Charles Langmuir, PhD, Higgins Professor of Geochemistry, Harvard University.

Charles Langmuir has made a distinguished career in the international science arena investigating many aspects of the solid earth geochemical cycle. He co-led the first investigation of the Arctic Ocean ridge system, and over two decades has explored the seafloor through some 20 research cruises. Dr. Langmuir is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Geochemical Society, and the American Geophysical Union, from which he received the N. L. Bowen Award in 1996. He received the Holmes Medal of the European Union of Geosciences in 2003.

Dr. Langmuir presented a lecture Earth and Humans: A Planetary Perspective May 06, 2014 as part of the SftPublic's 2014 series on health and environment at Cambridge Library, Cambridge MA. In this presentation he described how the evolution of life has progressively modified the planet, and how the evolution of the planet has influenced the development of the great variety of organisms. For modern humanity, this deep relationship has become increasingly obvious and underscores humanity's need to address environmental issues.

How to Build a Habitable Planet by Charles Langmuir and Wally Broecker Honorable Mention for the 2012 Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Earth Sciences, Association of American Publishers. This is a popular textbook, but is very accessible for non-specialists as well.