Dr. Christopher L. Sabine
Dr. Christopher L. Sabine is a full professor and interim Associate Dean for Research (ADR) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He received his PhD. in chemical oceanography from the University of Hawai‘i in 1992. Since that time he has published over 160 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters on carbon cycling and climate change. His current research focuses on understanding the global carbon cycle, the role of the ocean in absorbing CO2 released from human activity, and ocean acidification. Over his 27-year career, he has been a scientific advisor for a number of national carbon programs in the U.S. and internationally. He has won numerous awards including the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award for pioneering research leading to the discovery of increased acidification in the world’s oceans and was recognized by the Intergovernmental Program on Climate Change (IPCC) for his contributions to the IPCC when they were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He was also a coordinating lead author for working group 1 of the IPCC 5th assessment report, Chapter 6: Carbon and other Biogeochemical Cycles and was made a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2013.
Prior to coming to Hawai‘i in 2018, Dr. Sabine was the director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, managing approximately 200 scientists and engineers spread over two locations, with a $50M/yr budget. He was a member of the U.S. Government Senior Executive Service, a designation only given to the top 0.3% of the Executive Branch’s civilian federal workforce. He resigned from his director position to become a SOEST faculty member in the Oceanography Department so he could teach and re-engage in the research that has always been his passion. With the planned retirement of the SOEST Associate Dean for Research in July of 2019, Dr. Sabine agreed to be acting ADR in January, then interim ADR after July so there would be a seamless transition of responsibilities. He is currently maintaining a balance of research, teaching, and ADR administrative responsibilities in this role.
Download Dr. Sabine’s campus visit schedule as a PDF.
Download Dr. Sabine’s CV as a PDF.