Spring welcomed celebrations, new adventures, and reinvigorated programming. Students and alumni continue to excel in their academic, professional, and personal lives giving way to new opportunities heading into the next academic year. Wishing all a wonderful summer!
In this issue:
- E-IPER 20th Anniversary
- Commencement 2022
- Dissertation Defense: Marissa Childs, Josheena Naggea, Shannon Switzer Swanson, Briana Swette
- Welcome New Joint MS 2022 Cohort
- Collaboration Grants
- E-IPER Master's Research Assistantships
- Events: GSB Climate, Business & Innovation Summit and E-IPER Brunch
-
Student Connections: Windy Hill Hike, Salt & Straw, Pub Night Trivia, MS-JD Dinner, Book Club
- Student and Alumni News, including Awards & Honors, Publications & Presentations
|
|
Welcome remarks from Faculty Director Nicole M. Ardoin. Photo credit: Ai Tran |
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, E-IPER hosted a 20th Anniversary Celebration for students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, and friends at the O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm. Dean Steve Graham, former Faculty Director Peter Vitousek, and current Faculty Director Nicole Ardoin shared heartfelt remakes on the the program’s history, critically important mission, and formidable growth over the past years. Since its inception, E-IPER is proud to have over 155 faculty affiliated with the program and have graduated over 70 PhD and 200 Joint and Dual MS students. With perfect weather, flowers in full bloom, and vegetables ripe for picking, the event was filled with laughter and fun memories of E-IPER.
The event featured research photos of E-IPER PhD and MS students positioned around the farm. Collages of past retreats and commencement celebrations as well as a giant collage of past E-IPER memories were also on display. In the farm classroom, video vignettes of E-IPER history, curriculum, DEI efforts and community engagement played on a loop. We will be sharing the links to the video vignettes on our website soon.
|
|
Thank you to everyone for celebrating our 20th anniversary over the past one plus years. The alumni panel discussions and final party at the farm have been a lovely way to mark this important program milestone. Cheers to the next 20 years!
|
|
Photo credit: Nicole Ardoin |
|
Students and faculty at Commencement 2022. Photo credit: Ai Tran |
|
Joint/Dual MS 2021-2022 Graduates:
Catherine Brown, Ashley Cho, Barrie Ginberg, Joanna Klitzke, Morrison Mast, Kerry Omughelli, Adiam Tesfalul, Victoria Wills, Henry Bradlow, Karim Ibrik, Julius Niehaus, Charles Stone, Ryan Bolles, Jordan Conger, Lola Damski, Kevin Dousa, Johanna Eriksson, Caroline Ling, Chenyu Ren, Mason Gunter, Catherine Rocchi, Beverley See, Hannah Sieber, Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, Ada Statler, and Peixi Yan.
PhD 2021-2022 Graduates:
Marissa Childs, Nic Buckley Biggs, Kristen Green, KC McKanna, Josheena Naggea, Shannon Switzer Swanson, and Briana Swette.
E-IPER graduate students who we celebrated at commencement:
MS Students
Arnab Chatterjee (MS-MBA ‘21)
Kevin Dousa (MS-JD ‘22)
Ian Field (MS-MBA ‘21)
Joseph Ingrao (MS-MBA ‘21)
Catherine Rocchi (MS-JD ‘22)
Eitan Rovero-Shein (MS-MBA ‘20)
Ada Statler (MS-JD ‘22)
PhD Students
Nic Buckley ‘22
“Engaging Agricultural Landowners in Climate and Conservation:
California Case Studies”
Caroline Ferguson ‘21
“Lessons from Palau on Managing Fisheries for Equity and Sustainability”
KC McKanna ‘22
“The Impact of Identity, Situation, and Action Framing
on Environmental Behavior”
Rebecca Miller ‘21
“Wildfire Resilience Policies in California”
Josheena Naggea ‘22
“People and the Sea in the Mascarenes: Social-ecological Impacts of Disaster”
Chikara Onda ‘20
“Climate, Jobs, and Inequity: Models of Worker Mobility
and Distribution Under Carbon Pricing”
Lin Shi ‘21
“Supply Chain Sustainability in the Information and
Communication Technologies Industry”
Shannon Switzer Swanson ‘22
“Learning with Fishing Families: How Worldviews and Lived Experience
Shape Fisher Livelihoods and Marine Conservation”
Congratulations Class of 2021-2022! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see all the amazing things you will do and accomplish in the future!
