Summer-Autumn 2023 Newsletter | |
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In this issue:
- New Faculty Director: Krish Seetah
- New Staff: Mike Diaz
- Welcome New PhD 2023 Cohort
- Annual Student Retreat
- PhD Defenses: Randall Holmes
- Welcome New PhD 2023 Cohort
- PhD and MS Collaboration Grants
- Events: Project Planet, Joint and Dual MS Capstone Symposium
- Student Connections: Summer Social, E-IPER Tea, Welcome Party, Halloween Party, PhD Alumni Visits, Holiday Party
- Alumni News, Awards & Honors, Publications & Presentations
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New Faculty Director: Krish Seetah | |
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Dean Arun Majumdar announced that as of September 1st, Associate Professor Krish Seetah has been named the Sykes Family Faculty Director of E-IPER. He picks up the baton from Professor Nicole Ardoin, who stepped down from the role after seven years of leading the program through the Joint and Dual MS program expansion, curricular revision, COVID19 challenges, and the transition into the Doerr School of Sustainability.
Professor Seetah said, "I am deeply honored and excited to take on this new role at a critical time for both the program and the university. Following in Nicole's footsteps is humbling as she paved the way and led efforts in prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as well as in thoughtful consideration of our interdisciplinary program’s move from the School of Earth into the Doerr School of Sustainability." Seetah added that, as part of the transition, he is looking forward to leading E-IPER in a strategic planning process and in bridging the program even further across the university.
I have a highly interdisciplinary background and work across the social sciences and natural sciences,” said Seetah, who is an associate professor in the departments of Oceans and Environmental Social Science as part of SDSS, of Anthropology, and a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. “I work on climate, I work with AI, data science – the stars align very well in terms of my background and the E-IPER program.
Professor Seetah has been involved with E-IPER since 2007 and chaired the E-IPER PhD admissions committee the past two years before taking on the directorship.
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Welcome New Staff:
Mike Diaz
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E-IPER is excited to welcome Mike Diaz to the team. Mike is the new Student Services Officer supporting our joint and dual MS students in September.
Before E-IPER, Mike served as a Program Coordinator for the Department of Professional Education at San Jose State University (SJSU). As a Program Coordinator, Mike helped to guide undergraduate and graduate students, across multiple colleges, through their time as a student in the professional education and intersession programs. He also worked within his department to help streamline responses to student inquiries, identified emerging student needs and helped to develop student engagement activities.
"I always enjoy supporting students as they work to reach their goals while assisting them in navigating university expectations to make their experience less stressful. Although I am new to Stanford, I hope to bring my previous experience, a great attitude and new ideas to the E-IPER program."
We are thrilled to have Mike on the team.
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Welcome New PhD 2023 Cohort | |
E-IPER welcomed 9 new students to the PhD community! Please find their personal bios below. | |
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Keala Carter
First-Year Advisors: Buzz Thompson, Jane Willenbring
Keala is interested in researching climate mitigation in the context of domestic agriculture and identifying methods to evaluate the benefit of various climate-smart shifts in order to provide policymakers and producers better data to determine what actions provide the greatest carbon savings and financial benefit. As part of her research she would like to engage with rural and underserved areas and develop pilot projects that are guided by and prioritize the interests of frontline communities. Keala has worked in the areas of policy-making and policy-implementation and has asserted an indigenous perspective in conservation advocacy and land management planning.
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Lily Colburn
First-Year Advisors: Nicole Ardoin, Gretchen Daily
Lily Colburn is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist conducting research on climate change mitigation and adaptation. She is particularly interested in working lands and how environmental, social, and political changes shape land-use and land-cover change.
Before pursuing doctoral work at Stanford, Lily was a Fulbright Research Fellow in Colombia where she conducted mixed-methods research on heterogeneous landscapes to better understand the impacts of restoration projects on ecosystem services and socio-economic well-being. Lily holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in geography and English literature from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University.
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Camille Effler
First-Year Advisors: Giulio De Leo, Jim Leape
Camille is interested in the intersection of the environment, public health, and agri-food systems, focusing on the livelihoods that depend on these systems and incorporating an environmental justice lens. Her research will explore sustainable agriculture's role in human and ecosystem health and livelihoods, particularly in decreasing food, economic, and environmental insecurity, but also impacts from zoonotic diseases and climate change.
