Dr. William H. Schlesinger is the President of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Before coming to the Institute, he served in a dual capacity at Duke University, as both the James B. Duke Professor of Biogeochemistry and Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

A graduate of Dartmouth College (A.B.) and Cornell University (PhD.), he has been investigating the link between environmental chemistry and global climate change for over 30 years. His recent work focuses on understanding how trees and soil influence atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Dr. Schlesinger is the author or coauthor of over 180 scientific papers. His textbook Biogeochemistry: An analysis of climate change is widely taught at the university level. Findings from his research have been featured on NOVA, CNN, NPR, and in the pages of Discover, National Geographic, The New York Times, and Scientific American.

His distinctions include elected membership in both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a past president of the Ecological Society of America (2003-2004) and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow (1999).

Dr. Schlesinger is committed to bridging the divide between science and policy. He has testified before U.S. House and Senate Committees on a range of environmental issues, including desert habitat preservation, global climate change, and, most recently, carbon sequestration. Currently, he serves on the boards of The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Terrapass LLC.