semtner (national center for atmospheric research and naval postgraduate school in the united states of america), one of the developers of the modular ocean model.