Before Stanford, Camille served thirteen years as an Army officer specializing in food systems, global health, and Women, Peace, and Security. She holds a B.S. in agriculture from New Mexico State University, an MPH from Johns Hopkins, and a DVM from Auburn University.
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Rwaida “Rudy” Gharib
First-Year Advisors: Chris Field, Jan Martinez
Rwaida “Rudy” Gharib is pursuing her PhD in environment and resources at the Stanford School of Sustainability. Her research focuses on the policy changes and financing needed to support the climate resilience of vulnerable populations—specifically, those living in rural poverty, women and children, and immigrants/migrants/refugees.
Rwaida has served as an advisor to the World Bank Group, UN Development Programme (UNDP), and other international organizations to increase climate finance and investment in the developing world. A presidential appointee, Rwaida served the Obama Administration in multiple capacities including for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of State, and the White House initiative, Power Africa.
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Jillian Lyles
First-Year Advisors: Larry Crowder, Ayana Flewellen
Jillian (they/them) is interested in historical and contemporary ocean-based relationships and ecological knowledge held by Afro-descendant communities. Specifically, Jillian investigates the impacts of colonization, climate change, and ocean degradation on the livelihoods of Afro-descendant communities in America and examines the role that community-based resource management plays in combating inequities faced by Afro-descendant communities in marine and environmental decision making. Jillian earned their bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Science of Earth Systems with a double minor in Marine Biology and Natural Resource Management, and a master’s degree from the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
During their master’s program, Jillian worked throughout Hawai`i to bridge scientific knowledge with local and traditional ecological knowledge in order to preserve historical/cultural sustainability practices and management systems for nearshore fisheries and aquaculture. Throughout their career, Jillian has worked with diverse, intergenerational communities throughout the United States as an environmental educator, storyteller, and resource steward.
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Metta Nicholson
First-Year Advisors: Rob Jackson, Steve Luby
Metta is interested in the intersection of climate change and environmental health, with a particular emphasis on the air pollution impacts of a changing climate and the role of air quality in influencing biogeochemical cycles. She hopes to apply these interests in diverse settings, including how these issues impact populations in developing countries and under-studied regions, particularly in the tropics.
Prior to becoming a PhD student, Metta was a research assistant at Stanford University studying indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas appliances. She has also studied greenhouse gas fluxes from managed wetland ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. She holds a BS in Molecular Environmental Biology and a Minor in Music from University of California, Berkeley, and is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow.
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Claire Petersen
First-Year Advisors: Omer Karaduman, Ram Rajagopal
Claire is interested in low-carbon energy transitions from the lens of economics, engineering, and policy analysis, especially related to hard-to-decarbonize sectors and just transitions. Her previous work has investigated carbon leakages within California border carbon adjustment strategies, the impact of wind integration and different subsidy schemes on operational costs in the Spanish electricity market, and district heating multi-objective optimization in Edinburgh.
Claire is a 2021 Marshall Scholar, with masters degrees from both the University of Cambridge (Energy Technologies MPhil) and the University of Edinburgh (Carbon Management MSc). Her undergrad was in both economics and environmental engineering at Northwestern University.
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Maggie Poulos
First-Year Advisors: Larry Crowder, Krish Seetah
Lying at the intersection of ocean governance and integrated social-ecological systems, Maggie is drawn to the puzzle of how to capture a value or worldview for marine protected area planning and management. She intends to study ecosystem services as a potential tool for the inclusion of localized social and cultural values, especially in the United States National Marine Sanctuary system and Madagascar. Through a co-production of knowledge framework and related field research tools, Maggie aims to co-create research that makes marine policy a more diverse and equitable space for local and Indigenous communities.
Before her time at Stanford, Maggie earned a Master of Public Policy from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies from Macalester College.
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Flora Xu
First-Year Advisors: Nicole Ardoin, Sarah Billington
Flora is interested in solving environmental and health problems through behavioral and technological integrations in the built environment. Her previous research focused on the impact of different indoor environmental qualities, on occupants health, wellbeing, and productivity. Flora also explored strategies using simulations to predict building performances in the early design phase to achieve sustainability and health benefits. She is hoping to explore more about nature and biophilic designs with virtual technologies in building designs and operations with the aim of balancing nature and humans.
Prior to Stanford, Flora received two B.A.s, in Sustainable Environmental Design and Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Environmental Health from Harvard University.
