Diana Liverman

Diana Liverman, Regents Professor Emerita of Geography at The University of Arizona's School of Geography, Development & Environment, is a leading figure in Social Science research on the human dimensions of global environmental change. Born in Accra, Ghana, and raised in England, she obtained her BA in Geography from University College London in 1976, MA from the University of Toronto in 1979, and PhD from UCLA in 1984, during which she worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research under Stephen Schneider. Her academic career spans positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984-1990), where she was affiliated with the Institute for Environmental Studies, Penn State University (1990-1996) as associate director of the Earth System Science Center, and the University of Arizona since 1996. At Arizona, she directed Latin American Studies, co-directed the Institute of the Environment (later Arizona Institutes for Resilience), and served as Director of the School of Geography, Development & Environment until her retirement in 2022. She also held the first Chair in Environmental Science at Oxford University and directed its Environmental Change Institute from 2003 to 2010, maintaining a Research Fellowship at Linacre College.

Liverman's research focuses on climate vulnerability and adaptation, especially in agricultural and food systems, environmental governance including carbon offsets, US-Mexico border impacts, political ecology, and synergies between climate responses, poverty alleviation, and Sustainable Development Goals. Key publications include "A safe operating space for humanity" (Nature, 2009; cited 18,906 times), "Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity" (Ecology and Society, 2009), "Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene" (PNAS, 2018), and edited volumes such as Food Security and Global Environmental Change (2010) and A Companion to Environmental Geography (2009). With over 62,000 citations, her scholarship has shaped global discourse. Honors include election to the US National Academy of Sciences (2020), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020), British Academy Fellowship (2022), Royal Geographical Society Founders Gold Medal (2010), Guggenheim Fellowship (2014), and lead authorship for the IPCC 1.5°C report. She has chaired NAS committees on human dimensions of global change and served on numerous international panels.

Professional Email: liverman@arizona.edu