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Rosina Bierbaum

Rosina Bierbaum
Professor, ​Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, SEAS; Professor of Public Health, Professor of Climate, Space Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
Environmental Policy and Planning
Climate + Energy
Conservation + Restoration
Cross-cutting
[email protected]
(734) 763-8675
CV
Office
3528 Dana
Websites
Election to the National Academy of Sciences
Historic Number of women elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Presidential Public Engagement Award
University of Michigan
Michigan MOOC: Action on Climate: Steps to Individual
Community

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About

Professor and Dean Emerita Bierbaum, PhD, focuses her research on the interface of science and policy--principally on issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation at the national and international levels. She also holds an appointment in the School of Public Health at Michigan, and in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Her experience extends from climate science into foreign relations and international development. Rosina served for two decades in both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government, and ran the first Environment Division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She chairs the Scientific and Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility, served on President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, was an Adaptation Fellow at the World Bank, and a lead author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. She has lectured on every continent, and in more than 20 countries.

Bierbaum is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Ecological Society of America, and Sigma Xi. She received the American Geophysical Union’s Waldo Smith award for ‘extraordinary service to Geoscience’ and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Protection Award. Bierbaum serves on the board of the AAAS, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Federation of American Scientists, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the Climate Reality Project, the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. She earned a BA in English, a BS in biology and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution.

Publications

2019. Erbaugh, J., Bierbaum, R., Castilleja, G., Fonseca, G., Toward sustainable agriculture in the tropics.  World Development, 121: pp 158-162. Special issue on “Commodity Agriculture” (all papers organized and commissioned by authors). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X19301160

2017. L. V.Rasmussen, Agrawal A., Bierbaum R., Oldekop J.  Across the practitioner-researcher divide: Indicators used to assess the sustainability of commodity agricultural production, Global Environmental Change 42: pp. 33-46. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378016305635

2016. Report on Science and Technology to Ensure the Safety of the Nation’s Drinking Water, President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (co-chair, lead author), Washington, D.C.: Executive Office of the President.   https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_drinking_water_final_report_20161221.pdf

2015. Report on Private Sector Efforts in Adaptation to Climate Change, President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (co-chair, lead author), Washington, D.C.: Executive Office of the President. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_climate_and_private_sector_recommendations_2015.pdf

2014. Bierbaum, R., Stocking, M., Bouwman, H., Cowie, A., Diaz, S., Granit, J., Patwardhan, A., Sims, R., Duron, G., Gorsevski, V., Hammond, T., Neretin, L., Wellington-Moore, C. Delivering Global Environmental Benefits for Sustainable Development. Report of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) to the 5th GEF Assembly, México 2014. Global Environment Facility, Washington, DC. http://www.stapgef.org/sites/default/files/documents/STAP-GEF-Delivering-Global-Env_web-LoRes.pdf

2014. B Biagini, Bierbaum, R., Stults, M., Dobardzic, S. and McNeeley, S. A typology of adaptation actions: A global look at climate adaptation actions financed through the Global Environment Facility, Global Environmental Change 25 (2014), pp 97-108. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378014000065

2013.  PCAST Letter Report to the President on developing a strategy for addressing climate change, President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (lead author), Washington, D.C.: Executive Office of the President. https://www.broadinstitute.org/files/sections/about/PCAST/2013%20pcast-energy-and-climate.pdf

2013. Bierbaum, R., and P. Matson, Energy in the Context of Sustainability, Dædalus 142 (1): 146–161. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/DAED_a_00191

2012. Bierbaum, R., J.Smith, A. Lee, M. Blair, L. Carter, F. Stuart Chapin III, P. Fleming, S. Ruffo, S. McNeeley, M. Stults,  E. Wasley, L. Verduzco, A Comprehensive Review of Adaptation in the United States: More Than Before, But Less Than Needed”, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 44 pages (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11027-012-9423-1?LI=true#page-1) http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DAED_a_00191

2011. Report to the President on Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy.  The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (co-chair and lead author), Washington, D.C.: Executive Office of the President. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast_sustaining_environmental_capital_report.pdf

2010. National Climate Adaptation Summit Report.   National Climate Adaptation Summit Committee (co-chair and lead author) http://vintage.joss.ucar.edu/events/2010/ncas/ncas_report.pdf

2009. World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change. (co-chair and lead author),  The World Bank, Washington, D.C. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/4387

Research
  • Adaptation and mitigation policy – domestically and internationally
  • Climate Change adaptation research needs
  • Designing development projects to meet multiple environmental objectives
  • Bridging the scientist-practitioner divide in developing metrics for sustainability
Education

PhD, State University of New York (ecology and evolution)

BS, Boston College (biology)

BA, Boston College (english) 

Affiliations
  • U.S. National Climate Assessment - Member, Federal Advisory Committee, and Convening Lead Author of the Adaptation Chapter (2011-2014). 
  • Board Member, Alliance for Climate Protection (2012-present). 
  • (PCAST) President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009-present)

Nobel Summit / NAS, April 27, 2021

Featuring: Yuan Tseh Lee, NAS and Nobel Laureate in chemistry; Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); Marcia McNutt, President NAS; Brian Schmidt, NAS and Nobel Laureate in physics; and Professor Rosina Bierbaum, University of Michigan and University of Maryland.

