Columbia University’s Cynthia Rosenzweig Wins the 2022 World Food Prize

Cynthia Rosenzweig, a professor in the department of environmental science at Barnard College and a senior research scientist at the Columbia Climate School, has been named the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate for her pioneering work in modeling the impact of climate change on food production worldwide.

The World Food Prize Foundation’s award recognizes individuals who have increased the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. The $250,000 award honors Dt. Rosenzweig’s achievements as the founder of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, a transdisciplinary network of climate and food system modelers from developed and developing nations. The project is dedicated to advancing methods for improving predictions of the future performance of agricultural and food systems in the face of climate change, providing the evidence base for effective food system transformation.

“I am honored to receive the World Food Prize this year, as food systems are emerging at the forefront of climate change action,” said Dr. Rosenzweig. “Climate change cannot be restrained without attention to food system emissions, and food security for all cannot be provided without resilience to increasing climate extremes. I salute the modelers around the world in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project for their tireless work helping countries to achieve food security both now and in the future under changing climate conditions.”

Dr. Rosenzweig holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences and a master’s degree in soil and crop science from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She earned a Ph.D. in plant, soil, and environmental sciences from the University of Massachusetts.