Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 101-200 of 394 Results
-
Lama El Halabi
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Spring 2022
BioI am a PhD candidate in the Department of Energy Sciences and Engineering and a Data Science Scholar, advised by Adam Brandt. My research is driven by the crucial role renewable energy must play in sustainably meeting our energy demands. The major challenge in transitioning to renewable energy lies in the intermittent and inherently uncertain nature of these energy sources. My current research focuses on predicting energy outputs from these stochastically behaving sources, with an emphasis on uncertainty quantification and volatility. Specifically, I employ computer vision models and statistical techniques to develop short-term probabilistic photovoltaic (PV) power forecasts from sky images and time-series PV data. I hold an MS in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford and a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a BS in Physics from the American University of Beirut. Previously, my research involved using machine learning to model water resources.
-
Emily Ellefson
Ph.D. Student in Geological Sciences, admitted Autumn 2021
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am a palynologist, that is, I study fossilized pollen and spores! Previously I have worked on Permian-Triassic and Jurassic-Cretaceous palynology, but here at Stanford I'm excited to be exploring a new time interval and will be working on Silurian-Devonian palynology. My research will focus on how the evolution of terrestrial plants affected the marine redox record through palynology, paleobotany, and geochemistry.
-
Safari Fang
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020
BioSafari Fang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER). She is an interdisciplinary scientist and ocean conservation leader with proven experience and passion for connecting people from diverse backgrounds to facilitate deep, meaningful collaborations aimed at solving environmental challenges. Growing up next to a polluted Yangtze River in China, Safari aspired from an early age to work in environmental conservation, and she connects deeply with communities that live the real consequences of pollution and habitat destruction. Her current research focuses on aquaculture and fisheries, food security, and community-based marine conservation. Through her research and action, Safari is engaging diverse stakeholders in the global seafood system and fostering collaborations among sectors for the sustainable use of ocean resources.
Safari is an alumna of the Blue Pioneers Program, a leadership development program for ocean conservationists from Asia. She sits on the board of directors of Demos Education Hub, an environmental education and community development NGO in Hainan, China. Safari has lived and worked in several countries, including China, the U.S., Iceland, Germany, and France. She speaks fluent Chinese and English and enjoys reading, swimming, kayaking, hiking, whale watching, yoga, meditation, and creative writing. -
Sarah Fendrich
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioSarah is interested in the design and evaluation of decision support systems for local and regional-scale climate adaptation. Her research aims to explore the social and cognitive processes through which decision support systems — both digital decision support tools and the activities of regional climate resilience networks — shape adaptation planning and implementation, organizational learning, and environmental outcomes. She is specifically interested in supporting more adaptive and integrated water resources management. Sarah’s current work focuses on better understanding the collaborative landscape of federal decision support activities using social network analysis, as well as the decision-making and planning processes of local stormwater managers in coastal communities across the U.S. using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, interviews, and document analysis.
Sarah holds a BA in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Stanford, she worked on health care innovation and equity research at the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit and the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. -
Stephanie Fischer
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2022
Ph.D. Minor, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
Grad OCT, Hume CenterBioStephanie Fischer (she/her) is a Ph.D. Candidate with the Behavioral Decisions and the Environment group with Dr. Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, and is a Ph.D. minor with the Center for Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity. She is largely interested in community-led solutions that bolster adaptive capacity in the face of acute disasters and chronic climate hazards, and the ways culture and identity play a pivotal role in achieving holistic well-being and transformative climate justice.
Stephanie also holds a B.A. in Music Composition and a B.A. in Earth Systems (Human Environmental Systems) from Stanford University. -
TJ Francisco
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2023
BioI primarily work with reptiles and amphibians in forests and agroecological landscapes to investigate the consequences of land-use decisions on biodiversity, species interactions, and invasions. In Costa Rica, I research the effects of strategically diversifying oil palm farms on herpetofauna diversity and habitat quality. I am interested in the interconnections between political ecology, food sovereignty, and wildlife conservation.
-
Julia Frohmann
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2023
BioJulia Frohmann is a PhD candidate in Energy Science and Engineering, and leads the demand side technology utilization modeling at STEER. Her research focuses on the feasibility of large-scale grid storage deployment in the US by evaluating battery energy storage revenue generation potential. Julia's key areas of interest are electricity market operations, and macro-scale energy systems modeling. Previous work focused on renewable grid penetration effect on electricity exchange variability and modeling optimal integration of power-to-heat-to-power storage. Julia obtained her bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and masters in Energy Engineering from RWTH Aachen, Germany.
-
Prerana Gawde
Ph.D. Student in Oceans, admitted Autumn 2024
BioPrerana is a marine ecologist with over five years of experience working closely with fisher communities and recreational SCUBA divers in Lakshadweep, India, conducting ecological assessments of fishery-important small pelagic baitfish and collaborating with fishers to document traditional ecological knowledge for community-led fisheries management. Currently pursuing a PhD at Stanford University’s Department of Oceans, she is exploring the ecological interactions of shipwrecks and their role in socio-ecological systems through interdisciplinary research frameworks.
