Oral history interview with Ralph J. Cicerone, 2013.

Biographical Note

President, National Academy of Science

Scope and Contents

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 politicians 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.

Subjects

• Carnegie Corporation of New York.
• Cicerone, Ralph J.--Interviews.
• Earth sciences--Study and teaching.
• Farber, Myron, interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Global warming--Government policy.
• Interviews.
• National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Science--Study and teaching.
• Science and state.
• University of California, Irvine.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2013. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York hold a non-exclusive license to enable library activities.