Michael Ian Westphal

Dr. Michael I. Westphal is an environmental scientist and climate change expert with more than 20 years of experience across academia, the US Government, international organizations, NGOs, and the private sector. Dr. Westphal is currently the Head of Science for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III (Mitigation) Technical Support Unit. He provides scientific leadership and direction for all aspects of WGIII for the seventh assessment cycle. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Prior to work with the IPCC, Westphal was a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Associate Research Scholar in the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland. His research focused on integrated assessment modeling of climate and energy policies, energy system transformation, and net-zero emissions pathways. Previously, he was an Analyst for the US Congressional Research Service, a Senior Associate at World Resources Institute, and led climate change projects for the US Agency for International Development, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.