Paul Wennberg

Paul Wennberg is the R. Stanton Avery Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. A leader in Geoscience, he earned a B.A. in chemistry from Oberlin College in 1985 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 1994. After completing his doctorate, Wennberg served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Harvard's Department of Chemistry from 1994 to 1997. He joined Caltech in 1998 as Associate Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering Science, was promoted to Professor in 2001, and appointed to the Avery Professorship in 2004. He has held key administrative roles, including Secretary of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union in 2005–2006, Director of the Linde Center for Global Environmental Science from 2008–2011 and 2014–2023, Executive Officer for Environmental Science and Engineering from 2012–2023, and member of the Division Executive Council for Engineering and Applied Science from 2016–2023. Additional appointments include Visiting Professor at the University of Otago in 2005 and University of Copenhagen in 2016–2017.

Wennberg's research centers on laboratory and field studies of processes controlling photochemistry, dynamics, and radiation in Earth's atmosphere, as well as planetary atmospheres like Mars. His group develops and deploys aircraft-borne, ground-based, and space-based instruments to measure atmospheric composition, including greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4, to quantify sources and sinks in the carbon cycle, tropospheric chemistry, and air quality. Notable publications include 'Emission factors for open and domestic biomass burning for use in atmospheric models' (2011), 'The total carbon column observing network' (2011), 'Reactive intermediates revealed in secondary organic aerosol formation from isoprene' (2010), 'Unexpected epoxide formation in the gas-phase photooxidation of isoprene' (2009), and 'The orbiting carbon observatory (OCO) mission' (2004). His work has profoundly influenced atmospheric science. Awards include MacArthur Fellowship (2002), Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (1999–2003), American Geophysical Union Fellowship (2013), U.S. National Academy of Sciences membership (2017), American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship (2022), and Honorary Ph.D. from the University of Copenhagen (2021).