Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 51-100 of 112 Results
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Yuchi Ma
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioAs a postdoctoral scholar in Earth System Science at Stanford University with a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering and a minor in Machine Learning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), my research is dedicated to developing and applying precision sensing technologies and Geospatial AI to advance scalable Earth observation, environmental monitoring, and data-driven decision support. My research program develops sensing-to-decision frameworks that connect the physical and computational dimensions of the Earth system. I contribute across three tightly linked areas: (1) remote sensing strategies for fine-scale environmental and agroecosystem observation; (2) GeoAI methods that improve model generalization across space, sensors, and time; and (3) science applications that translate these methods into actionable insights on land management, climate resilience, and sustainability.
My research has resulted in 8 first-authored and 17 co-authored publications in leading journals, including Nature Sustainability and Remote Sensing of Environment. The impact of my work is reflected in 2 first-authored papers recognized as Web of Science Highly Cited Papers (Top 1%) and 1 first-authored paper designated as a Top Cited Paper in Remote Sensing of Environment (2025). Beyond academia, the real-world impact of my research is evident: my models have been adopted by USDA and Google X, demonstrating their practical value to both government and industry.
Besides, I have taught 3 courses, including one semester as the Lecturer of Record in Geography at UW-Madison. For service, I have served as reviewers for over 30 journals and convened agroecosystem- and AI-related sessions at the AGU and AAG meetings. In addition, I have actively secured internal and external funding, serving as PI or Co-PI on multiple awarded projects. These leadership and collaborative roles have allowed me to build enduring connections with top researchers from academic institutions and private sectors, extending my professional network beyond Stanford. More details are listed in my CV. -
Benjamin Maki
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioBen joined Stanford's Earth System Science department as a postdoctoral scholar in February 2026. He is currently working on a series of projects related to the sustainable management of groundwater resources in California's Central Valley, where his work is focused within the context of managed aquifer recharge (MAR). MAR is a suite of methods used to redirect excess surface water into groundwater systems and has emerged as a key strategy to bank freshwater and restore groundwater levels throughout California. More specifically, his work focuses on better understanding the potential risks to groundwater quality posed by naturally occurring geogenic contaminants during recharge efforts, where changes to native geochemical conditions during recharge can result in the inadvertent mobilization of toxic naturally occurring contaminants, such as arsenic, uranium, chromium, and manganese. Current work funded through the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, and in partnership with the Madera Irrigation District among other community partners, aims to establish a simple, functional multi-user focused toolkit to aid in effectively and safely scaling groundwater recharge efforts throughout the state. Importantly, this work focuses on both understanding community level concerns during local groundwater recharge projects, while simultaneously establishing effective groundwater quality monitoring protocols and designing simple, scalable, and effective field-scale management solutions to protect long-term groundwater quality.
Prior to joining Stanford, Ben completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology, with a designated emphasis in Public Policy, at the University of California Riverside (UCR). His dissertation research focused on assessing the mechanistic controls driving inadvertent geogenic metals solubilization and transformation within MAR systems designed to infiltrate untreated stormwater runoff using recharge basins on agricultural lands in the Pajaro Valley, CA. These systems were uniquely designed to remediate nitrate contamination within infiltrating stormwater via the application of carbon based (e.g., woodchips, almond shells, etc.) horizontal permeable reactive barriers, installed within basin surface soils, where carbon solubilization effectively stimulated native microbial communities to reduce and remediate excess nitrate during infiltration. However, the conditions that promote denitrification (e.g., excess organic carbon and shifts to oxygen depleted conditions) can also result in the solubilization of geogenic metals from soils. Ben’s dissertation work employed novel methods to assess how these processes were influenced by excess organic carbon availability and redox cycling, representative of the cycling wet and dry condition in basin soils during recharge, to better understand the balance between water quality tradeoffs and consider system management strategies to maximize water quality benefits while reducing risks. Preceding his time at UCR, Ben received a BS in Environmental Science from Western Washington University, where he studied the influences of amorphous iron oxyhydroxides and biological amendments on arsenic and iron bioavailability, fate, and transport in soils.
