Peter B. de Menocal is a distinguished marine geologist and paleoclimatologist specializing in paleoceanography and the reconstruction of past climate variability, particularly its impacts on human evolution in Africa. He earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Rhode Island in 1983, an M.Phil. in 1989, and a Ph.D. in Geology in 1992 from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). Over three decades at LDEO, he advanced to the G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, authored over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and served as Director from 2011 to 2021, expanding research in climate science and oceanography. He has contributed to public understanding through media, including a 2009 'Ancient Apocalypse' episode and a 2001 LDEO documentary. In 2023, he became the eleventh President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, applying his expertise in interdisciplinary climate research informed by deep-time perspectives.