PhD Research
Students in the Bren School PhD in Environmental Science and Management program develop broad and specialized knowledge, analytical powers, technical skills, and creative thinking to become leaders in environmental science and management.
The Bren School's interdisciplinary foundation also bolsters the PhD program, reflecting the fact that environmental problem solving frequently requires collaboration and innovation across multiple disciplines. Whether focused on natural sciences, economics, policy, digital data and modeling, communication, or some combination, the work of Bren PhD students is a balance of research and application. With the knowledge and skills acquired here, Bren PhD graduates pursue careers in academia, research, public agencies, non-profit organizations, and business.
Current PhD Research
Updated in 2023
Gabriela Alberola
Impacts of corruption on environmental management in Latin America; watershed management and policy; environmental politics in Latin America
Bonnie Basnett
Small-scale fisheries, fisheries management, marine ecology, conservation
Linus Blomqvist
Land use, conservation, agricultural economics
Kaili Brande
Landscape ecology, plant ecology, population dynamics, climate change
James Cunningham
Ecosystem services, land use, climate change, data science, environmental policy
Sadie Cwikiel
Climate change, marine ecology, oceanography, fisheries
Gemma Del Rossi
Ecosystem services, food-energy-water systems, environmental and agricultural economics
Sean Denny
Wildlife ecology and conservation; human-wildlife conflict; illegal wildlife trade; livelihoods; sustainable use
Nakoa Farrant
Food security in island communities, integrated agriculture and aquaculture systems, and bioculture resource management
Patricia Faundez
Marine conservation and planning
Lesley Figueroa
Marine Ecology; Marine Conservation; Resilience
Elliott Finn
Investigating interactions between legislators and grassroots ecosystem management organizations through environmental politics, public policy and collaborative management
Kelly Garvey
Groundwater, data science, water law and policy
Louis Graup
Climate change, ecohydrology, environmental modeling, wildfire impacts, water resources
Nathan Grimes
Ocean conservation, sustainable fisheries
Annette Hilton
Groundwater quantity, groundwater quality, water resource management
Liviu Iancu
Biogeochemistry, soil microbial ecology, nutrient cycles, climate change, climate change policy
Polycarp Komakech
Citizen involvement, coproduction of public service delivery, public administration and democratization in the context of emerging democracies dealing with environmental challenges.
Julia Lawson
Data-poor fisheries; multilateral environmental agreements
Brian Lee
Spatial ecology, remote sensing, land-use change, deforestation
Cori Lopazanski
Marine ecology, fisheries, resource management
Shay Magahey
Climate modeling, El Nino/Southern Oscillation, climate change, physical oceanography
Flavio Malagutti
Environmental economics, development economics, and field experiments
Trace Martin
Microbiological water quality, microbial source tracking, water and wastewater treatment, water resources
Jamie Miller
Coastal dune and beach ecology, restoration, wildlife conservation
Michelle Mohr
forest ecology, dendrochronology, climate change
Nicol Parker
Nanomaterials, pesticides, fate and transport, risk, contaminant release
Sophie Pesek
Environmental economics, remote sensing, machine learning, climate impacts and adaptation
Phoebe Racine
Aquaculture sustainability, mariculture, marine spatial planning
Maria Ignacia Rivera
Cooperation in common-pool resources; small-scale fisheries management
Ojas Sarup
Eco-hydrology, watersheds, riparian ecosystems, socio-ecological systems
Zoe Sims
Agriculture, nutrient cycling, tropical ecology, environmental policy
Liliana Sierra Castillo
Small-scale fisheries, fisheries stock assessment, fish ecology, ecological data analysis
Grace (Sloane) Stephenson
data science, fire ecology, wildfire resiliency, climate change
Sandy Sum
Agriculture systems, natural resources, applied econometrics
Sebastian Tapia
Small-scale fisheries management; adaptive capacity; resilience
Rachel Torres
Environmental modeling, hydrology, climate change
Wen Tien Wang
Energy policy, energy transition, air quality
Jaenna Wessling
Industrial ecology, sustainability of apparel, life-cycle assessment
Stephen Whitaker
Marine ecology, restoration ecology, and climate change
Haozhe Yang
Air pollution, climate change and life cycle assessment
José Zenteno
Coastal aquaculture, marine ecology, vulnerability, marine spatial planning