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E-IPER hosted its third retreat at Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in Woodside, CA. PhD and Joint and Dual MS students delighted in a full day connecting over a variety of planned activities led by E-IPER staff and E-IPER’s student leaders.
Associate Director of Operations and Student Affairs, Ann Marie Pettigrew and Associate Director of Program Strategy, Mele Wheaton, kicked off the day-long retreat with a “State of E-IPER” presentation, with remarks from E-IPER team members Ai Tran and Mike Diaz.
The day progressed with Social Committee-led ice breaker activities and games, break out sessions focused on the PhD and MS programs, and conversations connecting on shared research interests. Our community also bonded while engaging in a variety of creative art projects including painting little wooden mushrooms (with the mushroom village now part of the suite decor).
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Eeshan Chaturvedi, Leona Neftaliem, Ryan O’Connor, and Jayson Toweh also hosted an after-hours bonfire social and dinner at EVGR BBQ Pits where the merriment continued into the evening. | |
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PhD Dissertation Defenses:
Randall Holmes
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On July 14, Randall Holmes successfully defended his dissertation, “Strategies for Managing Natural Occurring Contaminants in Groundwater Basins of the Central Valley, California.”
Randal’s dissertation focuses on California’s Central Valley (CCV), which provides some of the most productive agricultural land in the world, and the climate change impacts to the hydrologic cycle, as well as the multiple stakeholders who are extracting groundwater faster than it can be replenished.
In his dissertation, Randall qualitatively examines Central Valley farmer perceptions of the California water system through semi-structured interviews, modifying and leveraging Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to provide exploratory descriptions of the economic, social-behavioral, and biophysical context of farmer decision-making with respect to groundwater quality and quantity. Through exploration of these farmers’ beliefs about their roles in both creating and mitigating overdraft, Randall reveals the farmers’ motivation: they are not solely incentivized by profit, but also self-identify as sustainable stewards of the land. Randall’s dissertation also identifies threats from naturally occurring contaminants such as arsenic and uranium and proposes balancing the quantity of planned recharge with mitigation strategies that control the biogeochemical and hydrogeological mechanisms associated with naturally occurring threats. His work also illustrates the benefit of augmenting managed aquifer recharge siting tools with predictive naturally occurring threat maps created with random forest modeling.
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Members of Randall’s Oral Examination Committee:
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Scott Fendorf (Co-Advisor), Terry Huffington Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Senior Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
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Richard Luthy (Co-Advisor), Silas H. Palmer Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor, by courtesy, of Oceans
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Christina Babbitt, PhD, Water Stewardship Lead, Enterprise Sustainability, Starbucks
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Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Assistant Professor of Earth System Science, Center Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment
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Samantha Ying, Assistant Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry, Co-Director, UCGHI Planetary Health Center, University of California, Riverside
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CHAIR: John Weyant, Professor (Research) of Management Science and Engineering, of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
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Missed a dissertation defense?
You can now view recordings of them on our E-IPER website and YouTube channel! (Note, certain videos are private/unavailable at the request of the presenter. If you have any questions please contact E-IPER staff.)
E-IPER Website - PhD Alumni
E-IPER YouTube Channel
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PhD and MS Collaboration Grant | |
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Jill Ferguson (PhD, 3rd), Ian Faucher (MS-MBA), and Meghan Wood (MS-MBA) have been working to expand access to financial incentives for residential decarbonization in California. The team partnered with California Sen. Josh Becker to introduce and pass a bill (SB755) on this topic through the state legislature, and are currently working with regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission to implement strategies to improve the distributional equity of residential upgrades like heat pumps, electric appliances and vehicles, energy efficient homes, and behind-the-meter generation. Their work focuses on “capital stacking” - the use of a one-stop-shop platform to combine available public incentives with low-to-no-cost financing. The team is also exploring bulk purchasing of residential upgrades by state entities, as a strategy to reduce the cost of these critical interventions.
Catherine Lee Hing (PhD, 2nd) and Joyce Lin (MS-MIP) are studying how blue bonds can provide a meaningful opportunity for small island states to scale and strengthen their marine conservation efforts through the example of Belize’s 2021 blue bond. They are examining ways to strengthen and improve Belize’s marine spatial plan, a key component of the Belize blue bond conservation commitments, as well as identifying financing, governance and enforcement gaps that can be addressed through the blue bond implementation process. In addition, they have been interviewing stakeholders from Belize’s NGO and government sectors and will be conducting fieldwork in Belize at the end of the month.
