Rob Dunbar is the William M. Keck Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Professor of Oceans at Stanford University, where he is also a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. As a pioneering oceanographer, glaciologist, and biogeochemist, his research focuses on climate dynamics, air-sea interactions, and the impact of climate change on polar and tropical marine ecosystems.

Rob was the founding director of Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER), and served as director of the university’s Earth Systems Program. He also led the creation of the Oceans Department within the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

Recognized for excellence in teaching and mentoring, he was named a J. Frederick and Elisabeth B. Weintz University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Rob co-founded the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium to advance coral reef research and conservation, and helped advance major national ocean research initiatives, including the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and the Ocean Observatories Initiative.

As part of his research and teaching, Rob leads scientific expeditions to the Arctic, Antarctica, and the tropical Pacific. His contributions to polar science have been recognized with the U.S. Antarctic Service Medal and the SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research.

Professor Dunbar holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. in Geology from the University of Texas, Austin.