Michael Oppenheimer, director of the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School, and Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and was awarded the Heinz Award from Teresa Heinz and the Heinz Family Foundation.

Oppenheimer is being honored for his leadership in assessing human-caused alterations to the atmosphere and congruently promoting policies to prevent future harm.

The Heinz Foundation describes Oppenheimer as “one of the most trusted experts on global warming in the country.”

Oppenheimer is a long-time participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, serving most recently as a lead author of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. He is currently a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Panel on Alternative Liquid Transportation Fuels. He is also a science advisor to Environmental Defense.

Oppenheimer joined the Princeton faculty in 2002 after more than two decades with Environmental Defense, a non-governmental environmental organization, where he served as chief scientist and manager of the Climate and Air Program. In addition to authoring over 100 peer-reviewed publications and serving as editor-in-chief of Climatic Change Letters, Dr. Oppenheimer is often called upon for his commentary on the science and policy of climate change. He has been one of the leading voices to bridge the technical and public policy divide in both scientific and lay circles.

“Grappling with the acid rain, ozone depletion and global warming problems has meant dealing with issues of successively larger scales and greater scientific, technological and socioeconomic and political complexity,” Oppenheimer told the Heinz Foundation. “Yet if we learn some of the lessons from our previous successful experiences with acid rain and ozone depletion, calamitous levels of global warming can still be averted.”

The Heinz Awards annually honor the late U.S. Senator John Heinz’s long-standing commitment to the environment. This year’s awards, totaling $1 million, recognize individuals who are addressing global change caused by the impact of human activities and natural processes on the environment. According to the Heinz Foundation, “Dr. Oppenheimer has played an invaluable, ongoing role in the pursuit to address global climate change through his ability to communicate complex technical issues to non-scientists and educate policymakers on the state of climate change and the gravity of its implications.”

For more information about the Heinz awards, please visit www.heinzawards.net