Naomi Oreskes earned her PhD at Stanford University and is professor of history and science studies at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on the historical development of scientific knowledge, methods, and practices in the earth and environmental sciences, and on understanding scientific consensus and dissent. She has held grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Philosophical Society, and is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
Oreskes is the author of The Rejection of Continental Drift: Theory and Method in American Earth Science, and editor with Homer Le Grand of Plate Tectonics: An Insider's History of the Modern Theory of the Earth, cited by Library Journal as one of the best science and technology books of 2002. Her published articles have included "Verification, Validation, and Confirmation of Numerical Models in the Earth Sciences" (Science) and "Objectivity or Heroism: On the Invisibility of Women in Science" (Osiris). She is currently completing Science on a Mission: American Oceanography in the Cold War and Beyond.
Oreskes's most recent work deals with the science of climate change. Her 2004 essay, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change" in Science, led to op-ed pieces across the country and has been widely cited in the mass media, including the Royal Society's publication, A Guide to Facts and Fictions about Climate Change, and, most recently, in Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. Her new book, Merchants of Doubt, coauthored with Erik Conway, will be published this year.