Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability


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  • Emily Juliette Zakem

    Emily Juliette Zakem

    Assist Prof (By Courtesy), Earth System Science

    BioEmily Zakem is a Principal Investigator at the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science. Previously, she was a Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Marine Microbial Ecology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She completed her Ph.D. in Climate Physics and Chemistry in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her research, she aims to improve understanding of the connections between microbial ecosystems, global biogeochemistry, and the climate system. She uses theory and mathematical models to understand how microbial ecology drives carbon, nitrogen, and other elemental cycling. She develops broadly applicable models of microbial populations, grounded in underlying chemical and physical constraints, in order to robustly predict the biogeochemistry of past, present, and future environments.

  • Richard Zare

    Richard Zare

    Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and Professor, by courtesy, of Physics
    On Leave from 10/01/2024 To 12/31/2024

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research group is exploring a variety of topics that range from the basic understanding of chemical reaction dynamics to the nature of the chemical contents of single cells.

    Under thermal conditions nature seems to hide the details of how elementary reactions occur through a series of averages over reagent velocity, internal energy, impact parameter, and orientation. To discover the effects of these variables on reactivity, it is necessary to carry out studies of chemical reactions far from equilibrium in which the states of the reactants are more sharply restricted and can be varied in a controlled manner. My research group is attempting to meet this tough experimental challenge through a number of laser techniques that prepare reactants in specific quantum states and probe the quantum state distributions of the resulting products. It is our belief that such state-to-state information gives the deepest insight into the forces that operate in the breaking of old bonds and the making of new ones.

    Space does not permit a full description of these projects, and I earnestly invite correspondence. The following examples are representative:

    The simplest of all neutral bimolecular reactions is the exchange reaction H H2 -> H2 H. We are studying this system and various isotopic cousins using a tunable UV laser pulse to photodissociate HBr (DBr) and hence create fast H (D) atoms of known translational energy in the presence of H2 and/or D2 and using a laser multiphoton ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer to detect the nascent molecular products in a quantum-state-specific manner by means of an imaging technique. It is expected that these product state distributions will provide a key test of the adequacy of various advanced theoretical schemes for modeling this reaction.

    Analytical efforts involve the use of capillary zone electrophoresis, two-step laser desorption laser multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry, cavity ring-down spectroscopy, and Hadamard transform time-of-flight mass spectrometry. We believe these methods can revolutionize trace analysis, particularly of biomolecules in cells.

  • Howard Zebker

    Howard Zebker

    Kwoh Ting Li Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Geophysics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
    My students and I study the surfaces of Earth and planets using radar remote sensing methods. Our specialization is interferometric radar, or InSAR. InSAR is a technique to measure mm-scale surface deformation at fine resolution over wide areas, and much of our work follows from applying this technique to the study of earthquakes, volcanoes, and human-induced subsidence. We also address global environmental problems by tracking the movement of ice in the polar regions. whose ice mass balance affects sea level rise and global climate. We participate in NASA space missions such as Cassini, in which we now are examining the largest moon of Saturn, Titan, to try and deduce its composition and evolution. Our work includes experimental observation and modeling the measurements to best understand processes affecting the Earth and solar system. We use data acquired by spaceborne satellites and by large, ground-based radar telescopes to support our research.

    Teaching
    I teach courses related to remote sensing methods and applications, and how these methods can be used to study the world around us. At the undergraduate level, these include introductory remote sensing uses of the full electromagnetic spectrum to characterize Earth and planetary surfaces and atmospheres, and methods of digital image processing. I also teach a freshman and sophomore seminar course on natural hazards. At the graduate level, the courses are more specialized, including the math and physics of two-dimensional imaging systems, plus detailed ourses on imaging radar systems for geophysical applications.

    Professional Activities
    InSAR Review Board, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2006-present); editorial board, IEEE Proceedings (2005-present); NRC Earth Science and Applications from Space Panel on Solid Earth Hazards, Resources, and Dynamics (2005-present); Chair, Western North America InSAR (WInSAR) Consortium (2004-06); organizing committee, NASA/NSF/USGS InSAR working group; International Union of Radioscience (URSI) Board of Experts for Medal Evaluations (2004-05); National Astronomy and Ionospheric Center, Arecibo Observatory, Visiting Committee, (2002-04; chair, 2003-04); NASA Alaska SAR Facility users working group (2000-present); associate editor, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (1998-present); fellow, IEEE (1998)

  • Xiaolin Zheng

    Xiaolin Zheng

    Professor of Mechanical Engineering, of Energy Science Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering

    BioProfessor Zheng received her Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University (2006), B.S. in Thermal Engineering from Tsinghua University (2000). Prior to joining Stanford in 2007, Professor Zheng did her postdoctoral work in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Professor Zheng is a member of MRS, ACS and combustion institute. Professor Zheng received the TR35 Award from the MIT Technology Review (2013), one of the 100 Leading Global Thinkers by the Foreign Policy Magazine (2013), 3M Nontenured Faculty Grant Award (2013), the Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE) from the white house (2009), Young Investigator Awards from the ONR (2008), DARPA (2008), Terman Fellowship from Stanford (2007), and Bernard Lewis Fellowship from the Combustion Institute (2004).

  • Mark Zoback

    Mark Zoback

    Benjamin M. Page Professor in Earth Sciences, Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
    I conduct research on in situ stress, fault mechanics, and reservoir geomechanics with an emphasis on shale gas, tight gas and tight oil production, the feasibility of long-term geologic storage of CO2 and the occurrence of induced and triggered earthquakes. I was one of the principal investigators of the SAFOD project in which a scientific research well was successfully drilled through the San Andreas Fault at seismogenic depth. I am the author of a textbook entitled Reservoir Geomechanics published in 2007 by Cambridge University Press, now in its sixth printing. I served on the National Academy of Energy committee investigating the Deepwater Horizon accident and the Secretary of Energy’s committee on shale gas development and environmental protection. I currently serve on a Canadian Council of Academies panel investigating the same topic.

    Teaching
    I teach both undergraduate and graduate students. Reservoir Geomechanics is a graduate class for students in the departments of Geophysics, GES, and ERE, and Tectonophysics, a graduate class for students principally in Geophysics and GES. I co-teach a Freshman class entitled Sustainability and Collapse with Professor Ursula Heise of the English Department. I also help lead two graduate seminars each week and frequently attend and participate in other seminars.

    Professional Activities
    Member, Canadian Council of Academies Committee on Shale Gas Development (2012-2013); Member, Secretary of Energy Committee on Shale Gas Development (2011-2012); Member, NAE Committee Investigating Deepwater Horizon Accident (2010-2011); President, American Rock Mechanics Association (2011-2013); Member of Board of RPSEA (2010-); Chair, Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Group of USGS (2007-2011); Advisory Board, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona (2008-2013); Chair, Stanford Faculty Senate (1999-2000); Chair, Department of Geophysics (1991-97); Chair, Science Advisory Group, ICDP (1999-2006); President, Tectonophysics Section, AGU (1988-89)