Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1-50 of 121 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. -
Marisa MacAskill
Director of Finance & Operations, Environmental Social Sciences
BioMarisa MacAskill is the Director of Finance & Operations for the department of Environmental Social Sciences (ESoS) at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS). Marisa joined the SDSS in June 2023 as the Assistant Director of Finance & Operations of the, then, Social Sciences Division. Previously she served as the Program Manager for Finance & Research Administration and Faculty & Academic Affairs for Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), where she also held the role as HAI's inaugural Education Program Manager. Marisa started her career at Stanford in 2017 as the Fellowships and Student Programs Manager for the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) where she delivered academic programming, managed admissions, and supported research and learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. Prior to Stanford, Marisa was the Assistant Director for Administration and Programming at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs at Occidental College where she worked on strategic initiatives, international programming, and student/faculty grants. Marisa also served as a seasonal reader for Oxy’s Admissions Office and as a strategic planning analyst for the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.
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Beatriz Magaloni
Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsComparative Politics, Political Economy, Latin American Politics
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Leslie Magoon
Adjunct Professor, Earth & Planetary Sciences
BioLes is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Basin and Petroleum System Modeling, a Stanford University Industrial affiliate program that he was one of the three co-originators in 2005. He graduated from the University of Oregon, Eugene, OR with a B.S. in biology in 1964 and a M.S. in Geology in 1966. He worked 8 years for Shell Oil Company in Exploration where he was the lead investigator in the Ventura-Santa Barbara Basin source rock and migration study, the first investigation of its type in exploration for this company. Les worked 30 years for the U.S. Geological Survey where he carried out resource assessment studies in Alaska, Colombia, Venezuela, and Canada. The Alaska studies included the Cook Inlet and North Slope. Since 1981, he has investigated and popularized the petroleum system through talks, courses, and AAPG Memoir 60, The Petroleum System—From Source to Trap, for which he and his co-editor received the R. H. Dott, Sr. Award in 1996. Published in 1994, this popular book was reprinted twice and sold out all 4,000 copies and is now only available in CD. In 2017, he received AAPG Honorary Member Award and in 2021 the AAPG Sidney Powers Memorial Award, the society's third highest and highest award, respectively.
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Katharine (Kate) Maher
Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHydrology, reactive transport modeling and environmental geochemistry
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Gail Mahood
Professor of Geological Sciences, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOrigin and evolution of silicic magmas expressed in rhyolitic volcanic centers and shallow plutons; geologic histories of calderas; high-precision Ar-Ar geochronology applied to caldera-forming eruptions and flood basalts; formation of lithium deposits in volcanic environments; volcanic hazards in eastern California and western Saudi Arabia, geothermal systems; geoarchaeology
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Dr. Arun Majumdar
Dean, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Jay Precourt Professor, Professor of Mechanical Eng, of Energy Science & Eng, of Photon Science, Sr Fellow at Woods & Professor, by court, of Materials Science & Eng
BioDr. Arun Majumdar is the inaugural Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Science and Engineering, a Senior Fellow and former Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy and Senior Fellow (courtesy) of the Hoover Institution. He is also a faculty in Department of Photon Science at SLAC.
In October 2009, Dr. Majumdar was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), where he served until June 2012 and helped ARPA-E become a model of excellence and innovation for the government with bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders. Between March 2011 and June 2012, he also served as the Acting Under Secretary of Energy, enabling the portfolio of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Reliability, Office of Nuclear Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy, as well as multiple cross-cutting efforts such as Sunshot, Grid Modernization Team and others that he had initiated. Furthermore, he was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, on a variety of matters related to management, personnel, budget, and policy. In 2010, he served on Secretary Chu's Science Team to help stop the leak of the Deep Water Horizon (BP) oil spill.
Dr. Majumdar serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board of the US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm. He led the Agency Review Team for the Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the Biden-Harris Presidential transition. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board of US Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz, and was also a Science Envoy for the US Department of State with focus on energy and technology innovation in the Baltics and Poland. He also serves on numerous advisory boards and boards of businesses, investment groups and non-profit organizations.
After leaving Washington, DC and before joining Stanford, Dr. Majumdar was the Vice President for Energy at Google, where he assembled a team to create technologies and businesses at the intersection of data, computing and electricity grid.
