Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability


Showing 1-50 of 131 Results

  • Rita Sader

    Rita Sader

    Director, Finance and Operations, Woods Institute

    Current Role at StanfordAs Director of Finance and Operations for the Woods Institute for the Environment, Rita Sader manages and oversees day-to-day operations for the institute, its centers, programs, and initiatives, including all finance functions, research administration, human resources, faculty affairs, administration, development, and facilities.

  • Alberto Salleo

    Alberto Salleo

    Hong Seh and Vivian W. M. Lim Professor, Professor of Photon Science, and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNovel materials and processing techniques for large-area and flexible electronic/photonic devices. Polymeric materials for electronics, bioelectronics, and biosensors. Electrochemical devices for neuromorphic computing. Defects and structure/property studies of polymeric semiconductors, nano-structured and amorphous materials in thin films. Advanced characterization techniques for soft matter.

  • Sarah Dawn Saltzer

    Sarah Dawn Saltzer

    Managing Director of SCCS, Energy Science & Engineering

    Current Role at StanfordManaging Director Stanford Center for Carbon Storage
    Managing Director Smart Fields Consortium
    Managing Director SUETRI-B

  • Jennifer Saltzman

    Jennifer Saltzman

    Assistant Dean for Experiential Education, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability - Dean's Office

    Current Role at StanfordJennifer's role has expanded from directing the educational outreach programs and the Sustainability and Earth Summer Undergraduate Research (SESUR) program to managing the co-curricular education team and overseeing the faculty mentoring program in the Doerr School of Sustainability

  • Sergio Sánchez López

    Sergio Sánchez López

    Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021

    BioSergio is an environmental justice advocate. Originally from Mexico City, he has experience working in the public, private and non-profit sectors both in Mexico and the USA. He has drafted bills and policy proposals related to land management, natural resources, renewable energy, and indigenous communities. His research interests relate to how to accelerate the clean energy transition in an equitable, diverse, and inclusive way. He holds a bachelor's degree in international business from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico, a J.D. from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, an LL.M in environmental law & policy from Stanford Law School, and is a former Schneider Fellow. Sergio is passionate about water sports and the beach.

  • Nancy Sandoval

    Nancy Sandoval

    Executive Assistant, Precourt Institute for Energy

    BioNancy is the executive assistant to Yi Cui, Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy. She supports him in all facets of his day-to-day working and administrative roles.

    Nancy started at Stanford University in 2003 with the inception of GCEP and is known as “GCEP Employee #1.” Before joining Stanford, she worked for many years as an administrative assistant at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. She has a daughter and a son who are both graduates of Stanford University.

  • Krishna Saraswat

    Krishna Saraswat

    Rickey/Nielsen Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNew and innovative materials, structures, and process technology of semiconductor devices, interconnects for nanoelectronics and solar cells.

  • John Louis Sarrao

    John Louis Sarrao

    Director of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Professor of Photon Science, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering

    BioJohn Sarrao became SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s sixth director in October 2023. The lab’s ~2,000 staff advance the frontiers of science by exploring how the universe works at the biggest, smallest, and fastest scales and invent powerful tools used by scientists around the globe. SLAC’s research helps solve real-world problems and advances the interests of the nation. SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. It is home to three Office of Science national user facilities: the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray laser; the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL); and the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests, (FACET-II). SLAC hosts thousands of users each year and manages an annual budget of ~$700M. In addition to his role as lab director, John is a professor of photon science, and by courtesy, of materials science and engineering at Stanford University, a senior fellow at Stanford’s Precourt Institute, and dean of SLAC faculty.

    John came to SLAC from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, where he served as the deputy director for science, technology, and engineering. In that role, he led multiple directorates, including chemistry, earth and life sciences, global security, physical sciences, and simulation and computation. He also stewarded technology transitions and served as LANL’s chief research officer in support of its national security mission. Before becoming deputy director, he served as associate director for theory, simulation, and computation and division leader for materials physics and applications at LANL.

    John’s scientific research focus is superconductivity in materials. He studies the synthesis and characterization of correlated electron systems, especially actinide materials. He won the 2013 Department of Energy’s E.O. Lawrence Award and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and LANL. John received his PhD and master’s degree in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Stanford University.

