Environmental Studies Faculty

“My research investigates how we may create cities that are both socially just and environmentally sustainable. Much of my earlier research focused on controversial urban infrastructure megaprojects. My student research assistants contributed to two major funded research reports outlining best practices for high-speed rail station design in California and to a Sustainable Transport textbook chapter on paratransit. More recently, my work has focused on the history and politics of urban ecological restoration and rewilding efforts in the United States and Europe.”

“My research examines the processes and consequences of policy change, with a focus on major environmental issues such as marine oil pollution, nature conservation, and wildland fires.  Every academic year there is an opportunity for one student research assistant to work with me on my research projects, with the work focusing on literature searches, editing, and the building of databases in the area of environmental management and policy.”

“My research interest is the boreal forest of Alaska and how it has changed over time due to human activity, fire, climate change, and natural cycles. My recent research combines spatial analysis and modeling using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to better understand human-fire interactions, in particular how humans are affecting fire frequency and extent.”

“My research program is focused on the impact of climate change on marine foundation species and is rooted in natural history, motivated by global change and conservation, and spans multiple scales, times, and disciplines. Climate change poses a major threat to foundation species and the important and diverse communities that they support. My work addresses questions surrounding: 1) understanding responses to climate stress by integrating processes, such as photosynthesis and nutrient cycling, across scales, 2) understanding community interactions and the role of foundation species, 3) documenting biodiversity and long-term change, and 4) collating larger trends in marine ecology through meta-analysis and reviews.”

“My major research interest is in the aquatic cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other macroelements as mediated by plants and bacteria. I am especially interested in the nitrogen cycle, particularly denitrification, anammox, and nitrogen fixation, and how the relationships between plants and bacteria mediate these transformations. My work spans aquatic environments from wetlands and lakes to estuaries and the open ocean. More recently, students in my laboratory have been exploring the linkages between methanogenesis in wetland sediments and nitrogen cycling.”