Professor Dr. Jonathan Overpeck

Biography

Jonathan T. Overpeck is the Samuel Graham Dean and a William B. Stapp Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability. An interdisciplinary climate scientist, Overpeck is an expert in climate change, climate-vegetation interactions, and earth history. He has authored or co-authored over 230 publications with over 60,000 citations. Overpeck's work focuses on integrating climate science with public higher education, emphasizing inclusion and community impact. He has contributed significantly to understanding climate variability, abrupt climate change, monsoon dynamics, and drought hydroclimate, among other areas. His research has defined the widely used term 'megadrought' and revealed the role of temperature in severe droughts and aridification in North America. Overpeck has served on various national and international scientific advisory committees and is involved in multiple assessment reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2024, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, recognizing his extensive contributions to climate science and policy.

Research Interests

Awards