Dr. Majumdar is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, US National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research in the past has involved the science and engineering of nanoscale materials and devices, especially in the areas of energy conversion, transport and storage as well as biomolecular analysis. His current research focuses on redox reactions and systems that are fundamental to a sustainable energy future, multidimensional nanoscale imaging and microscopy, and an effort to leverage modern AI techniques to develop and deliver energy and climate solutions.
Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Dr. Majumdar was the Almy & Agnes Maynard Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at University of California–Berkeley and the Associate Laboratory Director for energy and environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He also spent the early part of his academic career at Arizona State University and University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dr. Majumdar received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. -
Lisa Mandle
Lead scientist
BioLisa Mandle (she/her) is Director of Science-Software Integration and a Lead Scientist with the Natural Capital Project. She works to make ecosystem service science accessible and actionable through NatCap’s data and software, overseeing our software team. Her research sheds light on how land management and infrastructure development affect ecosystem services, social equity, and human health. Lisa works with governments, multi-lateral development banks, and non-governmental organizations to incorporate this understanding into policy and finance, particularly in Latin America and Asia. She is also lead editor of the book Green Growth That Works, which provides a practical guide to policy and finance mechanisms from around the world for securing benefits from nature.
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Ali Mani
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
BioAli Mani is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stanford. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 2009. Prior to joining the faculty in 2011, he was an engineering research associate at Stanford and a senior postdoctoral associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His research group builds and utilizes large-scale high-fidelity numerical simulations, as well as methods of applied mathematics, to develop quantitative understanding of transport processes that involve strong coupling with fluid flow and commonly involve turbulence or chaos. His teaching includes the undergraduate engineering math classes and graduate courses on fluid mechanics and numerical analysis.
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Wendy Mao
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of Photon Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUnderstanding the formation and evolution of planetary interiors; experimental mineral physics; materials in extreme environments.
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Felicia Marcus
Landreth Visiting Fellow
BioFelicia Marcus has a long career as an organizational manager, a federal, state, and local government policymaker, and as a non-profit leader. She is currently the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Felicia was most recently Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board after having served as Regional Administrator of the U.S. EPA Region IX and as head of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Public Works in addition to senior leadership in national non-governmental organizations (Trust for Public Land, Natural Resources Defense Council). She has experience as a private and public interest sector attorney and has worked on issues across the West spanning water supply, water rights, and water quality in addition to experience in other sectors like energy, toxics, and land use. She is also a member of the Water Policy Group, an international network of former and current high-level water official policymakers and is also one of the three US members of the Joint Public Advisory Committee of the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation in addition to serving on many boards and advisory committees. She also currently serves as a Board Member for the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, which supports the reliability of the bulk electricity transmission grid for the western United States and parts of Canada and Mexico. Felicia graduated cum laude from Harvard College (East Asian Studies), has her JD from New York University School of Law, and attended Hong Kong University (Rotary Fellowship).
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Valerie Breanne Rosen
Ph.D. Student in Geological and Environmental Sciences, admitted Winter 2015
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNickel Isotopes as a Biosignature for Methanogenic Archaea
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E'jaaz A. Mason
Lecturer
BioE’jaaz A. Mason is a Lecturer in Earth Systems at Stanford University teaching courses about community-engaged multimedia environmental storytelling. He is also the Co-Founder of Lede New Orleans, a nonprofit fostering community engagement and young adult media production training. A filmmaker, educator, and community engagement specialist, Mason was a member of the 2023-2024 John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford. From 2015 to 2020, he taught film and digital media in New Orleans public high schools, founding an award-winning film program at New Orleans Charter Math & Science High School. Mason has received numerous awards for his work in youth education. He was a cinematographer for the 2022 HBO/Time Studios documentary Katrina Babies and is the Story and Impact Producer for the 2025 documentary The River. He is also directing two documentary films: Black Suit: Sewing [Her]story, which highlights the importance of Black women in New Orleans’ Black Masking Indian culture and an untitled film about environmental and societal challenges facing residents of the Bayview Hunter's Point neighborhood in San Francisco.
