Howard Kunreuther

Howard Kwnreuther is a James G. Dinan Professor of Decision Sciences and Public Policy, and co-director of the Center for Risk Management and Decision Processes at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Kunreuther has a long-standing interest in ways that society can better manage low-probability, high-consequence events related to technological and natural hazards.  

He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a distinguished fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis, and recipient of the 2015 Shin Research Excellence Award from the Geneva Association and International Insurance Society (IIS) in recognition of his outstanding work on the role of public-private partnerships in mitigating and managing risks.

Kunreuther served on the National Academy of Science’s committees on Analysis of Costs and Benefits of Reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program and the Roundtable on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events. He was a coordinating lead author of Chapter 2, Integrated Risk and Uncertainty Assessment of Climate Change Response Policiesfor the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 5th Assessment Report. He currently serves on the Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC) under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Kunreuther’s recent books include Insurance and Behavioral Economics: Improving Decisions in the Most Misunderstood Industry with M. Pauly and S. McMorrow (Cambridge University Press), The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare for Disasters  with R. Meyer (Wharton Digital Press), and Mastering Catastrophic Risk: How Companies are Coping with Disruption with E. Michel-Kerjan and M. Useem (Oxford University Press).