Bren School faculty lead interdisciplinary research on pressing environmental challenges, including climate change, water resources, conservation, and ocean health. Their work spans science, policy, and data-driven solutions, collaborating with global institutions and advising governments, businesses, and nonprofits. As experts in fields such as environmental law, economics, sustainability, and justice, they integrate cutting-edge research into their teaching, shaping the future of environmental leadership.

 

Faculty News

News
Professor David Tilman

Professor David Tilman awarded National Medal of Science for revealing the importance of biodiversity

Renowned ecologist David Tilman revolutionized biodiversity science, revealing that more diverse ecosystems thrive and earning the National Medal of Science for his groundbreaking work.

Collage of marine life

A conservation market could incentivize global ocean protection

A new study suggests a market-based system for 30x30 ocean conservation, letting nations trade credits to cut costs by up to 98% and make marine protection more achievable.

Yellowstone National Park sign

A novel approach to tracking conservation reveals more areas may be conserved than currently accounted for

A new study finds that conservation efforts go beyond national parks, highlighting Indigenous governance, community management, and eco-certified production as key contributors to protecting 30% of Earth’s land and water by 2030.

Field of sunflowers

How Small Changes In Farming Practices Can Yield Big Savings in Agricultural Water Use

Small changes in farming practices could save as much water as switching crops or fallowing fields. Researchers found that improving irrigation efficiency and adopting better agricultural techniques could significantly reduce water use without drastic land-use changes.

The Faculty Experience: How Bren Professors Work

Get to know Bren faculty and their interdisciplinary research projects, from coral reefs in Mo'orea to climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Subject Matter Expertise Directory:

Bren Faculty

People

Sarah Anderson: Environmental Politics

Mark Buntaine: Environmental Institutions and Governance

Kelly Caylor: Hydrology, Terrestrial Ecology, Coupled Natural-Human Systems

Jayajit Chakraborty: Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, Disability Justice, Disaster Vulnerability

Christopher Costello: Resource Economics

Max Czapanskiy: Marine Data Science

Ranjit Deshmukh: Energy Systems, Economics, and Policies

Joan Dudney: Global change ecology, forest disturbance, climate change

Carmen Galaz García: Environmental Data Science

Roland Geyer: Industrial Ecology

Ben Halpern: Marine Ecology, Conservation Planning

Robert Heilmayr: Environmental Economics, Land System Science

Patricia Holden: Environmental Microbiology

Scott Jasechko: Hydrology, Water Resources, Groundwater

Arturo Keller: Fate and Transport, Watershed Management, Remediation, Pollution Prevention

Bruce Kendall: Conservation Biology, Population Ecology, Ecological Modeling

Ashley Larsen: Agricultural Ecology, Land Use, Landscape Ecology

Hunter Lenihan: Applied Marine and Fisheries Biology

Andrew MacDonald: Global Change Ecology, Disease Ecology, Environmental and Human Health

Eric Masanet: Energy System Analysis, Climate Change Mitigation, Sustainable Manufacturing, Data Centers & ICT

Kyle Meng: Environmental Economics

Ruth Oliver: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecology

Alexandra Phillips: Environmental Communication, Oceanography, Geochemistry, Science Policy

Andrew Plantinga: Resource Economics, Land Use Economics

Matt Potoski: Corporate Environmental Management

James Salzman: Environmental Law

Samantha Stevenson: Climate Modeling, Drought, Oceanography, Climate Dynamics

Christina Tague: Ecohydrology and Ecoinformatics

David Tilman: Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning

Affiliated Faculty & Researchers

People

Peter Alagona: Faculty in Environmental Studies and History Departments

Olivier Deschenes: Professor, Department of Economics

David Lea: Professor, Department of Earth Science

Sally MacIntyre: Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology

Paasha Mahdavi: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Wendy Meiring: Professor, Department of Statistics and Applied Probability

Matto Mildenberger: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Antony Millner: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics

David Pellow: Dehlsen Chair, Department of Environmental Studies

Debra Perrone: Water Resources Engineering, Groundwater Science and Policy

Ronald Rice: Rupe Chair, Department of Communication

Dar Roberts: Professor, Department of Geography

Eric Smith: Professor, Department of Political Science

Leah Stokes: Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics

Grace Wu: Sustainable Land Use, Climate Change Mitigation, Renewable Energy Planning, Land Systems Science

Adjunct Faculty

People

Darcy Bradley: Marine Conservation

Lee Hannah: Climate Change, Conservation Planning

Max Moritz: Wildfire Dynamics

Robert Wilkinson: Water Policy

Jono Wilson: Fisheries Science and Management

Durwood Zaelke: International Environmental Law and Policy

Teaching Faculty & Lecturers

People

Julien Brun: Ecohydrology, Earth observation techniques (remote sensing and GIS), and process-based modeling

Emily Cotter: Environmental Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Samantha Csik: Environmental Data Science

Christopher Free: Fisheries, marine conservation, climate change

Maggie Hall: Environmental and Administrative Law

Greg Janée: Research data management, scientific reproducibility, digital preservation, digital libraries, and data science and literacy

Christopher Jerde: Applied statistics, data science, biodiversity, environmental DNA, invasive species

Ian Kellett: Intentional Media, environmental media campaign design, impact media, ocean stories

Lisa Leombruni: Strategic Environmental Communication & Media

Anastasia Quintana: Environmental Social Science

Mateo Robbins: Network models of natural resource governance, sustainable fisheries, sea level rise adaptation, and the science of science communication.

Will Shafroth: President and CEO of the National Park Foundation

Cora Snyder: Corporate water stewardship, integrated water management, California water policy, and global water governance

Caitlin Swalec: Energy and climate, engineering, and industrial decarbonization

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Professor instructs two researchers in lab coats in a laboratory