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Gilbert Masters
Professor (Teaching) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus
BioGILBERT M. MASTERS
MAP EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
B.S. (1961) AND M.S. (1962) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
PH.D. (1966) Electrical Engineering, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Gil Masters has focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy systems as essential keys to slowing global warming, enhancing energy security, and improving conditions in underserved, rural communities. Although officially retired in 2002, he has continued to teach CEE 176A: Energy-Efficient Buildings, and CEE 176B: Electric Power: Renewables and Efficiency. He is the author or co-author of ten books, including Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science (3rd edition, 2008), Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems, (2nd edition, 2013), and Energy for Sustainability: Technology, Policy and Planning (2nd edition, 2018). Professor Masters has been the recipient of a number of teaching awards at Stanford, including the university's Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Tau Beta Pi teaching award from the School of Engineering. Over the years, more than 10,000 students have enrolled in his courses. He served as the School of Engineering Associate Dean for Student Affairs from 1982-1986, and he was the Interim Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1992-93. -
Peter Mastnak
Ph.D. Student in Oceans, admitted Autumn 2024
BioPeter is a PhD student in the Oceans department, leveraging his interdisciplinary expertise to develop advanced computational models that predict the movement patterns of large marine predators in response to environmental change. With a Master's degree in Computer Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Peter's research bridges computational science with oceanography, applying advanced mathematical modeling techniques to ecological data while incorporating international policy and economic considerations—a truly interdisciplinary approach to addressing complex marine conservation challenges.
His work focuses on synthesizing diverse environmental variables and large-scale climate phenomena to forecast shifts in marine species distribution, ultimately informing evidence-based policy for ocean protection and sustainable fisheries management. Peter is pioneering innovative technological solutions—from advanced sensor networks to sophisticated predictive software—designed to address global oceanic ecosystem threats. Through this synthesis of computational rigor and conservation science, he strives to transform how we understand, monitor, and protect our ocean ecosystems for future generations. -
Michael Mastrandrea
Research Director
BioMichael Mastrandrea is an interdisciplinary scientist focused on managing climate risks and the design and implementation of energy and climate policy in California and beyond. He is Research Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program and a Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, as well as Director of Policy at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator. He also serves as Chief Advisor for Energy and Climate Research at the California Energy Commission, supporting the R&D and Energy Assessments divisions. Prior to joining Stanford he was Director of Near Zero and a Senior Research Associate at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He was part of the leadership team for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report, where he helped lead the development of two international scientific assessments of climate change science and policy options. He has also served as an author for the Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessment and as an associate editor for the California Fourth Climate Change Assessment. Mastrandrea sits on the Editorial Board and is a Managing Editor for the journal Climatic Change. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford.
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Pamela Matson
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute, Emerita
BioPAMELA MATSON is an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist, former academic leader, and organizational strategist. She served as dean of Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences from 2002-2017, building interdisciplinary departments and educational programs focused on resources, environment and sustainability, as well as co-leading university-wide interdisciplinary initiatives. In her role as the Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies and Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment, she lead the graduate program on Sustainability Science and Practice. Her research addressed a range of environment and sustainability issues, including sustainability of agricultural systems, vulnerability and resilience of particular people and places to climate change, and characteristics of science that can contribute to sustainability transitions at scale. as an emerita faculty member, she continues to engage in questions related to transformational change for sustainability goals, and advises Stanford's efforts in that realm.
Dr. Matson served as chair of the board of the World Wildlife Fund-US and as a board member of the World Wildlife Fund-International and several university advisory boards. She served on the US National Academy of Science Board on Sustainable Development and co-wrote the National Research Council’s volume Our Common Journey: A transition toward sustainability (1999); she also led the NRC committee on America’s Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change. She was the founding chair of the National Academies Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and founding editor for the Annual Review of Environment and Resources. She is a past President of the Ecological Society of America. Her recent publications (among around 200) include the books 'Seeds of Sustainability: Lessons from the Birthplace of the Green Revolution' (2012) and 'Pursuing Sustainability' (2016).
