Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, an economist who studies the impact of climate change on agriculture, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board.

Ortiz-Bobea is a member of the faculty at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. His research focuses on climate change impacts and adaptation, agricultural economics, environmental and resource economics and applied econometrics.

Ortiz-Bobea will be one of 15 newly appointed or reappointed members of the board. Each represents a specific category of U.S. agricultural stakeholders. Ortiz-Bobea will represent Cornell University and all other 1862 land-grant colleges and universities within the board’s Agricultural Research, Extension and Education stakeholder category.

"NAREEE Board members play an important advisory role for USDA's science agencies as they shape and advance the large-scale, collaborative research initiatives needed to address tough challenges that our nation's farmers, ranchers and consumers face. They provide critical input and connection to the most urgent research needs across the United States," said Shefali Mehta, Deputy Under Secretary for USDA's Research, Education and Economics (REE) mission area.

“U.S. and global agriculture face no greater environmental threat than climate change,” Ortiz-Bobea said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the critical work of NAREEE and the USDA in deepening understanding of the challenge and pursuing solutions.”

“Through his research and his work with students, Ariel is already making a profound impact and this appointment means many more people in the U.S. and around the world will benefit from his insight and expertise,” said Colleen Barry, Inaugural Dean of the Brooks School of Public Policy.

“We are all honored by Ariel’s nomination and selection and eager to follow the progress of the USDA and NAREEE in addressing the most important challenge the world faces,” said Jinhua Zhao, the David J. Nolan Dean of the Dyson School.

Ortiz-Bobea earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from University of Paris-Saclay and Syracuse University and a PhD from University of Maryland. He has published numerous articles about the relationship between climate change and agricultural productivity. He is a Fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and teaches classes in Environmental and Resource Economics and Empirical Methods for Applied Economists.