When not thinking about groundwater replenishment, Ben enjoys time with friends, family, and his partner Al and dog Rupert. He spends the bulk of his free time surfing on the California coast, exploring the Bay Area by bicycle and campervan, traveling to as many new places as possible, and enjoying live music, and good food and company along the way! -
Josheena Naggea
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsJosheena's community-engaged research focuses on small-scale fisheries, disaster impacts and recovery, marine protected area management, and the valorization of natural and cultural heritage in ocean governance. She has a keen interest in understanding people-ocean connections and how that influences pro-ecological behavior and local environmental stewardship.
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Alireza Namayandeh
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAlireza Namayandeh’s research focuses on the formation, transformation, and environmental impacts of metal-bearing nanoparticles in soil, water, and air, with a particular emphasis on their role in wildfire-generated pollution. His work investigates how wildfires contribute to the release and transport of toxic metal nanoparticles, assessing their chemical and physical properties and their implications for human health and ecosystem contamination.
His current research, supported by the NSF Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellowship, explores the mechanisms by which biomass burning generates toxic airborne nanoparticles and how soil mineralogy influences their formation. By combining laboratory experiments, synchrotron-based spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and field studies, he aims to better understand the pathways of metal mobilization during wildfires. He is also leading efforts to analyze ash and soil samples from recent wildfires in California, including the Eaton and Palisade fires in Los Angeles, to assess the risks associated with airborne metal nanoparticles.
Beyond wildfire-driven pollution, he is interested in the fundamental geochemistry of nanoparticle formation and transport. His previous work on precursor clusters of iron oxy-hydroxides provided new insights into the formation of metal-bearing nanoparticles and their role in controlling contaminant mobility in the environment. He continues to explore how ultrafine particles interact with toxic metals, organic matter, and microbial communities in both terrestrial and atmospheric systems.
His broader scholarly interests include wildfire geochemistry, atmospheric particulate matter, environmental mineralogy, and the intersection of environmental geochemistry and public health. His goal is to develop a deeper understanding of how natural and anthropogenic processes influence the formation and dispersion of hazardous nanoparticles, ultimately contributing to improved air quality standards, risk assessment models, and environmental policies in wildfire-prone regions. -
Mark Nikolic
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth and Planetary Sciences
BioI study large scale processes of evolution through earth history using the fossil record. In doing so, I make use of computational and phylogenetic approaches along with large datasets. I also lead the History of Life and Biodiversity summer internship through the Stanford Young Investigators program. Aside from fossils, I'm also a big fan of riding my bike and disco music.
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Dr. Mahendra Nimmakanti
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioI am a climate scientist with academic training spanning meteorology, oceanography, and climate dynamics, holding an M.Sc. in Meteorology and an M.Tech. in Atmospheric Sciences from Andhra University, and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from NIT Rourkela, where my doctoral research focused on monsoon variability and climate dynamics.
My research integrates advanced climate modeling (CESM2, RegCM5, WRF), large-scale diagnostic analysis, and high-performance computing to investigate the dynamics of the Indian Summer Monsoon, AMOC–monsoon teleconnections, ENSO interactions, tropical–extratropical coupling, and sub-seasonal to seasonal prediction. I have developed specialized diagnostic frameworks for identifying climate system transitions and tipping elements, and have collaborated actively with international research groups across Europe, North America, and South Asia. My work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals. -
Marcus Nobrega Gomes Jr
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsBy recreating high-resolution flood maps for the last 50 years in California, my research aims to cross-correlate flood hazard maps with medical records to investigate whether a causal relation exists.
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Carolina Olguin Jacobson
Postdoctoral Scholar, Oceans
BioMy research focuses on socio-ecological systems within fishery cooperatives in Baja California, Mexico, exploring their resilience and adaptation strategies to climate change and COVID-19 impacts through oceanographic and ecological monitoring. Working with marine protected areas and climate refugia areas.
