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Faculty Research

Bren School research has a significant global impact on the most critical environmental challenges of our day, including climate change, ecology and conservation, water resources, and ocean health.

Bren School faculty members conduct research in a variety of disciplines, and across disciplines, to solve environmental problems. At Bren, our research is highly collaborative, both within the UCSB research community and with researchers at other institutions and organizations across the world.

Our faculty members play leading roles in advising government agencies, corporations, and nonprofit organizations about science, management, and policy questions. They provide intellectual leadership about the direction of environmental technology, science, and policy, and bring a comprehensive understanding of these issues to their teaching and research.

Bren School faculty and lecturers are subject matter experts in many areas that span the biological and earth sciences, data science, law, politics, and more under the umbrella of environmental science and environmental management. They are knowledgeable experts on topics such as climate change, ocean health, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, wildfires and drought, water management, environmental justice, conservation and ecology, pollution, agricultural practices, corporate sustainability, data science, environmental policy and politics, environmental economics, and environmental law.

Wide shot of bay with fish farm

Subject Matter Expertise Directory:


Bren Faculty

Sarah Anderson

Environmental politics, political science, legislatures

Mark Buntaine

Environmental policy in developing countries

Tamma Carleton

Environmental economics, climate change

Kelly Caylor

Land use and climate change, hydrology and agriculture

Christopher Costello

Economics of environmental regulation, natural resource management

Ranjit Deshmukh

Energy systems, economics, and policies

Joan Dudney

Global change ecology, forest disturbance, climate change

Roland Geyer

Industrial ecology, life cycle assessment, pollution prevention 

Ben Halpern

Marine ecology, conservation science, climate change, aquaculture and fisheries

Robert Heilmayr

Environmental economics, deforestation and policy, natural resource economics

Patricia Holden

Microbial ecology, microbiology and pollution, coastal ecology

Kelsey Jack

Environmental economics, development economics 

Scott Jasechko

Hydrology, water resources management, groundwater

Arturo Keller

Pollution prevention, pollution remediation, watershed management

Bruce Kendall

Conservation biology, population ecology, ecological modeling

Ashley Larsen

Agricultural ecology, land use, landscape ecology

Hunter Lenihan

Fisheries management, ocean ecology, coral reef restoration

Andrew MacDonald

Global change ecology, disease ecology, environmental and human health

Eric Masanet

Energy systems analysis, climate change mitigation, sustainable manufacturing, data centers and ICT

Kyle C. Meng

Environmental economics, resource economics

Ruth Oliver

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecology

Andrew Plantinga

Resource economics, land use economics, environmental policy

Matthew Potoski

Corporate environmental management

James Salzman

Environmental law and policy, drinking water

Samantha Stevenson

Climate modeling, oceanography, climate dynamics

Sangwon Suh

Industrial ecology, climate change mitigation, life cycle assessment

Christina (Naomi) Tague

Ecohydrology, ecoinformatics

David Tilman

Ecology, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning

Rwandan villagers have discussion with professor

Affiliated Faculty & Researchers

Lint Barrage

Environmental economics, climatic risks

Derek Booth

Environmental geomorphology

Olivier Deschenes

Environmental economics, health and labor economics

David Lea

Climate science

Sally MacIntyre

Aquatic biology, ecology, limnology

Wendy Meiring

Environmental statistics, geophysical models

Matto Mildenberger

Environmental politics, comparative politics, public opinion

Antony Millner

Environmental economics, climate change, political economics

David Pellow

Environmental justice, race and ethnic studies, social change

Ronald Rice

Environmental communication, public campaigns, social change, new media

Eric Smith

Environmental politics, American politics, public opinion and voting behavior

Leah Stokes

Energy and environmental politics, American politics, public policy

Rae Wynn-Grant

Large carnivore ecology, environmental justice, science communications

Professor instructs two researchers in lab coats in a laboratory

Adjunct Faculty

Lee Hannah

Climate change, conservation planning

Max Moritz

Wildfire dynamics

Robert Wilkinson

Water policy, energy and climate policy, water resources

Jono Wilson

Fisheries science, fisheries management

Durwood Zaelke

Environmental law and policy


Teaching Faculty & Lecturers

Emily Cotter

Eco-entrepreneurship

Sean Hastings

Ocean and coastal policy and management

Allison Horst

Environmental data science

Lisa Leombruni

Environmental communication, informal science learning, environmental justice

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.

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