Sergio Sanchez (PhD, 3rd) and Daniel Sandoval (MS-MBA) have been researching the business and social considerations for developing lithium mining in Mexico. This summer they traveled to Bacadéhuachi, Sonora: the town closest to the largest identified Lithium deposit in Mexico. They also spoke with business and government leaders in Mexico City. Some early findings include, 1) the high degree of uncertainty on reserve exploration and regulatory frameworks, 2) the importance of addressing local community water use, security and land rights when developing projects, and 3) the 15+ year history of exploration and development for lithium deposits in the region.
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The mission of Project: Planet is to partner with our affiliated faculty population to invite global leaders in sustainability to talk with us about their most current challenges and opportunities. In providing this casual forum, we hope to create new opportunities for connections between students, faculty, staff, and industry professionals all united around the same goal of sustainability. For our second Project Planet event, E-IPER partnered with the Sustainability Accelerator to highlight their 1st Flagship Destination: Greenhouse gas removal at the gigaton scale.
The evening started with mingling over appetizers and drinks, giving the 100+ students, faculty, and affiliates in attendance a chance to meet each other.
As the music faded, Senior Director of Policy at the Sustainability Accelerator Michael Wara took the mic along with new Faculty Director for E-IPER, Krish Seetah. Together they introduced the event and the panelists.
Professor Rob Dunbar facilitated an animated discussion between Nan Ransohoff, Head of Frontier and Stripe Climate and David Koweek, Chief Scientist at Ocean Visions. Panelists discussed their opinions on what it would take to make a significant and measurable impact on greenhouse gas removal with the potential to scale from local- to global-level outcomes in a timeframe that reflects the urgency of the sustainability challenge. Questions came from students, staff, and faculty from across the university with the group ultimately working together to figure out how Stanford can make a meaningful contribution.
It was incredible to see these connections being made across the school and beyond. Stay tuned! We hope to see you at our future Project: Planet collaborations!
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Joint MS and Dual Autumn Capstone Symposium | |
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During the 10-week quarter, the Autumn Capstone cohort, comprised of 12 MS-MBA students, utilized their knowledge in environment and resources and their skill sets from professional school to explore, understand, and interpret a variety of urgent and significant issues facing our environmental crisis. In their culminating experience of the quarter (and of the Joint and Dual MS program), the Autumn 2023 Capstone cohort delivered 10 presentations on projects that explored "Carbon Accounting and Markets," "The Role of Bioplastics," and "Industrial Heat." The projects presented offered innovative and refreshing perspectives that serve as timely reminders of the work that is currently done in these spaces, and trajectories for moving forward. E-IPER faculty affiliate, John Weyant, E-IPER lecturer, Anna Lee, instructed the course and supported students during their ten-week, intensive capstone journey. E-IPER PhD alumnus, Randall Holmes, who was a TA last year, returned to assist with grading.
The recordings of each presentation will be available on the E-IPER website.
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In early August, EIPER students got together for a summer social at NOLA in Palo Alto. It was fun to gather students on campus and hear about everyone's summer adventures so far - whether it involved far away research travel, adventures around campus, or anything in between!
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E-IPER weekly tea continues on Fridays in the E-IPER suite. This weekly event allows students a chance to connect with friends, work on puzzles, relax, vent, and enjoy some tasty treats. Each tea time, a different volunteer whips up a culinary creation to share with the group or we enjoy tasty cupcakes from Sprinkles to celebrate the monthly students and staff birthdays. | |
E-IPER/ESS/Woods joined together to host a joint community welcome party in early October. The event welcomed back E-IPER PhD and MS students as well as affiliated faculty and staff for the new academic year. We also celebrated Prof. Nicole Ardoin for her Directorship and welcomed Prof. Krish Seetah as the new Director. Attendees enjoyed great food, beautiful weather, and great company! | |
On October 31, E-IPER hosted a Halloween Spooky Study Break in the suite. Students and staff enjoyed some tricks and treats as well as spooky music and a costume contest. | |
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Cat Lee Hing
(costume contest winner)
"Ready to GET PHYSICAL with the competition (Olivia Newton John reference)"
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Anela Arifi
"Morticia (Anela) Addams and Thing"
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Jayson Toweh
"SpongeBob (Jayson)
SquarePants"
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Emma Krasovich Southworth
"Sandy from Grease"
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Mike Diaz
"Taking a bite out of the competition!!"
