Dr. R.K. Pachauri, director-general of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters) from Dr. Richard Levin, president of Yale University, at the university’s 307th commencement held on May 26.
The Yale University citation read on the occasion described Dr. Pachauri as a leading voice on climate change and a builder of bridges — from scientific evidence to public policy, from developed to developing countries. “As author of one of the first major reports on global warming, he helped lay the foundation for the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. And as leader of IPCC, he has brought the world’s scientific community together to sound the alarm about the future of our planet. He combines a deep respect for science with a passion to protect our environment,” read the citation.
At its 307th commencement Yale also conferred honorary degrees on former U.S. trade representative Carla Hills, astronomer Martin Rees, architect Cesar Pelli, Mercy Amba Odyyoye (the mother of African women’s theology), musician Sir Paul McCartney, historian Drew Gilpin Faust and poet John Lawrence Ashbery.