Dr. Houghton has helped shape Woodwell Climate and his research field at large. He contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In 2012, he was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. In 2014, he accepted the International Center for Climate Governance award for the world’s top-ranked climate change think tank on behalf of Woodwell Climate Research Center (then Woods Hole Research Center).
Dr. Houghton has served as Acting Director and Acting President, and held the George M. Woodwell Chair for Global Ecology from 2011-2021. When he’s not at work, he spends time on his property at the edge of the woods, reading, brewing beer, and practicing tai chi.