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We are thrilled to have welcomed back two alumi during Autumn Quarter, Mehana Blaich Vaughan (PhD, ‘12) and David Gonzalez (PhD, '21) to visit with our students. Mehana was here for a special occasion as she received the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Early- to Mid-Career Alumni Award. Congratulations Mehana! David Gonzalez came to talk about his research in the first year PhD core course and then met with additional current students for lunch.
| Student-Alumni Happy Hour @ AGU 2023 | AGU 2023 returns to San Francisco this year, providing a great opportunity for E-IPER students to attend talks and panels, present their research, and discuss their interests with like-minded scholars across the world, including E-IPER alumni! | Students and alumni attended a Happy Hour at Novela. The event was well-represented from multiple cohorts of Joint/Dual MS and PhD alumni. | |
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Interested in hosting an Alumni in your city?
E-IPER staff are always happy to partner with you to plan an event! Please contact Ai Tran([email protected]) or Mike Diaz ([email protected]) for more details.
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Farewell 2023! PhD and MS students brought their holiday spirit and enjoy an end-of-quarter gathering full of festive sweets and treats. The E-IPER suite transformed into a holiday crafting center, with stations for ornament and sugar cookie decorating, as well as card making. | |
⛄️Collaboration Christmas Snowman⛄️: This is an opportunity post E-IPER retreat for students to continue to get to know each other across programs as well as a chance to find a Collaboration Grant partner. Each of the student project ideas will be written on a snowman and visually displayed in the E-IPER Suite. | |
Joby Bernstein (MS-MBA) is running for Congress (CA-16) on a climate platform as a Democratic candidate. Joby is looking for volunteers and advice from the E-IPER community. You can sign up, learn more, and support Joby at jobyforcongress.com. Let's fight for the environment, let's fight for our future! | |
Tomo Kumahira (MS-MBA), Ryo Takanashi (MS-MBA) and Charlie Merriam (MS Environmental Engineering ‘23) launched a playbook in the Water-Agriculture Nexus, curating over 150 Adaptation Solutions and mapping out a systematic approach to achieve sustainable food production. The former crop trader in Kansas, water engineer in Yokohama, and forestry financier in Nairobi experienced firsthand how water stress and weather volatility challenge sustainable food production. Realizing water supply for agriculture is the ground zero of climate adaptation, they led an interdisciplinary team of 30 water engineers, agriculture experts, management consultants, and investment professionals, to create this report. Under the advice of Professor Buzz Thompson, the team is also working on ideas to ensure balanced demand meets resilient and equitable supply, mitigating the climate risks. Follow the team’s Linkedin for more information and updates.
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Karli Moore (PhD, 3rd) was highlighted along with two other graduate students in the Stanford Report for using their Knight-Hennessy Scholar fellowship to support Native and Indigenous communities, both on and off campus. | |
 |  | This summer, Bianca Santos (PhD, 5th) traveled to Nagoya, Japan to participate in a new experimental oceanography research project aimed at better understanding the impacts of ocean warming on the migrations of loggerhead sea turtles. This study – known as Loggerhead STRETCH (Sea Turtle Research Experiment on the Thermal Corridor Hypothesis) is a new, five-year research project that will involve satellite tagging and releasing cohorts of 100 loggerhead turtles (25 turtles per year/4 years) over a range of oceanographic conditions to assess their movements. Led by principle investigator Dr. Larry Crowder, the team is testing a hypothesis which suggests that during anomalously warm oceanographic conditions (e.g., El Niño), a corridor of warm waters is created to allow for the pulsed migration of turtles to foraging grounds along the North American coast. These temperature-sensitive animals must cross the California current to reach North America – a deep ocean area that is typically too cold for most animals. Thus, this intermittent migratory pathway may provide the missing piece to understanding how turtles access these important areas, as well as provide critical insights into potential climate-driven adaptations. Read more about the project here, and follow along on the project website to see where the turtles go!
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Savannah Fletcher (MS-JD, ‘18) is still serving on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, but recently announced her run for Mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. You can learn more and support her campaign at SavannahForMayor.com.
Additionally, Savannah is continuing her research as a Co-Production Team Member with SEARCH as they seek to address and solve challenges facing Arctic communities through research with Indigenous Knowledge keepers, scientists, and policy and decision makers.