Commencement photos can be found here and here.
|
|
PhD Dissertation Defense:
Marissa Childs, Josheena Naggea, Shannon Switzer Swanson, Briana Swette
|
|
On May 27, Marissa Childs successfully defended her dissertation, "Environmental Change and Human Health: Vector-Borne Disease Transmission and Wildfire Smoke Pollution."
Marissa’s dissertation focuses on two particular effects of environmental change on human health: vector-borne disease transmission and air pollution from wildfire smoke. Her research contributes to our understanding of the important linkages between environmental change and human health.
|
|
Professors Marshall Burke (Earth System Science), Erin Mordecai (Biology), Desiree LaBeaud (Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases), Stephen Luby (Medicine - Infectious Diseases), and David Lobell (Earth System Science) served on Marissa’s University Oral Examination Committee.
|
|
On May 26, Josheena Naggea successfully defended her dissertation, "People and the Sea in the Mascarenes: Social-Ecological Impacts of Disaster."
Josheena’s dissertation focuses on examining how coastal communities are impacted by and respond to two compounding stressors: COVID-19 and an oil spill in the Republic of Mauritius. Her dissertation sheds light on factors influencing environmental attitudes and behaviors, the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration in pre-disaster management plans, and triangulation of research approaches to gain an in-depth understanding of the impacts of multiple stressors on coastal communities. These findings indicate that understanding intrinsic and extrinsic motivations at a localized level can improve community inclusion and equity for local environmental stewardship and disaster preparedness.
|
|
Professors Larry Crowder (Hopkins Marine Station), Krish Seetah (Anthropology), Rob Dunbar (Earth System Science), Jennifer O’Leary (Western Indian Ocean Wildlife Conservation Society), and Fio Micheli (Hopkins Marine Station) served on Josheena’s University Oral Examination Committee.
|
|
On May 9, Shannon Switzer Swanson successfully defended her dissertation, "Learning with Fishing Families: How Worldviews and Lived Experience Shape Fisher Livelihoods and Marine Conservation."
Shannon’s dissertation takes an embedded approach to examine how understanding the worldviews and lived experience of Indigenous small-scale fishers, including how marine resources contribute to their well-being, can move toward more productive and inclusive resource management in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, the heart of the Coral Triangle. Her research shows how local weather patterns influence resource use and well-being and argue for conservation approaches that are more attentive to these cycles, and provides empirical evidence of how fisher ontology (ways of being) and epistemology (ways of knowing) influence marine resource use, as well as how the aquarium trade contributes to fisher livelihoods. These findings inform recommendations for including fisher worldviews and lived experience in conservation efforts.
|
|
Professors Nicole Ardoin (Education), Larry Crowder (Hopkins Marine Station), Bill Durham (Human Biology), Annet Pauwelussen (Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University), and Gabrielle Wong-Parodi (Earth System Science) served on Shannon’s University Oral Examination Committee.
|
|
On March 3, Briana Swette successfully defended her dissertation, "Engaging Agricultural Landowners in Climate and Conservation: California Case Studies."
Briana’s dissertation seeks to understand the drivers, ecological impacts, and social responses of a multi-faceted land use transition on rangelands in the High Divide of the Northern Rocky Mountains. Her research characterizes the complex social-ecological dynamics of a rural land use transition and provides insights to promote sustainable rangeland landscapes in an uncertain future.
|
|
Professors Eric Lambin (Earth System Science), Michelle Anderson (Law), Lynn Huntsinger (Rangeland Management, UC Berkeley), Bruce Cain (Political Science), and Rodolfo Dirzo (Biology) served on Briana’s University Oral Examination Committee.
|
|
Welcome Joint MS 2022 Cohort!
