Richard Wolfson is the Benjamin F. Wissler Professor of Physics at Middlebury College, where he also teaches Climate Change in Middlebury's Environmental Studies Program. He completed his undergraduate work at MIT and Swarthmore College, graduating from Swarthmore with a double major in Physics and Philosophy. He holds a master's in Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Physics from Dartmouth.

Dr. Wolfson's published work encompasses diverse fields such as medical physics, plasma physics, solar energy engineering, electronic circuit design, observational astronomy, theoretical astrophysics, nuclear issues, and climate change. His current research involves the eruptive behavior of the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, as well as terrestrial climate change and the Sun–Earth connection.

Dr. Wolfson is the author of several books including the college textbooks Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Essential University Physics,and Energy, Environment, and Climate. He is also an interpreter of science for the nonspecialist, a contributor to Scientific American, and author of the books Nuclear Choices: A Citizen's Guide to Nuclear Technology and Simply Einstein: Relativity Demystified. His previous courses for The Teaching Company include Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists and Physics in Your Life.