Steve Rayner

Steve Rayner is James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization at the Saïd Business School and Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, part of the James Martin 21st Century School.  He describes himself as an “undisciplined” scholar, committed to changing the world through social science.

Among his current projects, he is Principal Investigator on the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities, a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, and serves as Editor of the Science in Society Series from Earthscan.

He was also a lead author on the Third and Fourth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, winners of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Rayner's research interests revolve around the relationship between nature and society as mediated by science and technology. He has contributed to the scholarly literatures on the perception and management of environmental and technological risk, the concept of global climatic and environmental change, the idea of sustainable development, and the governance of emerging technologies.