This quarter, the E-IPER Joint and Dual MS program welcomed our newest cohort of students. This cohort is one of E-IPER’s largest classes with forty-one first-year MBA students, two second-year MBA students, seven first-year JD students, one first-year Master’s in International Policy MA student, and one PhD student from Communications, for a total of fifty-two students!
The program welcomed the new cohort with a Welcome Pizza Party the evening of April 14, 2022. During the party students had the opportunity to connect outside of their first-year core course, "ENVRES 280: Introduction to Environmental and Resources Systems," for a high-level overview of the program from our Associate Directors, Mele Wheaton and Ann Marie Pettigrew.
It was a great opportunity for our new cohort to gather outside of the classroom, play a fun game of trivia, and learn more about the program! Welcome to E-IPER new Joint MS students!
|
|
Students playing trivia. Photo credit: Gabby Magana |
|
New Collaboration Grant Awardees
The awardees of this year's Collaboration Grants have been announced!!
The E-IPER Collaboration Grants provide an opportunity for E-IPER PhD and Joint MS students to leverage their unique skill sets to collaboratively address significant environmental challenges. Successful projects couple the research rigor of the doctoral student with the professional skills of the joint master's student. Students receive $10,000 for the project costs, as well as a stipend for the PhD students and one quarter of graduate tuition for the MS students.
Five innovative projects received awards through the 2022 Collaboration Grant. These projects attend to a broad range of important issues related to environment and resources including, agrivoltaics, marine protected areas, migratory marine species conservation, carbon dioxide removal and aviation greenhouse gas emissions. Congratulations to all!
“Fostering Tribal-Owned Agrivoltaic Developments in Indian Country”
Team: Karli Moore (PhD) and Claire Yerman (MS-JD)
Advisors: David Lobell (ESS) and Elizabeth Reese (SLS)
|
|
“Assessing the Intersection of Decision Science and Marine Governance Across Various Stakeholder Groups”
Team: Ryan O’Connor (PhD) and Emily Rogers (MS-MBA)
Advisors: Rob Dunbar (ESS) and Paul Breast (SLS, GSB)
|
|
“Managing Highly Migratory Species in the High Seas: Lessons Learned and Best Practices from the United States”
Team: Bianca Santos (PhD) and Sabrina Devereaux (MS-JD)
Advisors: Larry Crowder (Woods) and Janet Martinez (SLS)
|
|
“Social and Political Viability of Scalable Deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal in the U.S.”
Team: Celina Scott-Buechler (PhD), Royce Gene (MS-MBA), and
Greg Zegas (MS-MBA)
Advisors: Bruce Cain (Political Science) and Alyssa Rapp (GSB)
|
|
“Making Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Count”
Team: Leehi Yona (PhD) and Alana Reynolds (MS-JD)
Advisors: Rob Jackson (ESS) and Debbie Sivas (SLS)
|
|
E-IPER Master's Research Assistantships
E-IPER kicked off Spring 2022 with the E-IPER MS RAship which offers students the opportunity to work on faculty mentored, individualized environment, energy, and sustainability research. Through this offering, E-IPER aims to encourage and accelerate collaboration among faculty scholars, their labs, and the MS students as emerging practitioners. This spring we had three E-IPER MS students participate in the RAship program, augmenting their course-based learning with research experiences.
“Our Communities, Our Bay”
Considering the increase in severe weather events and concerns about how to adapt to them, Ben Maines (MS-MD ‘23) and Daniel Gajardo (MS-MA ‘23) collaborated with the Stanford Future Bay Initiative and Professor Gabrielle Wong-Parodi to understand and support climate resilience in low-income communities in the Bay Area. As part of the research project “Our Communities, Our Bay,” Ben and Daniel coordinated air quality monitoring and management efforts in households in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks, supporting the project’s transition to a full-scale 3-year longitudinal study with 420 households.
