Adam Falk

Adam Frederick Falk (born April 19, 1965) became President and CEO^[1] of the Wildlife Conservation Society,^[2] on July 1, 2025. In this role, he leads one of the world’s foremost conservation organizations overseeing five iconic zoological parks in New York City (Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and the New York Aquarium) and the largest on-the-ground field conservation program in more than 50 countries.

Adam Falk
President of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2018
Preceded by	Paul Joskow
President of Williams College
In office April 1, 2010 – December 2017
Preceded by	William G. Wagner (acting)
Succeeded by	Protik Majumder (acting)
Personal details
Born	(1965-04-19) April 19, 1965 (age 60)
Education	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS) Harvard University (MS, PhD)

A theoretical high-energy physicist, Falk previously served as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,^[3] where he championed initiatives in scientific research, higher education, and public understanding of science and technology. Earlier, he was President of Williams College^[4] and Dean of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University,^[5] where he was also a professor of physics.

Early life and education

Falk is a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.^[6] He graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics after attending Durham Academy.^[7] He received a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.^[6]

He received a Ph.D in physics from Harvard University in 1991.

Career

Falk began his career as a post-doctoral researcher working first at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and then at the University of California, San Diego. In 1994, he joined the physics faculty at Johns Hopkins University, becoming a full professor in 2000.

In 2006, Falk became the James B. Knapp Dean at the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

From 2010 to 2017, Falk served as the 17th President of Williams College.^[8]

Since the beginning of 2018, Falk has served as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.^[9]

Research

Falk is a high-energy physicist whose research focused on elementary particle physics and quantum field theory, particularly in interactions and decay of meson and baryons containing heavy quarks. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed papers on these and related topics.

Honors and awards

• Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2002^[10]
• Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award
• Young Investigator Award, NSF^[11]
• Sloan Research Fellowship^[7]
• Morehead-Cain Scholar, University of North Carolina