David L. Peterson (born 1954) is an Emeritus Senior Scientist (formerly research biologist) with the United States Forest Service and professor at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, at the University of Washington.
[citation needed] Peterson received a Ph.D. in 1980 from the University of Illinois, and has published over 200 scientific papers [2] in dendroclimatology, ozone air pollution, climate change and adaptation to global warming, and decision support systems for fire management.
He was invited to serve on the board of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
He has also received awards: from the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO),[3] the "Chief's Award", the highest honor within the US Forest Service, and honorary life membership in the Northwest Scientific Association [4] for his leadership in research in the Pacific Northwest, USA.
He continues to lead adaptation to climate change on federal, state, tribal, and private lands.