As part of their work, Ben and Daniel participated in community-driven research, facilitating the interaction with community organizations and households in the area of study. They conducted field visits and semi-structured interviews with pilot participants in order to identify improvement opportunities for the full-scale study.
|
|
Site visit to participants in the pilot study where E-IPER students, Ben Maines and Sergio Lopez speak with participants and a weatherization specialist to better understand home weatherization as an inexpensive adaptation strategy for wildfire smoke and air pollution. |
|
“Addressing Clean Water Act Noncompliance”
Despite gains in water quality over the last half century, surprising and considerable amounts of noncompliance with the Clean Water Act continues to occur and remains a pressing issue throughout the US. In support of the EPA’s goals to improve compliance and US water quality, Alana Reynolds (JD-MS ’23) collaborated with Professor Daniel Ho and the Reglab’s members to analyze the results of an experimental trial implemented by Reglab and designed to improve compliance by reminding NPDES permittees of their legal obligations to submit reports on their operations by the EPA’s set deadlines.
Alana’s RAship focused on analyzing and compiling relevant literature in order to draft the literary review section and explanatory graphics for an upcoming academic paper. The experiment was run in partnership with the EPA and the results will be shared with both the agency and academic groups once finalized. Those involved hope the experiment will provide useful information about how well this trial intervention might perform as a formal EPA policy geared towards reducing violations of the Clean Water Act.
|
|
GSB Climate, Business & Innovation Summit
|
|
On May 18th, Abigail Mathieson (MS-MBA '22), Eric Nevalsky (MS-MBA '22) and Anca Timofte (MBA '22) co-hosted the fourth annual GSB Climate, Business & Innovation Summit. The theme of this year’s summit was “Every Career Will Be A Climate Career.” This summit sought to highlight the far-reaching impact that climate change will have on Stanford students and alumni, no matter their chosen field.
The event attracted over 300 attendees who spent the day on the Graduate School of Business campus hearing from sustainability leaders ranging from Nike's Head of Sustainability to Senior Advisors to the Secretary of Energy. The event kicked off with 20-minute “Lightning Talks” from Alicia Seiger, (Deputy Director of Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance), Jane Woodward (Adjunct Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Jeffery Ball (Lecturer at Stanford Law School). The event then moved into a series of breakout panels featuring prominent speakers across four fields: New Technology, Policy, Corporate Commitments, and Capital Deployment. The 2022 summit also featured an Innovation Expo, where Stanford students and alumni showcased their climate startups and networked with summit attendees. The day concluded with an inspiring fireside chat with Kate Gordon, this year’s Climate Summit Keynote, who spoke about the intersection of energy policy, economic development, and climate justice (recording here).
E-IPER organized a brunch before the Summit to bring E-IPER students together with alumni and panelists from the event. The Brunch was organized by Daniel Sandoval (MS-MBA 23’) and Katherine Playfair (MS-MBA ‘23) and was attended by over 50 participants from across the E-IPER community.
|
|
To ring in spring, some of our E-IPER PhD and MS students--across three different years and four different programs--did a lovely loop hike under clear skies at Windy Hill. At the top, they were treated to panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay to the East and the ocean over the ridge to the West. At the bottom, they got to escape the sun through a shady, creekside portion of the trail. And at the end, they celebrated an awesome morning with pizza among the redwoods at Alice's Restaurant! |
|
In April, the student Social Committee (S-comm) treated E-IPER PhD and MS students to ice cream at Salt and Straw in downtown Palo Alto. Students gathered to try fun flavors and catch-up on the first few weeks of the Spring quarter. |
|
Ryan O’Connor and Aly Singleton (rising 2nd year PhD) hosted a pub-style trivia night where teams competed in five rounds of questions on Y2E2’s third-floor patio. Round themes included E-IPER history, California landmarks, and current events. Three teams fought valiantly to the end of the final round, with the winning team members taking home Stanford Earth mugs filled with dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Very lucky to have a few pets and partners join as well! |
|
Joint Law-MS students from across all three cohorts enjoyed dinner together at the classic local establishment Palo Alto Creamery. Over fries, shakes and wine, they chatted about their interests (academic, environmental, and otherwise) and shared advice about balancing the joint degree experience. |
|
In this lyrical manifesto, Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. He argues that we need to force fossil fuel extraction to stop--with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools.
