James (Jim) Buizer's work focuses on climate adaptation, sustainability, institutional transformation, and science for international development. He is leading an effort to establish a network of institutions dedicated to integrating research-based knowledge about climate impacts and options for adaptation into decisions, particularly aimed at sustainable development around the world.
Before joining the UA, Jim served as Science Policy Advisor to the President Michael Crow at Arizona State University (ASU) and Executive Director for Strategic Institutional Transformation in the Office of the President. Buizer led the design and establishment of the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability and its School of Sustainability, where he continues to hold an appointment as Senior Sustainability Scientist.
Prior to ASU, Jim spent 20 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including serving as Director of the Climate and Societal Interactions Office in Washington, D.C., where he established and led NOAA's integrated, multidisciplinary climate research and applications programs, including the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). Jim also led the U.S. Government review of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.