Leading climate and sustainability scientist Professor Mark Howden has been appointed Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute (CCI) after serving as Interim Director for the past year.
Professor Howden, formerly a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture, is a global expert on the impact of climate variability and climate change on food production and food security and how to adapt to those impacts.
Professor Howden brings significant international linkages to ANU. In 2015, he was appointed a Vice-Chair of Working Group 2 of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), giving him a leading role in helping the world address the impact of climate change.
He has been a lead author and contributing author since 1991 on multiple Assessment Reports by the IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore.
Professor Howden has the position of Distinguished Adaptation Scholar with the University of Arizona, and a 2009 Ecological Society of America Sustainability Science Award for an outstanding contribution to sustainability science.
He has published or contributed to more than 200 journal papers and book chapters and has worked on greenhouse emissions mitigation and adaptation options for 24 years across a range of sectors.
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt congratulated Professor Howden on his appointment.
"Professor Howden is a world-class researcher and authority on climate science and its application to solve real-world problems," Professor Schmidt said.
"I congratulate Professor Howden on his appointment and look forward to working with him and the ANU Climate Change Institute."
The ANU Climate Change Institute links researchers across the multiple dimensions of climate change throughout the University and connects this expertise with governments, the private sector and the community as a whole. 
Professor Howden said he was delighted to lead the Climate Change Institute at a crucial time.
"With 2015 being by far the hottest year on record, and with the recognition from last year's Paris conference of the need for urgent global action on climate change, this is a crucial time for ANU to bring to bear its collective expertise to work with the Australian community, industry and policy sectors to provide innovative climate solutions," he said.
"ANU also has an important role to play in providing collaborative research leadership on this global issue."