Pam is an elected member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a AAAS Fellow. She received a MacArthur Foundation Award, contributed to the award of the Nobel Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, among other awards and recognitions, and is an Einstein Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Matson holds a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors in Biology and Literature from the University of Wisconsin (Eau Claire), a Master degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Doctorate in Forest Ecology from Oregon State University, and honorary doctorates from Princeton, McGill and Arizona State Universities. She spent ten years as a research scientist with NASA-Ames Research Center before moving to a professorship at the University of California Berkeley and, in 1997, to Stanford University. -
Meagan Mauter
Associate Professor Civil & Environmental Engineering, of Photon Science, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Chemical Engineering
BioProfessor Meagan Mauter is appointed as an Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and as a Center Fellow, by courtesy, in the Woods Institute for the Environment. She directs the Water and Energy Efficiency for the Environment Lab (WE3Lab) with the mission of providing sustainable water supply in a carbon-constrained world through innovation in water treatment technology, optimization of water management practices, and redesign of water policies. Ongoing research efforts include: 1) developing automated, precise, robust, intensified, modular, and electrified (A-PRIME) water desalination technologies to support a circular water economy, 2) identifying synergies and addressing barriers to coordinated operation of decarbonized water and energy systems, and 3) supporting the design and enforcement of water-energy policies.
Professor Mauter also serves as the research director for the National Alliance for Water Innovation, a $110-million DOE Energy-Water Desalination Hub addressing water security issues in the United States. The Hub targets early-stage research and development of energy-efficient and cost-competitive technologies for desalinating non-traditional source waters.
Professor Mauter holds bachelors degrees in Civil & Environmental Engineering and History from Rice University, a Masters of Environmental Engineering from Rice University, and a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from Yale University. Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, she served as an Energy Technology Innovation Policy Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and as an Associate Professor of Engineering & Public Policy, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. -
Gerald Mavko
Professor (Research) of Geophysics, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
I work to discover and understand the relationship between geophysical measurements and the rock and fluid properties that they sample in the Earth. My students and I have begun to understand the impact of rock type, porosity, pore fluids, temperature, and stress on seismic wave propagation and electromagnetic response. We are also working to quantify the links between geophysical measurements and the sedimentary and diagenetic processes that determine rock mineralogy and texture. Ultimately, this work allows us to better infer, from geophysical images, the composition and physical conditions at depth.
Teaching
I teach courses for graduate and undergraduate students on rock physics--the study of the physical properties of rocks and how they can be detected and mapped using seismic and electrical methods. This includes theory, laboratory measurements, and field data analysis. I also lead seminars in which students present and critique their ongoing research in rock physics.
Professional Activities
Associate chair, Department of Geophysics (2006-2008); distinguished lecturer, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2006); honorary membership, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2001); nominated for Reginald Fessenden Award, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2000); School of Earth Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award (2000) -
Rosalyn McCambridge
Rsch Admstr 3, Geophysics
Current Role at StanfordResearch Administrator 3
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Perry L. McCarty
Affiliate, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
BioPerry L. McCarty, Silas H. Palmer Professor Emeritus, came to Stanford University in 1962 to found a new multidisciplinary education and research program in environmental engineering and science that became a model for others throughout the country. From 1980 to 1985 he was Chairman of Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and from 1989 to 2002 he served as Director of the Western Region Hazardous Substance Research Center. He received a B.S. Degree in civil engineering from Wayne State University (1953), and M.S. (1957) and Sc.D. (1959) degrees in sanitary engineering from M.I.T.
The focus of McCarty's research, teaching, and writing has been on water, with a primary interest in biological processes for the control of environmental contamination. His early research was on anaerobic treatment processes, biological processes for nitrogen removal and water reuse. Recent interests are on aerobic and anaerobic processes for the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewaters, and the movement, fate, and control of groundwater contaminants.
His numerous awards and accolades for pioneering work on improving water quality worldwide includes memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. McCarty won the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1992, the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievements in Water Science and Technology in 1997, and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2007. In 2011 the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Foundation established the Perry L. McCarty AEESP Founder's Award, given annually in recognition of McCarty's significant contributions to environmental engineering education, research, and practice. The Directorship of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, was named in his honor.
McCarty has written and coauthored over 350 papers, plus the textbooks, Chemistry for Environmental Engineering and Science, and Environmental Biotechnology - Principles and Applications. -
David Thomas McColl
Adjunct Professor
BioDavid McColl is the Executive Director of Stanford Climate Ventures. He received a B.S. in Management Science & Engineering and an M.S. in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University. He is an Adjunct Professor in Energy Resources Engineering, a research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy & Finance, and a partner at Echelon.
