Master's Project Directory | UC Santa Barbara - Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Our research examines the implications of water conservation on water allocation in Southern California. In this paper we consider two questions: How does the way water is currently allocated in Southern California encourage conservation? How could we develop a new allocation system to promote conservation, and how would the new system compare to the current system?

Faculty Advisors: Gary Libecap

Clients: Long Beach Water

Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution: Best Management Practice Impacts on Water Quality & Recommendations to Improve Monitoring Programs in Ventura County, California

This project represents an original attempt to use water quality and BMP implementation data collected under California’s CWP to provide a quantitative assessment of BMP efficacy in Ventura County.

Faculty Advisors: Andrew Plantinga

Clients: Farm Bureau of Ventura County

Investigating the Feasibility of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Santa Barbara County

The objective of this project was to determine the cost-effectiveness and implementation feasibility of GHG mitigation strategies in Santa Barbara County.

Clients: Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District

University of California, Santa Barbara Operational Effectiveness: Energy Management Initiative

This project created an energy management plan that will provide a frame-work that UCSB Utility and Energy Services can use to reduce UCSB campus energy consumption.

Faculty Advisors: Sarah Anderson

Clients: UCSB

Developing a Water Risk Analysis Framework for Suppliers and Applying it to a Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Developing a water risk analysis framework for suppliers and apply it to Eli Lilly’s supply chain for two insulin products, Humalog and Humulin.

Faculty Advisors: Patricia Holden

Clients: Kaiser Permanente, Eli Lilly and Company

The City of Santa Barbara Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

This project conducted a vulnerability assessment to determine the impacts of sea level rise on: human impacts, critical infrastructure, recreation and public access, and ecological resources. It also identified preliminary adaptation policies that address the impacts of sea level rise hazards.

Faculty Advisors: James Frew

Clients: City of Santa Barbara

San Joaquin Valley Landscape-Scale Planning for Solar Energy and Conservation

Working with the Defenders of Wildlife, this project aims to ensure that the proper balance is achieved, with smart planning for renewable power that avoids and minimizes adverse impacts to wildlife and lands with known high-resource values (agriculture).

Faculty Advisors: Mark Buntaine

Clients: Defenders of Wildlife

Eco-Entrepreneurship: Slightly Nutty

Slightly Nutty developed insects as an alternative protein ingredient to significantly reduce price-volatility and environmental impact of meat industries.

Faculty Advisors: Emily Cotter, Matt Potoski

The Bathtub Ring: Implications of Low Water Levels in Lake Mead on Water Supply, Hydropower, Recreation, and the Environment

This project explores the impacts to each stakeholder group if Lake Mead reaches each key elevation outlined in the Interim Guidelines, as well as 1,000’.

Faculty Advisors: Christina Tague

Clients: Western Water Policy Program - University of Colorado

Evaluating Management Scenarios to Revitalize the California Commercial Swordfish Fishery

The goal of our project was to evaluate different management scenarios composed of the main gear types used to catch swordfish to simulate an increase in domestic swordfish catch while incorporating current and proposed conservation regulations in the California swordfish fishery.

Faculty Advisors: Hunter Lenihan

Clients: NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, The Nature Conservancy

Eco-Entrepreneurship: Solo Energy: A Social Impact Venture Providing Affordable Electricity to Energy-Impoverished Individuals in Less-Developed Nations Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean

Solo Energy builds standalone renewable energy kits for individuals with energy needs that cannot be satisfied through traditional fuels. The kits are complete and contain a solar panel, battery, and everything else needed to ensure the electricity produced is reliable and available.

Faculty Advisors: Emily Cotter, Jeff Dozier