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Brian O’Neill

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Brian O’Neill is an earth scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Joint Global Change Research Institute and a research professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. His research interests are in human-Earth system interactions, in particular the human dimensions of global environmental change. 

Previously, O'Neill was a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and also served as director of research at the Korbel School’s Pardee Center for International Futures. He led research groups on integrated assessment modeling and on climate and human systems at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research and on population and climate change at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. 

Early in his career, O'Neill was on the science staff of the Environmental Defense Fund in New York and was an assistant and associate professor (research) at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. Brian was a convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report and was an author on the U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment. He holds a PhD in Earth systems science and an MS in applied science, both from New York University.

Areas of Interest
  • Human-Earth system interactions, in particular the human dimensions of global environmental change
  • Development and use of scenarios for climate change analysis
  • Climate change risks
  • Integrated assessment modeling