A graduate of the Detroit Public Schools, he holds a BS (mathematics, psychology) from Wayne State University and a PhD (psychology) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. He is past President of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making and the Society for Risk Analysis. He chaired the FDA Risk Communication Advisory Committee and was a member of the Eugene Commission on the Rights of Women, the DHS Science and Technology Advisory Committee and the EPA Scientific Advisory Board, where he chaired the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. He has received the American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology, Carnegie Mellon’s Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching and College of Engineering Outstanding Mentoring Award, Doctorate of Humanities honoris causa from Lund University, Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, and Sigma Xi William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement. He is a Fellow of the APA, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association for Psychological Science, Society of Experimental Psychologists, and Society for Risk Analysis. His books include Acceptable Risk (1981), A Two-State Solution in the Middle East (1993), Risk: A Very Short Introduction (2011), Communicating Risks and Benefits (2011), and Counting Civilian Casualties (2013). He has served on many National Academies committees, including recent ones on science communication, intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, global change, and pandemic disease.