He was the first holder of the Fred H. Bixby-endowed chair in Population and Family Planning and founding director of the Bixby Center for Population, Health, and Sustainability at the School of Public Health.[2][3]
He has published ten books and over 350 scientific papers and articles. His books include Abortion (co-written with Peter Diggory and John Peel, 1977), Textbook of Contraceptive Practice (1st edition co-written with John Peel, 1969; 2nd edition co-written with Peter Diggory, 1983; long the key textbook in the field), Queen Victoria's Gene (written with his brother Prof. William Potts), Ever since Adam and Eve: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (written with Dr Roger Short, 1999)[5][6][7] and Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World (co-written with Thomas Hayden, 2008).[8][9] He has worked as a consultant to the World Bank and the British, American, Canadian and Egyptian governments.
He has served as:
Founding Director, The Bixby Center for Population, Health, and Sustainability, 1992–2013.
Board member, Population Services International, Washington, DC.
Board Member, Venture Strategies for Health and Development, Berkeley, CA.
Chair, Division of Community Health and Human Development, School of Public Health.
Chair, Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects, University of California, Berkeley.
Head, Global Health Specialty Area, School of Public Health.
Fellow,[10] Royal Academy of Engineering,[10] 2003.
Potts has been married four times, including to Dr. Caroline Deys in 1966,[4] and has three children.