-
Rwaida Gharib
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2023
BioRwaida Gharib is a PhD candidate at Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability and an MSx candidate at the Graduate School of Business. She studies climate displacement and the protection and resource allocation for frontline communities. Her field research spans across East Africa, Central America, and wildfire-affected communities in California, tracing how narrative, policy, and capital shape institutional support.
She is a Climate and Environmental Justice Fellow at the Center for Just Environmental Futures, a King Center Global Development Scholar, and has contributed to adaptation finance research at Stanford's Sustainable Finance Institute and the GSB's Ecopreneurship Program. -
Halldora Gudmundsdottir
Ph.D. Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Autumn 2014
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy PhD research focuses on developing predictive models for geothermal systems. I am interested in direct predictions of the future performance of geothermal reservoirs as well as characterization of the subsurface flow behavior that can aid in operational decision making. Currently, I am incorporating principles from statistics and artificial intelligence into workflows that can be used for production and injection optimization.
-
Sydney Aleah Hampton
Ph.D. Student in Oceans, admitted Autumn 2023
Master of Public Policy Student, Public PolicyBioSydney is a PhD student in the Oceans department, interested in using an interdisciplinary approach to explore the biophysical interactions of marine migratory species with their environment, and their responses to ecological and anthropogenic stressors. She is particularly interested in using what we know about various environmental variables and large-scale climate events to further predict and understand changes to the migratory patterns of marine species. Sydney holds a BS in Marine Science and BS in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina.
-
Rachel Herring
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
Graduate Wellness and Engagement Coordinator, Dean for Community Engagement and DiversityBioRachel Herring (Choctaw Nation) investigates how to disrupt extractive capitalism and neoliberal sustainability strategies through decolonial approaches to energy. She employs ethnographic methods to investigate how energy infrastructures reflect and reproduce systems of power, and how infrastructure may instead serve as a tool of self-determination. Previously, she has recommended policy alternatives for domestic mining with the Department of Energy’s Indian Energy Program, and has explored impacts of critical mineral extraction on Native land as a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Conflict Transformation Fellow. As a Fulbright Fellow and National Geographic Explorer, Rachel explored the intersection between the clean energy transition and the depopulation crisis in rural Japan. She was named a Next Generation Photographer by the 2024 Japan Photo Award in Kyoto, and her work has appeared in the New York Times. She holds an MA in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute, and a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
-
Susannah Herz
Ph.D. Student in Earth and Planetary Sciences, admitted Autumn 2023
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am interested in investigating the impacts of ocean anoxia through the end Permian mass extinction. My work utilizes a variety of isotope geochemistry techniques, including investigations of the sulfur, calcium, and thallium systems through both modeling and lab-based approaches.
-
Mathis Heyer
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2024
BioMathis Heyer, from Kiel, Germany, is pursuing a Ph.D. in Energy Science & Engineering at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Process Systems Engineering from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, as well as a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing.
His research in the Environmental Assessment and Optimization Group at Stanford (https://eao.stanford.edu/) focuses on advancing the understanding of complex energy and process systems through mathematical modeling and optimization. Mathis' work builds on his previous research experiences at the Climate Policy Lab at ETH Zurich and the Sustainable Reaction Engineering Group at Cambridge University. Outside of his academic pursuits, Mathis enjoys volunteering with organizations such as "Engineers Without Borders" and "Europe Meets School" both involved in promoting intercultural exchange.
Mathis has been recognized as a Klaus-Murmann Fellow by the Foundation of German Business (sdw) while at RWTH Aachen and is currently an ERP Fellow with the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and a recipient of the SGF Fellowship. -
Stepfan Huntsman
Ph.D. Student in Geological Sciences, admitted Winter 2022
BioI've had an interest in rocks and fossils since I was a small child, amassing a large collection in my youth, but hadn't considered it a viable career path instead starting my path as a social scientist studying gender and sexuality. My interest in a career in paleontology peaked after finishing my first degree, leading me to pursue a second bachelors degree. While working on my undergraduate at Weber State I discovered a true deep love of plants as well as a curiosity about the methods they use to adapt to new environments, which has lead me to pursuing a doctoral degree here at Stanford University.
-
Shaunak Joshi
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2022
BioI am Shaunak, from India. I am starting my PhD in Energy Science and Engineering with Prof. Daniel Tartakovsky and Prof. Hamdi Tchelepi. My research will primarily focus on pore-scale modeling of lithium-based batteries.
