Dr. Donald Wuebbles

Donald J. Wuebbles is the Harry E. Preble Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Illinois. He is also a Presidential Fellow at the University of Illinois. From 2015 to early 2017, Dr. Wuebbles was Assistant Director with the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the Executive Office of the President in Washington DC, where he was the White House expert on climate science. He was Head of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois from 1994 to 2006. He led the development of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment, and was its first director. He also led the development of two undergraduate programs, in Atmospheric Sciences, and in Earth, Society and Environmental Sustainability (ESES).

Dr. Wuebbles is an expert in atmospheric physics and chemistry, with over 500 scientific publications related to the Earth’s climate, air quality, and the stratospheric ozone layer. He also provides analyses and development of metrics used in national and international policy and develops analyses for understanding climate impacts on society and ecosystems, plus potential resilience and societal responses. He has co-authored a number of international and national scientific assessments, including several international climate assessments led by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that resulted in IPCC being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He was a leader in both the 2013 IPCC international assessment of climate science and he co-led the first volume of the 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment published in November 2017 as required by Congress. Dr. Wuebbles has received several major awards, including the Cleveland Abbe Award from the American Meteorological Society, the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is a Fellow of three major professional science societies, AAAS, AMS, and AGU. He will receive the 2018 Bert Bolin Award from AGU.