Gus Greenstein (PhD, ‘23) has started a new position as Assistant Professor of Public Policy & Administration at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University.
John Hare-Grogg (MS-JD, ‘21) joined the General Counsel’s office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on October 10.
Rebecca Miller (PhD, ‘21) has completed her AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the U.S. Department of State’s Climate Security & Resilience Program. While there, Rebecca worked on identifying which of the diplomatic posts have the highest exposure to wildfires, including exposure to severe wildfire smoke.
Rebecca has now transitioned to a new position as a Research Staff Member at the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI). STPI is a Federally-funded research and development center that supports the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other Federal science agencies.
Nik Sawe (PhD, ‘16) has joined the environmental think tank Energy Innovation as a Policy Analyst.
Andy Stock (PhD, ‘18) has started a new position as Research Scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research's regional office in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Greg Zegas (MS ‘22) was interviewed on KTVU as one of the lead authors on the report, In pursuit of clean air: Laying the groundwork for public school resilience to wildfire smoke. The report was based on research conducted in Stanford's Smoke: Wildfire science and Policy Practicum, which is a collaboration between the Stanford Law School's Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program, and the Woods Institute for the Environment's Climate and Energy Policy Program.
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Hilary Boudet (PhD, ‘10) is leading a research project that has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive $2.5 million to study community perceptions of offshore wind energy.
Seven E-IPER Joint MS-MBA students were accepted into the new Stanford Ecopreneurship program which enables graduate students to build organizations that will bring sustainability solutions to scale.
Thilo Braun, was awarded the Stanford Impact Founder in Ecopreneurship Fellowships (SIF-Eco). The Stanford Impact Founder prizes honor efforts to address environmental and social issues. The award is given to graduating advanced degree students who want to start high-impact ventures addressing the world’s most challenging environmental and social problems.
Claudio Guardado, Tomo Kumahira and Ryotaro Takanashi, Bharti Singhla, Tal Sarig, Meghan Wood, received the Summer Ecopreneurial Immersion (Eco-SEI) Fellowship Awards. The Summer Ecopreneurial Immersion Program offers Stanford graduate students an experiential learning opportunity to evaluate a sustainability-focused venture idea over the summer.
Ben Clark (MS-JD), has been chosen as one of twenty recipients of the 2023 Switzer Environmental Fellowship, a program of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation that awards environmental leaders a $17,000 cash award and leadership training to support their graduate studies and career development.
Sarah Fendrich (PhD, 2nd) and Ryan O’Connor (PhD, 3rd) have been selected as Graduate Student Fellows with the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society. This year-long fellowship creates a supportive community in which fellows will examine ethical questions specific to their research, and that more broadly relate to their roles as scholars and as citizens. They meet regularly throughout the academic year and collaborate on research that advances ethical understandings in our various fields.
Emma Krasovich Southworth (PhD, 2nd) was selected to be a Data Science Scholar. Data Science Scholars are a select group of current Stanford PhD students from all disciplines who are contributing to data-intensive science, whether through discoveries using data science (in the traditional sciences or other fields) or through enhanced data-science techniques (via computational, statistical, or mathematical research, for example).
Katie Wu (PhD, 2nd) has been awarded the graduate fellowship for the Stanford Human-Center Artificial Intelligence (HAI). The Stanford HAI fellowship programs encourage interdisciplinary research, facilitate new collaborations, and seek to grow the community of researchers interested in human-centered approaches to AI. In the two programs, these scholars will be able to learn from each other and HAI’s leading faculty, participate in enriching discussions, and develop new projects and research.
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Publications & Presentations | |
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Marilyn Cornelius (PhD, ‘13) new book new book The Soul of Feminism Reflections, is a series of essays that reflect on what feminism means and how it's being practiced today - both the empowering and toxic versions. The reflections are based on Marilyn's experiences working with feminists in the South Pacific and around the world.
| Continuing her journey of exploring climate-friendly and wellness-promoting food options, Marilyn Cornelius launched three more cookbooks this August, with her collaborator and Mom, Dr. Margaret Cornelius. This marks a total of nine recipe books that are plant-based and mostly gluten-free, with low oil, no refined sugars, and low salt options. The latest books are called Triumph of Love (snacks, sides, soups), Treasures of Love (mains and desserts), and Treats of Love (vegan and gluten-free treats for special occasions). The books are intended as guides for readers to build a relationship with their food through experimentation and eat closer to nature by adding more whole foods to their diets. |  | |
Journal Articles
Erica Bower (PhD, 5th) and colleagues published a paper titled “Enabling pathways for sustainable livelihoods in planned relocation” in Nature Climate Change.
