Dr. Ravishankara was the Director until January 2014, of the Chemical Sciences Division of the Earth System Research Laboratory of NOAA in Boulder, Colorado. He was also a Professor of Chemistry, Adjoint, at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Dr. Ravishankara worked during the previous three decades on the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere as it relates to stratospheric ozone depletion, climate understanding, and regional air quality. His measurements in the laboratory and in the atmosphere have contributed to deciphering the ozone layer depletion, including the ozone hole; to quantifying the role of chemically active species on climate; and to advancing understanding of the formation, removal, and properties of pollutants. He is an author or coauthor of more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Ravishankara is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, as well as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, of the Royal Society of Chemistry, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. His many awards include the Polanyi Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Stratospheric Ozone Protection award of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Chemical Society's award for Creative Advances in Environmental Sciences. He is currently a co-chair of the WMO/UNEP Science Assessment Panel on Stratospheric Ozone. He has served on many national and international committees.