Prior to this, I graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay with a Bachelor's and a Master's in Energy Science and Engineering. I love to play all sorts of sports, especially football, badminton, and cricket. You would usually see me running around the campus on odd days. Hit me up if you want to have a chat! -
Dominik Juling
Ph.D. Student in Environmental Social Sciences, admitted Autumn 2026
BioDominik Juling is a PhD student in Environmental Social Sciences (EBS). His research examines the intersection of climate change, peace, and conflict, focusing on how urban communities experience and respond to climate stress in ways that dominant security frameworks often fail to anticipate. He uses mixed-method approaches, combining multi-sited ethnography, remote sensing and GIS, and discourse analyses.
Before coming to Stanford, he earned master's degrees from Yale University and the London School of Economics and Political Science in environmental sciences and conflict studies.
He publishes across academic, policy, and public-facing formats in English and German, always exploring new fields, challenges, and questions. -
Leah Kahn
Ph.D. Student in Earth and Planetary Sciences, admitted Autumn 2024
BioI have broad interests in paleobiology and Earth history. My current research projects include quantifying body-size bias in biodiversity databases and studying reef ecology across the Late Devonian extinctions.
-
Isabelle Kavanagh
Ph.D. Student in Oceans, admitted Winter 2025
BioIsabelle Kavanagh is a first year PhD student in the Oceans department at Stanford University, studying hydrodynamics and heat transfer over coral reefs with Dr. Stephen Monismith.
-
Ayako Kawano
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioAyako Kawano is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Her research interests include the impact analysis of air pollution on population health and climate change in low- and middle-income countries using remote sensing data and machine learning methods. Before coming to Stanford, she worked as a Data Scientist at UN Global Pulse and as a Program Manager at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
-
Madolyn Kelm
Ph.D. Student in Oceans, admitted Summer 2024
BioMadolyn Kelm is a Ph.D. student in Oceans at Stanford University, specializing in the biophysical interactions of kelp aquaculture in Southern California. Her research aims to optimize farming productivity through predictive modeling. Currently, she is working on validating the MacroAlgae Cultivation MODeling System (MACMODS) through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to advance sustainable kelp farming practices.
With a unique interdisciplinary background, Madolyn integrates biological and physical dynamics to drive focused coastal ocean research. Committed to addressing the impacts of climate change on coastal ecosystems, she aspires to become a professor and contribute to fostering diversity in STEM. -
Filippos Kostakis
Ph.D. Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Winter 2020
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMutlifidelity strategies for uncertainty quantification, data assimilation and optimization in oil and gas reservoirs.
-
Emma Krasovich Southworth
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioResearch Interests:
planetary health | climate extremes | global change | environmental pollution and toxic exposures | disease ecology | environmental data science | causal inference
Emma is a PhD candidate in Environment and Resources at Stanford University’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER). She is co-advised by Marshall Burke (Global Environmental Policy) and Erin Mordecai (Biology) and is a Research Fellow in the Global Policy Lab (led by Solomon Hsiang). She is a Stanford Data Science Scholar, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and Stanford Edge Fellow.
Emma's dissertation research is united by the question: how can we protect human health in the face of intensifying and extreme environmental change? We live in an era where humans are impacting and are impacted by their environment at an unprecedented scale. Natural disasters such as wildfires are growing in size and severity, while tropical cyclones are intensifying and leading to lasting damage. Her research aims to contribute to a body of evidence that measures how extreme climate events lead to environmental degradation, harmful exposures, and disease outcomes as a way to better prepare for and prevent future impacts.
Prior to starting her PhD, Emma worked as a Research Analyst at the Global Policy Lab at UC Berkeley (now at Stanford). During her time at GPL, she was part of a project that aimed to identify land-based sources of non-point source water pollution in national-scale river systems in New Zealand and the US Mississippi River Basin. Emma completed her MPH in global and environmental health science and global health at Columbia University and received a BA in behavioral neuroscience from Colgate University.
When she is not at her desk, you can find her outside - most likely running or hiking up a mountain. She also co-founded a trivia company called aeroTRIV and loves to host bespoke trivia nights to bring communities together. -
Chirag Kumar
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2025
BioChirag Kumar combines next-generation modeling tools with on-the-ground field research to provide actionable strategies that improve human health amidst environmental and migratory uncertainty. He is interested in causally unraveling the environmental factors driving infectious diseases to inform targeted interventions that mitigate those threats and how those insights can be directly shared with the public to empower individual-level change. To unravel complex human-environment-health systems, he has conducted on-the-ground field work and mechanistic biological analyses to provide key inputs into his models. His findings have been used to advocate for new World Health Organization vaccine recommendations against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Chirag previously served as a Biden-Harris US Digital Corps Data Fellow at the US CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics and on the Biden administration’s White House AI Forum. He graduated from Princeton University as a Smith-Newton Environmental Research Scholar where he concentrated in chemistry with minors in applied math, global health, and quantitative biology. He is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
-
Jack Lamb
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2021
Masters Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2026BioJack Lamb is a PhD student working under Professor Alison Hoyt in the Earth System Science department. He is interested in developing low-cost instrumentation networks for effective ground-truthing and upscaling of satellite imagery.
