Chris Field

Chris Field is the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University.

Prior to his 2016 appointment at the Stanford Woods Institute, Field was a staff member at the Carnegie Institution for Science (1984-2002) and founding director of the Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology (2002-2016).

Field's research focuses on climate change, especially solutions that improve lives now, decrease the amount of future warming, and support vibrant economies. Recent projects emphasize decreasing risks from coastal flooding and wildfires. He has been deeply involved with national and international-efforts to advance understanding of global ecology and climate change. Field was co-chair of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2008-2015), where he led the effort on “Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation” (2012), and “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability(2014). His widely cited work has earned many recognitions, including election to the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Max Planck Research Award, and the Roger Revelle Medal. Field is a member of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund (US) and the Board of Trustees of the California Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the Ecological Society of America.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford.

Academic Appointments

• Professor, Biology
• Professor, Earth System Science
• Professor, Biology
• Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy
• Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
• Perry L. McCarty Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Administrative Appointments

• Perry L. McCarty Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University (2016 - Present)
• Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Stanford University (2012 - Present)
• Professor, Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University (2008 - Present)
• Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University (2008 - Present)
• Professor, Department of Biology, Stanford University (2005 - Present)
• Faculty Director Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford University (2005 - 2016)
• Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution (2002 - 2016)
• Staff Scientist, Carnegie Institution of Washington (1984 - 2002)
• Assistant Professor, Biology, University of Utah (1981 - 1984)

Honors & Awards

• Japan Prize, Japan Prize Foundation (2022)
• Member, American Philosophical Society (2022)
• Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication, Climate One (2015)
• Roger Revelle Medal, American Geophysical Union (2014)
• BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, BBVA Foundation (2013)
• Max Planck Research Prize, Max Planck Society (2013)
• Fellow, Ecological Society of America (2012)
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009)
• Heinz Award, Heinz Group (2009)
• Member, US National Academy of Sciences (2001)
• ESA Aldo Leopold Fellow, ESA Aldo Leopold (2000)

Professional Education

• PhD, Stanford University, Biological Sciences (1981)
• AB, Harvard College, Biology (1975)