Dr. Vaughan Turekian is the Chief International Officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In this role, he leads, develops and coordinates the broad range of AAAS’s international activities. He is also the Director of AAAS’s Center for Science Diplomacy and Editor-in-Chief of Science & Diplomacy, a quarterly publication from the Center. Both the Center and the publication aim to bring together stakeholders from the scientific and foreign policy communities to identify ways to better apply science cooperation to building relationships between and among nations.
He served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, where he was a lead advisor on international science, technology, environment and health issues, including, clean energy, sustainable development, climate change, scientific outreach and avian influenza. He is the two-time recipient of the Department’s Superior Honor Award for his work on climate change and avian influenza.
Prior to his time at the State Department, Dr. Turekian worked at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In 2001, he was the Study Director for the White House-requested NAS report on climate change science. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Nonresident Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and has published a numerous articles on the linkages between science and international policy. Dr. Turekian received his master’s and doctorate in atmospheric geochemistry from the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of Yale University with degrees in geology and geophysics and international studies.