Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer, Microsoft

This week on the pod, Jon Powers sits down with Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft. They discuss Joppa's background studying ecology and biodiversity, how that led him to a career at Microsoft. He currently leads the company’s environmental sustainability efforts as well as the AI for Earth project, a 5 year, $50 million cross-company program dedicated to AI research and technology in agriculture, water, biodiversity, and climate change. Before becoming the Chief Environmental Officer, he worked as a researcher for Microsoft at the intersection of environmental and computer science. He has a bachelor's degree in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a PhD in Ecology from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and volunteered with the PeaceCorps in Malawi.