John Haldon is emeritus Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History and Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies. His research centers on the economic, political and cultural history of the early and middle Byzantine empire from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. He also specializes in the environmental history of the Byzantine and Ottoman worlds and the interface between societal change, and environment and climate. Professor Haldon is Director of the Climate Change and Research History Initiative, entitled A comparative approach to climate, environment and society in Eurasia, 300-1900: Towards understanding the impact of climate on complex societies; and Director of the Environmental History Lab in the Program in Medieval Studies. He is a High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) Associated Faculty and is involved in the HMEI-affiliated Climate Futures Initiative for Science, Values and Policy.