Climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan, who first discovered in the 1970s the climate-altering impacts of certain carbon chemicals in the atmosphere and who has been a driving force to enact policies to curb global warming for four decades, is joining Cornell’s Department of Global Development.

Ramanathan, known as “Ram”, will serve as adjunct professor of global development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) where he will develop innovative climate education/literacy programs and work to advance Cornell’s 2030 Project. The university-wide climate initiative will launch in 2022 to harness the collaborative scholarship, science, innovation and entrepreneurialism of a world-class research university to develop and scale tangible climate solutions.

“Ram’s ground-breaking discoveries on atmospheric physics and its interactions with chemistry shaped the fundamental science of climate change, and his leadership in climate change solutions and climate education for all is beyond reproach,” said Benjamin Z. Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of CALS. “We are absolutely thrilled to have him join Global Development and our teams of researchers confronting this existential challenge.”

Read more in the CALS Newsroom.