Christopher B. Field is founding director of the Carnegie Science Department of Global Ecology and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. His research focuses on climate change, and spans work to improve climate models, prospects for renewable energy systems, and community organizations that can minimize the risk of a tragedy of the commons. He was cochair of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2008–2015), where he led the effort on the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (2012) and the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report  on Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. His widely cited work has earned him honors such as election to the US National Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck Research Award, and the Roger Revelle Medal. He received his AB from Harvard University and his PhD from Stanford.