  • Richard Sassoon

    Richard Sassoon

    Executive Director Strategic Energy Alliance, Precourt Institute for Energy

    BioRichard E. Sassoon is the Executive Director of the Strategic Energy Alliance under the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford. Prior to this role, he was the Managing Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project (GECP) at Stanford since November 2003. Dr. Sassoon has over 30 years of research and management experience in the fields of physical and analytical chemistry, as well as energy sciences.

    Prior to joining Stanford, Dr. Sassoon was Senior Scientist and Assistant Vice President at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), where he led systems integration efforts for nanotechnology applications. For many years, he was a contractor to the Department of Energy supporting the strategic planning and management of its environmental programs, and its hydrogen and renewable energy activities.

    Dr. Sassoon spent over a decade conducting research into photochemical solar energy conversion and storage systems, performing computer modeling of the catalytic processes involved in hydrogen production, and investigating technologies for cleanup of nuclear waste.

    Dr. Sassoon received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Leeds University in the UK, and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He conducted his post-doctoral activities at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Sassoon has authored over 20 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, has received several awards including the Gabriel Stein award for outstanding research during his Ph.D. studies.

  • Laura Schaefer

    Laura Schaefer

    Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and, by courtesy, of Geophysics

    Current Research and Scholarly Interestsearly Earth atmosphere; planetary differentiation; rocky exoplanet atmospheric chemistry; planetary interiors; atmosphere-interior exchange on Earth-like planets; planetary habitability; Venus atmospheric evolution; volcanic gases on Io and volatile loss

  • Celine Scheidt

    Celine Scheidt

    Sr Res Engineer

    BioCéline Scheidt has worked extensively in uncertainty modeling, sensitivity analysis, geostatistics and in the use of distance-based methods in reservoir modeling. She obtained her PhD at Strasbourg University and the IFP (France) in applied mathematics, with a focus on the use of experimental design and geostatistical methods to model response surfaces.

  • Allegra Hosford Scheirer

    Allegra Hosford Scheirer

    Physical Science Research Scientist

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
    Allegra Hosford Scheirer is a research geophysicist at Stanford University, specializing in basin and petroleum system modeling. Her work is centered on the strong belief in the integration of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data in a unified working environment.

    Teaching
    She co-teaches courses and co-advises several graduate students with a focus on basin and petroleum system modeling and investigative methods for exploring conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons.

    Professional Activities
    Prior to joining Stanford, Allegra was a member of the Geophysical Unit of Menlo Park and the Energy Resources Program at the U.S. Geological Survey, where she constructed three-dimensional geologic models for use in the resource assessment process. Allegra has led and participated in numerous field programs at sea and in the United States. She is the editor of U.S.G.S. Professional Paper 1713 and a past Associate Editor of Journal of Geophysical Research.

  • Eva L. Scheller

    Eva L. Scheller

    Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences

    BioProf. Scheller leads the Planetary Chemistry and Spectroscopy group. Her research focuses on working with and developing instrumentation (spectroscopy and stable isotope mass spectrometry) on spacecraft missions designed to study the chemistry of planetary surfaces and materials, combining laboratory spectroscopy experiments with spacecraft dataset analysis and instrument development. She has a keen interest in exploring limitations and detectability challenges in spacecraft instrumentation, such as refining organic detection methods for spacecraft instrumentation. The main focus of her research is using these datasets and experiments in order to understand the global volatile cycles of planetary bodies and their effects on controlling the evolution of atmospheres, crusts, and habitability of planets.

    Prof. Scheller is currently developing the Stanford Planetary Chemistry and Spectroscopy computational and experimental laboratory, which will focus on UV to longwave infrared spectroscopy at ambient and ultrahigh vacuum, cryogenic conditions as well as AI methodologies applied to the analysis of spectral datasets.

  • Bria Sabine Schraeder

    Bria Sabine Schraeder

    Product Manager, Precourt Institute for Energy

    BioBria Schraeder is a Product Manager for the Understand Energy program at the Precourt Institute for Energy. In this role, she supports the development and management of educational content across various platforms, including the Understand Energy class, workshop series, Learning Hub, staff seminar, and newsletter. She also works on marketing and outreach efforts to expand the program's reach and impact.

    In her free time, Bria enjoys recipe testing, watercolor painting, and long hikes and cycling.

