Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment Director Chris Field to step down Sept. 1

After ten years at the helm, Chris Field will step down as the Perry L. McCarty Faculty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment on September 1, 2026. 

His leadership has anchored the institute through a period of remarkable change while fostering strategic initiatives tackling an array of threats related to climate change.

“Chris Field is an accomplished leader whose scholarship and vision have made Stanford one of the world’s most innovative climate research hubs,” said Arun Majumdar, dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “His exceptional skills for consensus building, communications and policy engagement have not only advanced our collective understanding of the complex challenges we face but have also fostered a culture of collaboration that will endure.”

Field, the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and professor of Biology at the School of Humanities and Sciences, came to Woods from his role as founder of the Global Ecology Department at the Carnegie Institution, where he was involved for many years as an author and working group lead for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

As the primary scientific group informing international climate treaties, the IPCC has published comprehensive reports reflecting scientific consensus on climate change each decade. Field co-chaired a working group responsible for producing the group’s 2014 assessment report, requiring coordination of more than 300 scientists to assess climate change impacts and resilience.

That role was excellent preparation for leading an interdisciplinary research community spanning all seven schools at Stanford and an institute focused on supporting solution-oriented research endeavors.

“There are so many wonderful features of working with the Woods Institute: the chance to focus on ethical approaches to environmental challenges, on practical solutions, and on supporting brilliant new ideas. But the best part is the people,” Field said. “ The Woods community is rich with people filled with insight, passion, perseverance, and humor.”

During his tenure as director of the Woods Institute, Field significantly expanded funding opportunities for Stanford scholars, overseeing the growth of the Woods' signature Environmental Venture Projects and Realizing Environmental Innovation funding programs, and launching new initiatives such as the Big Ideas for Oceans grants and the Human and Planetary Health Early Career Awards.

Field successfully championed several new research initiatives, including the Center for Human and Planetary Health, the institute’s Natural Climate Solutions Initiative and Electrification for Health, a new program focused on the health benefits of converting from gas to electric appliances.

Field bolstered the Institute’s policy portfolio by enlisting legal scholar Michael Wara to establish the Institute’s Climate and Energy Policy Program, significantly influencing wildfire and electrification policies at both state and federal levels. Other strategic hires included former Department of Energy Undersecretary Dan Reicher, whose work with the institute’s Uncommon Dialogue program has led to breakthrough agreements on large-scale solar facility siting and hydropower dam policies. These efforts informed federal legislation that will invest over $3 billion in the rehabilitation, retrofitting, or removal of dams.

Throughout his tenure, Field has prioritized education and leadership development, co-creating programs such as Leading Interdisciplinary Collaborations (LiNC) and the graduate-level course Innovation for Climate and Sustainability (EARTHSYS 213), which has contributed to the launch of multiple successful startups.

Building on his deep experience with international climate policy negotiations, Field guided the Woods Institute’s robust presence at the United Nations' annual COP climate summits, allowing Stanford's scholars to engage meaningfully in global discussions on climate change. He pioneered the institute’s approach to virtual policy briefings and webinars during the pandemic, effectively connecting Stanford’s research with broader audiences and expanding the Institute's reach and impact.

Beyond guiding the institute through the unique challenges of the COVID pandemic, Field also navigated the institute’s integration with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The new school – the first launched by Stanford in 70 years – builds on many of the ideas and principles launched and refined during the Woods Institute’s first 15 years.

“Chris was an invaluable thought partner during the creation of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability,” added Majumdar. “We extend our deepest gratitude for his service and contributions as a scholar, mentor and innovator.”

The school has initiated a search for the Woods Institute’s next faculty director, with a committee led by Woods Senior Fellow Debbie Sivas, the Luke W. Cole Professor of Environmental Law, and Woods Affiliate Oliver Fringer, professor of oceans and of civil and environmental engineering. The committee welcomes nominations of candidates who are members of Stanford's tenured faculty. The committee aims to identify candidates who can continue progressing the Institute’s mission of addressing complex environmental challenges through interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

A survey collecting suggestions and nominations can be found on the Woods Institute’s website.

Chris Field also holds appointments as a professor of Earth System Science and is a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment as well as the Precourt Institute for Energy. He is a recipient of a Heinz Award and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007, he was among 25 scientists who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). His research has been recognized with several American and international awards, including The Japan Prize, Max Planck Research Award, the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the Roger Revelle Medal and the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. Field is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union and the Ecological Society of America. Field received his doctorate from Stanford in 1981 and was the founding director of the Global Ecology Lab at the Carnegie Institution, where he worked from 1984 to 2016. He also served as faculty director of Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.