Duke University has selected atmospheric chemist William L. Chameides, chief scientist for Environmental Defense and Regents' Professor Emeritus at Georgia Institute of Technology, as the new dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Provost Peter Lange announced Wednesday.
Chameides, 57, will succeed William H. Schlesinger, who stepped down on June 1 after six years as dean to become president and director of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y.
Chameides' appointment, which becomes effective Sept. 1, followed an international search involving more than 100 candidates. The search advisory committee was chaired by M. Susan Lozier, professor of physical oceanography and chair of the Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences in the Nicholas School.
"Bill Chameides is a creative, visionary leader who is widely respected in the academic and non-academic environmental communities, both as a research scientist and for his ability to bring people together around complicated environmental issues," said Lange, the university's chief academic officer. "President (Richard H.) Brodhead and I believe Bill has the global perspective, the scientific insight, and the administrative and communications experience needed to build upon the Nicholas School's nationally recognized excellence in research and in training scientists and policymakers."
Chameides joined Environmental Defense, a national environmental nonprofit organization, in 2005 as chief scientist after spending more than three decades in academia. As chief scientist, he advises Environmental Defense on scientific issues, oversees its research programs and acts as its chief communicator for explaining science to nonscientific audiences.
As a researcher, Chameides focuses on chemical, physical and biological processes that interact to shape the environment, thereby helping to identify possible pathways toward a sustainable future.
Chameides is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, from which he received the Macelwane Award for "significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding young scientist." He was named a National Associate of the National Academies "in recognition of extraordinary service."
"I have had the privilege to work for Environmental Defense, a truly exceptional organization advocating for the environment," Chameides said. "I now have the honor of being chosen to lead one the nation's leading academic programs in the environment."
"The environmental issues facing society are myriad and daunting, but they are tractable," he said. "They will require a new kind of professional, with an interdisciplinary approach and an understanding that spans the physical and biological sciences to the social sciences; the kind of professional that the Nicholas School trains. (Former deans) Norm Christenson and Bill Schlesinger have done a magnificent job of bringing the Nicholas School to its current status as a leading institution. I look forward to working with the Duke community and the challenge of bringing the school to a new level of excellence."
Chameides has experience in a variety of administrative and environmental venues, including serving twice as chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, where he was the Regents' Professor and Smithgall Chair until 2005.
While at Georgia Tech, he served from 1995 to 2001 as chief scientist of the Southern Oxidants Study, a multi-institutional research program focused on understanding the causes and remedies for ground-level ozone pollution in the southern United States. From 1996 to 2001, he also was study director of CHINA-MAP, an international research program examining the effects of environmental change on agriculture in China.
From 1997 to 2000, Chameides chaired the National Research Council's Committee on Air Quality Management in the United States. As chair, he led a team of experts that evaluated the effectiveness of the Clean Air Act's major air quality provisions and their implementation by federal, state and local government agencies. The committee also recommended ways to strengthen the nation's air quality management system. Chameides holds doctoral and master's degrees from Yale University and received his bachelor of arts degree from The State University of New York at Binghamton.
Widely recognized for his ability to communicate science to non-scientists, Chameides has authored or co-authored more than 130 scientific publications and six books, and he blogs on the science and implications of global warming at www.climate411.org. He does a question-and-answer series for Environmental Defense, called "Ask Dr. Bill," in which he gives practical advice for individuals wanting to combat global warming. "Dr. Bill" also has been produced as a video that is available on YouTube, the popular website dedicated to amateur videos.
Chameides and his wife, Bonnie, have three sons and four grandchildren. _ _ _ _
The Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke was founded as the nation's first school of the environment. The Nicholas School is among the world's premier graduate research and professional schools for the interdisciplinary study of the environment, biological, physical and social sciences. Its faculty members include experts in diverse fields, and the school offers a wide array of programs for undergraduate, graduate and continuing educational study. The school works in conjunction with The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, which Duke established in 2005 as a nonpartisan institute to engage with decision-makers in government, the private sector and the nonprofit community to develop innovative proposals that address critical environmental challenges.