  • Dustin Schroeder

    Dustin Schroeder

    Associate Professor of Geophysics, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment

    BioMy research focuses on advancing the scientific and technical foundations of geophysical ice penetrating radar and its use in observing and understanding the interaction of ice and water in the solar system. I am primarily interested in the subglacial and englacial conditions of rapidly changing ice sheets and their contribution to global sea level rise. However, a growing secondary focus of my work is the exploration of icy moons. I am also interested in the development and application of science-optimized geophysical radar systems. I consider myself a radio glaciologist and strive to approach problems from both an earth system science and a radar system engineering perspective. I am actively engaged with the flow of information through each step of the observational science process; from instrument and experiment design, through data processing and analysis, to modeling and inference. This allows me to draw from a multidisciplinary set of tools to test system-scale and process-level hypotheses. For me, this deliberate integration of science and engineering is the most powerful and satisfying way to approach questions in Earth and planetary science.

  • Brady Seals

    Brady Seals

    Director, Electrification for Health, Human and Planetary Health

    Current Role at StanfordDirector, Electrification for Health
    Center for Human and Planetary Health
    Woods Institute for the Environment
    Doerr School of Sustainability

  • Krish Seetah

    Krish Seetah

    Associate Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, of Oceans, of Anthropology and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment

    BioI am a zooarchaeologist, whose focus is primarily on colonisation and colonialism. My zooarchaeological research has used butchery analysis (with the benefit of professional and ethnographic actualistic experience) to investigate agency within the human-animal relationship. More recently, I have employed geometric morphometrics (GMM) as a mechanism for identifying and distinguishing animal populations. This approach to studying colonial activity centres on understanding how people manipulate animal bodies, both during life and after death.

    Alongside the strictly faunal research is a research interest in technologies associated with animal processing. This has been used to investigate issues of technology, trade and socio-economic attitudes within colonial contexts in the Mediterranean (Venice & Montenegro) and the Baltic (Poland, Latvia & Lithuania).

    I am also the Director of the ‘Mauritian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage’ (MACH) project, which studies European Imperialism and colonial activity. This project centres on the movement of peoples and material cultures, specifically within the contexts of slavery and Diaspora. The work of this project has focused on key sites in Mauritius and is based on a systematic programme of excavation and environmental sampling. The underlying aims are to better understand the transition from slavery to indentured labour following abolition, the extent and diversity of trade in the region and the environmental consequences of intense, monoculture, agriculture.

  • Paul Segall

    Paul Segall

    The Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Geophysics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
    I study active earthquake and volcanic process through data collection, inversion, and theoretical modeling. Using methods such as precise Global Positioning System (GPS) positioning and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) we are able to measure deformation in space and time and invert these data for the geometry of faults and magma chambers, and spatiotemporal variations in fault slip-rate and magma chamber dilation. The accumulation of shear strain in tectonic regions provides a direct measure of earthquake potential. Similarly, magma accumulation in the crust prior to eruptions causes measurable inflation. We use these data to develop and test models of active plate boundaries such as the San Andreas, and the Cascade and Japanese subduction zones, the nucleation of earthquakes, slow slip events, induced seismicity, and the physics of magma migration leading to volcanic eruptions. These physics-based models rely on principles and methodologies from solid and fluid dynamics.

    Teaching
    I teach introductory undergraduate classes in natural hazards and the prediction of volcanic eruptions, as well as graduate level courses on modeling earthquake and volcano deformation and geophysical inverse theory.

    Professional Activities
    James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union (1990); fellow, American Geophysical Union (1990); fellow, Geological Society of America (1997); president, Tectonophysics Section, AGU (2002-04); U.S.G.S. Science of Earthquakes Advisory Committee (2002-06); California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Committee (2003-07); chair, Plate Boundary Observatory Steering Committee (2003-06); N.S.F. Panel, Instruments and Facilities Program (1997-2000); associate editor, Journal of Geophysical Research (1984-87). William Smith Lecturer, Geological Society of London (2011). Charles A. Whitten Medal, American Geophysical Union (2014), National Academy of Sciences (2016)

  • Alicia Seiger

    Alicia Seiger

    Affiliate, Bank of America

    BioAlicia Seiger is a recognized expert at the intersections of climate, technology, policy, finance, and innovation. She is a Visiting Scholar at SDSS and an occasional lecturer. Alicia currently directs the climate program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). Prior to CZI, Alicia led sustainability and energy finance initiatives at Stanford Law, Graduate School of Business, and the Doerr School for Sustainability. Alicia has served as an advisor to the Governors of California and New York, the New York State Comptroller, and numerous pension fund, endowment, and family office CIOs on the topics of climate risk, opportunity, and resiliency. For over two decades, Alicia has designed and executed climate and energy strategies for businesses, foundations, investors, and NGOs. She has led on the management teams of multiple startups, including at TerraPass, a pioneer of the US voluntary carbon offset market, and Flycast Communications, one of the world’s first web advertising networks. She co-founded Stanford Professionals in Energy (SPIE) and serves on the boards of Prime Coalition and The E-liability Institute and on the Editorial Board of the Oxford Open Climate Change Journal.

