Michael Oppenheimer is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University. Prior to joining Princeton he was Chief Scientist with Environmental Defense Fund, where he managed the Climate and Air Program.

Prior to his position at the Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Oppenheimer served as Atomic and Molecular Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Lecturer on Astronomy at Harvard University. He received an S.B. in chemistry from M.I.T., a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of Chicago, and pursued post-doctoral research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Among Oppenheimer’s other current professional positions are a multi-year appointment as Visiting Professor at NYU School of Law and as a Science Advisor to the Environmental Defense Fund. Broadly speaking, Oppenheimer’s research interests focus on the science of Earth’s atmosphere and public policy governing it, particularly with respect to climate change and its impacts. Much of his research aims to understand the potential for "dangerous" outcomes of increasing levels of greenhouse gases by exploring the effects of global warming on ecosystems such as coral reefs, on the ice sheets, on sea level, and on patterns of human migration.

He also studies the role of scientific uncertainty, scientific learning, and the scientific assessment process in decisions on problems of the global environment. His research on policy initiatives includes analyses of emissions trading, and implications of alternative carbon and climate management strategies including bio-fuels, carbon capture and storage, and geo-engineering. Oppenheimer is a long-time participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, serving as a Lead Author on the Third and Fourth Assessment reports.

He is currently a Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC special report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Adaptation. Oppenheimer currently serves on the board of Climate Central. Oppenheimer has authored more than 100 articles published in professional journals and is co-author (with Robert H.

Boyle) of a 1990 book, Dead Heat: The Race Against The Greenhouse Effect. During 2009, he became Editor-in-Chief of a new journal section, Climatic Change Letters.

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