Francisca Santana (PhD, '22) and colleagues recently published an article "Mālama i ke kai: Exploring psychosocial factors associated with personal and community coral reef conservation behavior on Maui, Hawai‘i" in Conservation Science and Practice.
Nik Sawe (PhD, ‘16) published a few journal articles with E-IPER alumni:
Basma Altaf, Laura SP Bloomfield, Dunia N Karzai, Nik A Sawe, Elizabeth L Murnane, Lucy Zhang Bencharit, James A Landay, Sarah L Billington "Time perception during the pandemic: A longitudinal study examining the role of indoor and outdoor nature exposure for remote workers" in Building and Environment.
Eva Bianchi, Laura SP Bloomfield, Lucy Z Bencharit, Basma Altaf, Nik A Sawe, Elizabeth L Murnane, James A Landay, Sarah L Billington “A study of the role of indoor nature on solidarity and group identity during remote work” in Building and Environment.
Kimberly C. Doell, Marc G. Berman, Gregory N. Bratman, Brian Knutson, Simone Kühn, Claus Lamm, Sabine Pahl, Nik Sawe, Jay J. Van Bavel, Mathew P. White & Tobias Brosch “Leveraging neuroscience for climate change research" in Nature Climate Change.
Andy Stock (PhD, ‘18) has two new publications to share:
Stock, A., Gregr, E.J. & Chan, K.M.A. Data leakage jeopardizes ecological applications of machine learning. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2023).
Stock, A., Murray, C.C., Gregr, E.J., Steenbeek, J., Woodburn, E., Micheli, F., Christensen, V. & Chan, K.M.A. (2023). Exploring multiple stressor effects with Ecopath, Ecosim, and Ecospace: Research designs, modeling techniques, and future directions. Science of The Total Environment, 869, 161719.
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News Articles and Reports | |
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Nik Sawe (PhD, ‘16) published an article titled "Colorado’s next big climate solution Is reducing industry emissions" in Forbes.
Xuehua Zhang (PhD, ’08) published an article on “Spearheading community composting of food waste in China” in BioCyle.
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Bianca Santos (PhD, 5th) would like to share two recently talks:
“Classifying Bycatch Mitigation Measures Across Jurisdictions: A Case Study in the Northeast Pacific” at a workshop on ‘Innovating for Change in Global Fisheries Governance’ at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea at the University of the Arctic in Tromsø, Norway on September 14, 2023.
“A Intersectional Analyses of Fishers’ Social-ecological Resilience in Palau” at the 2023 Student Conference on Conservation Science in New York on October 5, 2023, where she received honorable mention for best student presentation.
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 | | In November, current E-IPER students Bianca Santos (PhD, 5th), Meghan Shea (PhD 5th), and Ryan O’Connor (PhD, 3rd) attended the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawai`i. Meghan Shea presented her research on environmental DNA (eDNA) as an emerging tool for community scientists and co-organized a session that highlighted the many different ways of knowing and learning about the oceans. This session brought together historians of science, literary scholars, designers, anthropologists, and more in an interdisciplinary discussion of the meaning of the ocean. During this session, Bianca Santos presented findings and insights from her work on gender dynamics of fishing in Palau, and Ryan O’Connor presented insights and recommendations from his work on the value of participatory science methods in decolonizing ocean science. One of the highlights of the meeting was a plenary discussion that featured E-IPER alumna Dr. Mehana Vaughn (PhD, ‘12), who participated in a discussion with other Hawai`ian women scholars on the values of Indigenous knowledge and scholarship and the existing challenges in elevating Indigenous ways of knowing in the current scientific landscape.
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Ryan O’Connor (PhD, 3rd) gave a lecture at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts in June on “Humans and the Global Ocean” where he presented a theoretical framework that was developed for an upcoming paper with Prof. Nicole Ardoin and Dr. Alison Bowers of the Social Ecology Lab. The framework examines the relationship between place-based learning, participation in community science, and ocean conservation, and was presented through the case study of the volunteer community scientists monitoring the harbor seal population of Pacific Grove, CA.
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