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Lamprini Papargyri
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioLamprini Papargyri is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University co-advised by Professor Steve Davis and Dr. Ken Caldeira. She earned her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cyprus, where she worked under the guidance of Professor Panos Papanastasiou to optimize the durability of materials used in photovoltaic systems. Her doctoral research employed advanced computational modeling using 3D finite element methods and XFEM to simulate stress, cracking, and degradation mechanisms in photovoltaic materials.
At Stanford, Lamprini’s research lies at the intersection of climate policy, economics, and equity. Her current work explores how economies with income inequality can optimally allocate resources between income redistribution and emissions abatement. Beyond research, she has led and contributed to multi-million-euro research initiatives across Europe and remains deeply interested in the societal and ethical dimensions of emerging technologies. Broadly, she is interested in developing integrated models that inform equitable and sustainable pathways for climate mitigation and economic development. -
Ashley Prow Fleischer
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth and Planetary Sciences
BioI earned a PhD in Earth Science with a focus in paleoclimatology from Syracuse University, where my research focused on reconstructing past environmental change and biotic responses using microfossils and geochemical proxies. My work integrates stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and climate modeling to better understand Earth's climate dynamics during the intervals of rapid change, like the Late Devonian and end Triassic mass extinctions.
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Chenfei Qu
Postdoctoral Scholar, Environmental Social Sciences
BioChenfei Qu’s research focuses on climate change economics, including emissions trading systems, carbon pricing, air pollution, and integrated assessment of climate and energy policies, with an emphasis on general equilibrium modeling for policy analysis in developing countries. She holds a Ph.D. in Management Science and Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management, both from Tsinghua University. Chenfei Qu was a visiting scholar at the ZEW–Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in 2024. Her work has been published in journals such as Climate Change Economics, Advances in Climate Change Research, and Environmental Science & Technology.
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Lisa Rennels
Postdoctoral Scholar, Environmental Social Sciences
Biopersonal website (more frequently updated): lisarennels.com
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Lane D. Smith
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Science and Engineering
BioLane D. Smith is a postdoctoral scholar working with the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. His research interests include energy policy, electricity rate design, energy affordability, and macro-energy systems (with a particular focus on the electric grid). Lane holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington (2024 and 2019, respectively) and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver (2018).
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Suihong Song
Physical Science Research Scientist, Energy Science & Engineering
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Science and EngineeringBioSuihong Song collaborates with Professor Tapan Mukerji at the Stanford Center for Earth Resources Forecast (SCERF) as a postdoctoral scholar. His research is centered on integrating machine learning with geosciences, specifically focusing on machine learning-based reservoir characterization and geomodelling, Physics-informed Neural Networks (PINNs) and neural operators as well as their applications in porous flow simulations, neural networks-based surrogate and inversion, decision-making under uncertainty, and machine learning-based geological interpretation of well logs and seismic data. These research endeavors have practical applications in managing underground water resources, oil and gas exploration, geological storage of CO2, and the evaluation of hydrothermal and natural hydrogen, among others.Song proposed GANSim, an abbreviation for Generative Adversarial Networks-based reservoir simulation, which presents a reservoir geomodelling workflow. This innovative approach has been successfully implemented in various 3D field reservoirs by international oil companies, including ExxonMobil.
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Catherine Spurin
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Resources Engineering
BioI am a postdoctoral researcher in the Energy Science & Engineering department. My current research is focused on understanding how subsurface heterogeneity can be exploited to increase the amount of CO2 that is residually trapped. This increases storage security and minimizes the spread of the CO2 plume. This research makes up part of the GeoCquest consortium with Melbourne University, Cambridge University and CO2CRC. My supervisors are Prof. Hamdi Tchelepi and Prof. Sally Benson.