|
|
David Gonzalez (PhD ‘21) has accepted an assistant professor position at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
Tianqi (Alex) Li (MS-MBA ‘21) has been promoted from Principal to Partner at MVP Ventures firm.
Damien Scott (MS-MBA ’17) and Mike Caron (MS-MBA ’20) sold their company, Marain, to BrightDrop and started new positions there on the product management team. Damien founded Marain shortly after his time at Stanford and Mike was an early member of the founding leadership team. BrightDrop, based in Palo Alto, is the GM company building commercial electric vehicles and software for the last-mile delivery ecosystem. Damien and Mike will work to integrate Marain’s simulation and optimization technology into BrightDrop’s software offering to continue their mission of electrifying transportation. Read more about their journey in Damien's blog post.
|
|
Damien Scott and Mike Caron test driving the BrightDrop's Zevo 600 |
|
A.R. Siders (PhD '18) is taking on a new role as co-director of the Gerard J. Mangone Climate Science and Policy Hub at the University of Delaware, where she'll be working to promote climate-relevant research and education. She's looking for collaborations!
This spring, Siders also fulfilled a lifelong dream when she presented at the Science Fiction Convention Balticon while in costume as mad scientist Agatha Heterodyne.
|
|
Tannis Thorlakson (PhD ‘18) was promoted to Director of Sustainability at Driscoll’s, the global fresh berry company. In her new role Tannis will lead the company’s climate change and sustainable farming initiatives. If you have cool sustainability solutions in the specialty produce space, she’d love to hear your thoughts!
|
|
Cassandra Brooks (PhD ‘16) received an NSF CAREER award grant for her work titled “Using Otolith Chemistry to Reveal the Life History of Antarctic Toothfish in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Testing Fisheries and Climate Change Impacts on a Top Fish Predator”. Here is the story from the University of Colorado and a post from the NSF.
Cassandra also received two additional awards: Explorer’s Club 50 class of 2022 and Jackie Ronne Award for Antarctic Research or Exploration by the Society of Women Geographers.
MS-MBA students John Foye, Mason Gunter, and Greg Zegas were recognized with Impact Awards for their leadership in addressing social and environmental issues.
Bianca Santos (PhD 3rd), Meghan Shea (PhD 3rd), and Leehi Yona (PhD 4th), have received the Certificate of Achievement in Mentoring in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.
|
|
Publications & Presentations |
|
Our alumni have been busy publishing!
Books
Lauren Oakes (PhD ‘15) signed a contract with her publisher to write another book. Currently titled Treekeepers: Creating the Forests of the Future, it explores the science behind, and legitimacy of, the global forest restoration movement. It is a story of the scientists, citizens, and leaders who are seeking to recreate what was lost in the degradation of our world’s forests and are now striving to retain and restore the lingering green.
Journal Articles
Casandra Brooks (PhD ‘16) has several recent co-authored publications:
Brooks, C.M. & D.G. Ainley. 2022. A summary of United States research and monitoring in support of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area. Diversity, 14, 447.
White, C., S. Mangubhai, L. Rumetna & C. Brooks. 2022. The bridging role of non-governmental organizations in the planning, adoption, and management of the marine protected area network in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Marine Policy, 141: 105095.
Sullivan-Stack, J., O. Aburto-Oropeza, C. Brooks, R. Cabral, J. Caselle, F. Chan, J. Duffy, D. Dunn, A. Friedlander, H. Fulton-Bennett, S. Gaines, L. Gerber, E. Hines, H. Leslie, S. Lester, J. MacCarthy, S. Maxwell, J. Mayorga, D. McCauley, F. Micheli, R. Moffitt, K. Nickols, S. Palumbi, D. Pearsall, E. Pike, E. Pikitch, G. Sancho, A. Spalding, D. Suman, S. Sykora-Bodie & K. Grorud-Colvert 2022. A scientific synthesis of Marine Protected Areas in the United States: Status and recommendations. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9.
