Michael Gerst is an Assistant Research Professor at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on decision tools and models for the assessment of sustainability and socio-technical-environmental systems. Past projects include the development of an agent-based model that couples international climate policy negotiation and domestic economy/energy systems, using the PoleStar model and the Planetary Boundaries framework to develop scenarios for the UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability and risk-based analyses of long-term climate change. Prior to coming to UMD, he was an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College and an Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute. He holds a PhD in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University.