Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 41-60 of 120 Results
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Jonas Kloeckner
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth and Planetary Sciences
BioJonas Kloeckner is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, sponsored by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). He specializes in critical mineral exploration essential for the sustainable energy transition. Utilizing his expertise in artificial intelligence and resource forecasting, Mr. Kloeckner leads initiatives that strive to align with global sustainability goals.
Jonas earned his PhD in Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, where he later served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Geosciences. His doctoral and postdoctoral research focused on advancing geostatistical methods for Earth resources forecasting, significantly contributing to the field.
Previously, Jonas was a Visiting Research Scholar at Stanford University under the mentorship of Professor Jef Caers. He holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from UFRGS, with additional international studies at Ecole des Mines d’Alès, France, and as a visiting student at Columbia University, USA.
Jonas’s current research integrates spatial data analysis with advanced decision-making processes in subsurface systems, enhancing resource management strategies and supporting sustainable mining practices. Beyond academia, he actively collaborates on various international projects, optimizing resource extraction and minimizing environmental impacts through innovative technology and interdisciplinary collaboration. -
Langlang Li
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnvironmental geochemistry, hydrology, and plant nutrient supply
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Mengyu Liang (Amber)
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioI'm currently a postdoc at Stanford Woods Institute of the Environment working on combining remote sensing and econometric to assess the environmental and social outcomes of natural climate solutions and forest management interventions. I completed my PhD at the Department of Geographical Sciences at UMD in May 2024. During my PhD, I developed remote sensing techniques utilizing multi-source remote sensing data (e.g,. GEDI, ICESat2, Landsat archive, PlanetScope) for monitoring long-term carbon sequestration in forest restoration areas in East Africa. Seeking to understand how to use Earth Observation to improve the sustainability of human-environment interaction is both a passion of mine and the research agenda during my PhD and onwards. Moreover, I have developed skills in forest inventory and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) data collection from working on field campaigns in Mozambique and Uganda. Developing web-based interactive map dashboards is another set of technical expertise that I have been practicing (see http://mliang8.github.io/ for map portfolio ) and want to employ in future projects to enhance communications with various stakeholders.
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Lixing Lin
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Science and Engineering
BioDr. Lixing Lin is a postdoc scholar specializing in pore-scale fluid transport, thermodynamic modeling, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). He holds a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alberta, where his multiscale research focused on bridging micro-level fluid physics with macroscopic reservoir dynamics.
Lixing’s work spans critical areas of the energy landscape, including the thermodynamics of nanopore-confined hydrocarbons, chemical-assisted matrix-fracture interactions, and pore-scale visualization for Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) and carbon sequestration. By integrating advanced microfluidic visual experimentation with thermodynamic modeling, his research provides actionable insights for optimizing hydrocarbon recovery from unconventional reservoirs and advancing clean energy transition technologies.
Besides academics, he is dedicated to educating and mentoring young students on energy and STEM-related topics through his leadership in various outreach programs. -
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!