    Her first book, "Settling Climate Accounts: Navigating the Road to Net Zero" contextualizes the history of climate action, examines the practices of pursuing net zero, and makes recommendations for the road ahead. Alicia received her BA from Duke University in a self-designed curriculum intersecting environmental science and policy with cultural anthropology, and earned her MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

  • Elizabeth Selig, Ph.D.

    Elizabeth Selig, Ph.D.

    Managing Director, Center for Ocean Solutions, Center for Ocean Solutions

    BioElizabeth Selig works at the intersection of environmental and social sustainability in marine ecosystems. Her current research focuses on understanding social-ecological feedbacks in ocean health, marine resource conflicts, and patterns in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and labor abuses in fisheries. Selig received her Ph.D. in ecology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her dissertation focused on how global climate change may affect coral reef health and management strategies that can help mitigate coral loss. She has more than ten years of experience working with international non-governmental organizations including Conservation International, where she was the Senior Director of Marine Science. She has also worked at the Smithsonian Institution and the World Resources Institute.


    Selig is part of the core team behind the Blue Food Assessment, an international scientific assessment of the contribution of aquatic foods to human nutrition and environmental impacts, with a focus on equity and environmental vulnerability of production. For the last several years, she has also been a part of the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) science team. She was a lead author on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment and is part of the International Science Advisory Council for the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

  • Debbie Senesky

    Debbie Senesky

    Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy

    BioDebbie G. Senesky is an Associate Professor at Stanford University in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and the Electrical Engineering Department. In addition, she is the Principal Investigator of the EXtreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory (XLab). Her research interests include the development of nanomaterials for extreme harsh environments, high-temperature electronics for Venus exploration, and microgravity synthesis of nanomaterials. In the past, she has held positions at GE Sensing (formerly known as NovaSensor), GE Global Research Center, and Hewlett Packard. She received the B.S. degree (2001) in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California. She received the M.S. degree (2004) and Ph.D. degree (2007) in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prof. Senesky is the Site Director of nano@stanford. She is currently the co-editor of two technical journals: IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems and Sensors. In recognition of her research, she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2025, Emerging Leader Abie Award from AnitaB.org in 2018, Early Faculty Career Award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2012, Gabilan Faculty Fellowship Award in 2012, and Sloan Ph.D. Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2004.

    Prof. Senesky's career path and research has been featured by Scientific American, Seeker, People Behind the Science podcast, The Future of Everything radio show, Space.com, and NPR's Tell Me More program. More information about Prof. Senesky can be found at https://xlab.stanford.edu and on Instagram (@astrodebs).

  • Ross Shachter

    Ross Shachter

    Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProf. Shachter's research has focused on the representation, manipulation, and analysis of uncertainty and probabilistic reasoning in decision systems. As part of this work, he developed the DAVID influence diagram processing system for the Macintosh. He has developed models scheduling patients for cancer follow-up, and analyzing vaccination strategies for HIV and Helobacter pylori.

  • Benjamin Shapero

    Benjamin Shapero

    Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2020

    BioI am a geomicrobiologist and am broadly interested in the connections between protein biochemistry, environmental microbiology, and biogeochemistry. I hail from the surf town of Encinitas near San Diego. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC), where I majored in both Biological Sciences and Classical Saxophone Performance. At USC I volunteered in a cellular and molecular neuroscience lab, and it was there that I discovered my fascination with proteins. After graduation, I worked in a vaccine design lab at Scripps Research. This research fostered my growing fascination with protein biochemistry and further exposed me to the realm of microbiology. I have since followed my interests in proteins and microbiology, along with my longstanding passion for climate science, to the field of geomicrobiology. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in geomicrobiology at Stanford University in the Earth System Science department.