Nobel Summit / NAS, April 28, 2021

Featuring: Joe Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate, Columbia University; Jane Lubchenco, Advisor to the President, Oregon State University; Gretchen Daily, Stanford University; Eduardo Brondizio, Indiana University; and Professor Rosina Bierbaum, University of Michigan and University of Maryland.

In the News
Bierbaum elected to American Philosophical Society
May 22, 2023

Bierbaum elected to American Philosophical Society

Rosina Bierbaum, professor and dean emerita at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, was elected to the American Philosophical Society...

Professor Rosina Bierbaum participates in 62nd meeting of the GEF Council
June 23, 2022

Professor Rosina Bierbaum participates in 62nd meeting of the GEF Council

The 62nd meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF Council) discussed the negotiations of the eighth replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund (GEF-8) at...

Ivette Perfecto
May 4, 2022

Perfecto elected to National Academy of Sciences

Ivette Perfecto (MS ’82, PhD ’89), the James E. Crowfoot Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), has...

Women's history month
March 3, 2022

Women’s History Month: Perspectives from SEAS Women in Sustainability

In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked our women faculty and researchers to share their perspectives as members of the sustainability field and to offer advice to...

In the Media
05/30/2024
Rosina Bierbaum
“I Knew FAS Is A Group That Really Seeks To Do Good”: A Conversation With Dr. Rosina Bierbaum (Federation of American Scientists)
04/05/2024
Rosina Bierbaum
1st Friday Focus on the Environment: The state of the environment as Earth Day 2024 approaches (WEMU)
08/14/2023
Rosina Bierbaum
Bierbaum receives Association for Environmental Health & Sciences Foundation Achievement Award
07/29/2023
Rosina Bierbaum
2 Michigan professors join prestigious national society founded by Benjamin Franklin (MLive)
12/01/2022
Rosina Bierbaum
STAP Chair's presentation to the 63rd GEF Council Meeting, 30 November- IISD Coverage
12/16/2021
Rosina Bierbaum
Investing in nature to protect and benefit people (Brookings Institution)
04/02/2021
Rosina Bierbaum
Partner Profile: Dr. Rosina Bierbaum, GCI Board Member (U-M Global CO2 Initiative)
02/18/2021
Rosina Bierbaum
UN: Huge Changes in Society Needed to Keep Nature, Earth OK (Associated Press)
02/11/2021
Rosina Bierbaum
More than 400 scientists brainstorm on GEF investment priorities (Global Environment Facility)
01/30/2021
Rosina Bierbaum
Fighting climate change in America means changes to America (Associated Press)
08/12/2020
Rosina Bierbaum
Morgan Stanley Launches Sustainable Solutions Accelerator to Address Global Sustainability Challenges (Business Wire)
01/01/2020
Rosina Bierbaum
Rosina Bierbaum at GEF Live - Your digital window to the 57th Council
12/20/2019
Rosina Bierbaum
Rosina Bierbaum Addresses 57th Global Environment Facility Council of Countries
05/01/2019
Rosina Bierbaum
Historic Number of Women Elected to National Academy of Sciences
02/01/2019
Rosina Bierbaum
White House Science Adviser Outlines Vision
02/01/2019
Rosina Bierbaum
Tyler Prize Awarded to Climate Scientists Washington and Mann
10/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
EESI Board Member Dr. Rosina Bierbaum Appointed as Science Advisor to Global Adaptation Commission
09/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
Environmental science and policy collide in upcoming Iowa State lecture
08/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
Trump’s Long-Delayed Pick for Science Adviser Believes in Climate Change
07/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
Rosina Bierbaum about Youth and Sustainability
03/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
NPR interview - Covers environmental policy, climate change, Antarctica, the current Administration
02/01/2018
Rosina Bierbaum
2018 Investor Summit on Climate Risk
12/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Media, Academia Freak After Trump Removed Climate Change As a National Security Threat
12/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Under Trump, climate change not a national security threat
11/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Experts ponder why Administration released tough Climate Report
07/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable, Managing the Unavoidable
06/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Defying science, Trump says U.S. is "cleanest" country on Earth
06/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Column: State needs federal investment in science
06/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Facts muddy President Trump’s claim that US is cleanest nation in the world
06/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Federal Science Investment (Op-ed, Detroit News)
06/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Michigan MOOC: Action on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Actions (2017)
04/01/2017
Rosina Bierbaum
Trump should not appoint a science adviser
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