I obtained my PhD from Imperial College London in 2021. My PhD thesis "Intermittent flow pathways for multiphase flow in porous media: a pore-scale perspective" explored how flow phenomena not included in the framework of Darcy's law extended to multiphase flow influence the propagation and trapping of fluids. My supervisors were Prof. Sam Krevor and Prof. Martin Blunt. My research was funded by the President's PhD scholarship at Imperial. -
Griffin Srednick
Postdoctoral Scholar, Oceans
BioGriffin Srednick, PhD, is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford Oceans and a community ecologist specializing in the spatiotemporal dynamics of marine communities. His postdoctoral research investigates how coral reef communities recover from disturbance and respond to the effects of climate change. Conducted within the National Science Foundation's Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, his work examines how spatiotemporal heterogeneity in coral communities can promote ecological resilience. By integrating oceanographic modeling with coral reef ecology, his research aims to reveal the mechanisms underpinning coral recovery following disturbance. His broader scientific interests focus on understanding the complex architecture of ecosystems and how a holistic view of ecological systems can inform and enhance conservation and restoration strategies.
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Rafael Stern
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioRafael Stern was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is 35 years old, and married to Gal. Rafael has a BSc in Geography from the Geosciences Department of Universidade Federal Fluminense, in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has a MSc from the Climate and Environment Department of the National Institute of Amazon Research in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, with the supervision of prof. Paulo Artaxo, and he measured the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particles during forest fires season in the Amazon rainforest. He has a PhD from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, with the supervision of prof. Dan Yakir, and he used a mobile eddy covariance station to compare the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of different ecosystems and of PV fields on drylands.
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Yudong Sun
Postdoctoral Scholar, Geophysics
BioYudong's study areas are earthquake physics, numerical modeling, InSAR, glaciology, and geodynamics. He specializes in numerical simulations of earthquake cycles and dynamic ruptures, integrating models with observations and laboratory experiments. He has published papers covering topics including back-propagating ruptures, slow slip events, fault roughness, deformation of glaciers, and lithospheres.
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Koen van Greevenbroek
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioKoen is a postdoctoral scholar at the Sustainable Solutions Lab, working with Ken Caldeira and Steve Davis. His current work involves developing a global food systems optimization model to study trade-offs and synergies between emissions and health. With a background in mathematics and interested in sustainability generally, he has previously worked on continental long-term planning of energy systems. During his PhD at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, he focussed in particular on near-optimal solutions and weather variability.
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Luwen Wan
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioLuwen is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, working with Dr. Kate Maher, Professor at Stanford University in the Department of Earth System Science. Her postdoctoral research focuses on developing tools for tracking the recovery and activity of the North American beaver from a computer version and evaluating beaver as a tool for fostering sustainable waterways. She received her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Science from Michigan State University, where she worked on nutrient transport modeling across the Great Lakes Basin and agricultural tile drainage mapping across the US Midwest region.
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Margaret Weng
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioMaggie Weng is a NASA postdoctoral fellow in the Dekas lab at Stanford University. Her research focuses on understanding molybdenum availability and uptake strategies at deep-sea methane seeps. She uses culture-independent techniques including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and stable isotope probing to understand whole-community dynamics. She earned her PhD from Georgetown University in 2024 with Dr. Sarah Stewart Johnson, where her research focused on microbes in hypersaline environments, and her bachelor's degree in 2019 from Washington University in St. Louis. She is interested in microbial persistence at the edge of possibility, including extreme environments and polluted sites, and how microbial communities contribute to bioremediation and ecosystem stability. She always says yes to fieldwork and as a consequence has found herself in the Atacama Desert, Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland, and Western Australia as well as a commercial salt factory in San Diego, CA. When not in the lab she is an avid writer, hiker and knitter. Her fiction and nonfiction writing have appeared in The Los Angeles Review and Northern Woodlands magazine. When out in the woods, she appreciates a good biofilm almost as much as a good view.
