Oral history interview with Ralph J. Cicerone, 2013
Abstract
Ralph Cicerone begins by outlining the National Academy of Sciences’ core mission as a non-profit organization focused on providing scientific information to the federal government and the potential conflicts inherent in this mission. He then discusses the issue of climate change at length, including scientific findings, geopolitical aspects, possible solutions, and the role of scientists and polit icians in addressing the issue. Cicerone then discusses his early education and career: childhood in Western Pennsylvania; studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); founding the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California at Irvine in 1995; and appointment to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. Cicerone concludes by discussing his position as a member of the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s joint commission on science education, his thoughts on his current position as a Carnegie Corporation trustee, the Carnegie Corporation’s role as an organization in promoting education, and the future of science education as a whole.
Earth sciences--Study and teaching; Science--Study and teaching; Science and state; Global warming--Government policy; Cicerone, Ralph J; Carnegie Corporation of New York; National Academy of Sciences (U.S.); University of California, Irvine
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2013
Physical Description
47 pages; 1 digital audio file (79 min.)
Note (Biographical)
President, National Academy of Science
Note
Interviewed by Myron Farber on May 23, 2013.
Note (Provenance)
Ralph J. Cicerone, Gift 2013
Note (Copyright)
Copyright by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2013.