Science Advisor William Happer to Leave National Security Council

An outspoken critic of the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change, Happer is returning to academia after a year in his White House role.

Written byCatherine Offord

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William Happer, a science advisor to President Donald Trump and an outspoken critic of research demonstrating humanity’s contribution to climate change, is stepping down from his post on the National Security Council today (September 13) after a year in the role, E&E News reports. The departure of the 80-year-old Princeton University physicist follows the rejection this summer of his plan to set up a committee of scientists to critique government science reports and policymaking on climate-related topics.

An administration official tells the Associated Press that Happer plans to return to academia, and says that the Trump administration thanks him for his “tireless efforts” to make sure government policy is “based on transparent and defensible science.”

A specialist in atomic physics, optics, and spectroscopy, Happer has been a long-time critic of the scientific consensus that recent climate change has been mainly driven by human activity, and of ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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