Nocito, E.*, J. Sullivan-Stack, E. Pike, K. Gjerde & C. Brooks. 2022. Applying Marine Protected Area frameworks to areas beyond national jurisdiction. Sustainability, 14: 5971.
LaRue, M., C. Brooks, M. Wege, L. Salas, & N. Gardiner. 2022. High-resolution satellite imagery provides monitoring capabilities for marine protection, Conservation Letters. e12884.
Saskia Comess (PhD 2nd) has a hot off the press new publication:
Comess, S., H. Wang, S. Holmes, & C. Donnat. 2022. Statistical modeling for practical pooled testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistical Science. 37 (2) 229 - 250.
Caroline Ferguson (PhD ‘21), Kristen Green (PhD ‘21), and Shannon Switzer Swanson (PhD ‘22) published an article via shared first authorship:
Ferguson, C. E., Green, K. M., & Swanson, S. S. 2022. Indigenous food sovereignty is constrained by “time imperialism”. Geoforum, 133, 20-31.
David Gonzalez (PhD ’21) co-authored a new article:
Berberian, A. G., Gonzalez, D. J., & Cushing, L. J. 2022. Racial disparities in climate change-related health effects in the United States. Current Environmental Health Reports, 1-14.
Lauren Oakes (PhD ‘15) led a new article:
Oakes, L. E., Peterson St‐Laurent, G., Cross, M. S., Washington, T., Tully, E., & Hagerman, S. 2022. Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of multiple benefits in conservation initiatives that aim to foster climate change adaptation. Conservation Science and Practice, e12688.
|
|
News Articles and Reports |
|
"California has an abundance of biomass-based resources derived from the state’s diverse agricultural, urban waste and forest streams. These biomass resource types can be converted to bioenergy products that have many potential applications across California’s energy system, including renewable electricity generation, pipeline biomethane production, and low carbon transportation fuel production. However, today, most of the carbon from this biomass returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane as the biomass naturally decays or gets burned, representing an opportunity lost for bioenergy production." This study by Anela Arifi (PhD 2nd) and Chris Field highlights the “Bioenergy Opportunity in California”. The full study and 1-page summary brief can be downloaded here.
This is one of the eight studies published as a part of the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage effort to inform the discussion on pathways to carbon neutrality in California through an assessment of energy system options that encompass a broad range of technologies, including CCS, bioenergy, H2, negative emissions, and other technologies and technology transformations. The results from Anela’s study will be used in an integrated assessment model in the upcoming year to create decarbonization scenarios for California. The final scenarios will be presented to the state’s regulatory agencies.
|
|
Nina Brooks (PhD ‘20) wrote an article for Foreign Affairs with several colleagues about the implications of reversing Roe for US influence on global abortion policy and politics.
Presentations
Saskia Comess (PhD 2nd) presented a poster titled "A Bayesian Framework for Incorporating Exposure Uncertainty into Health Outcome Analyses" at the Society for Epidemiologic Research 2022 Annual Conference (SER).
|
|
"Mycelium leather? Brewed proteins? What are these and what do they have to do with fashion?" Felice Gunawan (MS-MBA ‘11), will be speaking on the future of material innovation in fashion. Come join her at the Fashion Incubator SF with Nicole Rawling from Material Innovation Initiative for a lively discussion.
|
|
Contributors to this issue include:
Maile Kuida, Gabriela Magana, Ben Maines, Alana Reynolds, Abigail Mathieson,
Eric Nevalsky, Ann Marie Pettigrew, Ai Tran, Mele Wheaton
Edited by:
The E-IPER Staff
Thank you for continuing to support E-IPER!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
