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.

Jump to Research Directory

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

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: Forest disturbance ecology, climate change effects, global change ecology

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

Ashley Larsen: Agricultural Ecology, Land Use, Landscape Ecology

Hunter Lenihan: Applied Marine and Fisheries Ecology

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-Karl: 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

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

Paasha Mahdavi: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez: Faculty in Political Science Department

Wendy Meiring: Professor, Department of Statistics and Applied Probability

Matto Mildenberger: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Antony Millner: Associate 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

Rafael J.P. Schmitt: River and catchment processes, hydropower, water resources management

Leah Stokes: Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics

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

Image
Aquaculture nets on a blue ocean

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

Annie Adams:

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

Emily Cotter: Environmental Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Christopher Free: Fisheries, marine conservation, climate change

Adam Garber: Applied statistics, data science, causal inference, measurement

Maggie Hall: Environmental and Administrative Law

Heather Hodges: Leombruni Lab

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

Lisa Leombruni: Strategic Environmental Communication & Media

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

Image
Professor instructs two researchers in lab coats in a laboratory