Robert W. Kates is an American geographer and independent scholar in Trenton, Maine, and University Professor at Brown University. Kates was born on January 31, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. Kates helped to establish the international Initiative for Science and Technology for Sustainability, was Executive Editor of Environment magazine for many years, and is still a Senior Associate at Harvard University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1991, he 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.