Dr. Solomon Hsiang is a preeminent scholar bridging economics and climate science to address critical global environmental challenges. He currently serves as Professor of Global Environmental Policy at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, having previously held the position of Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley from 2013 to 2024. His academic foundation was established at MIT, where he earned dual bachelor's degrees in Ocean and Atmospheric Physics and International Development and Regional Planning in 2006, working under distinguished mentors including David Autor and Kerry Emanuel. He continued his scholarly journey at Columbia University, completing a PhD in Sustainable Development in 2011 with a dissertation focused on integrating climate science, economics, and political science methodologies.
Dr. Hsiang's groundbreaking research has established new frameworks for quantifying climate change impacts through his leadership of the Global Policy Laboratory and the Climate Impact Lab. His influential 2020 study published in Nature analyzing pandemic lockdown effectiveness across six countries demonstrated methodological innovation, revealing these policies prevented approximately 495 million infections and becoming widely cited with over 309,000 accesses. His foundational work as Lead Economist for the 2014 American Climate Prospectus provided the scientific basis for the Risky Business report, significantly shaping national climate risk assessments. His research integrates econometrics, spatial data science, and machine learning to evaluate climate policy interventions across multiple sectors including agriculture, health, economics, and conflict with unprecedented precision.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Hsiang has profoundly influenced national and international policy through his role as Lead Author of the Economics chapter for the Fifth National Climate Assessment and as the inaugural Chief Environmental Economist at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2023-24. He has co-founded transformative initiatives including mosaiks.org, which leverages satellite data and AI for planetary monitoring, and continues to pioneer interdisciplinary approaches that merge social science with environmental data science. His recognition with the Geological Society of America's Young Scientist Award (Donath Medal), awarded to him in 2020 while serving as Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the American Geophysical Union's Science for Solutions Award highlights his exceptional ability to translate complex research into actionable policy insights. Dr. Hsiang remains at the forefront of developing natural capital accounting frameworks that will fundamentally reshape how societies value and manage environmental resources for future generations.
