Dr. Robert W. Kates is a geographer who served as the first Director of the Feinstein World Hunger Program at Brown University until his retirement in 1992. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1991 was awarded the National Medal of Science for his work on hunger, environment, and natural hazards. He now lives and continues to work as an independent scholar in Maine. Email: kates@ecology.coa.edu