Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1-100 of 378 Results
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Emilius Aalto
Basic Life Science Research Scientist, Hopkins Marine Station
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy primary research interest is theoretical fisheries ecology, with a focus on population dynamics, spatial dynamics, and response to disease and catastrophic events. My current work involves the incorporation of the effects of ocean acidification and low-oxygen events into an abalone growth and reproduction model. Past projects include modeling indirect positive effects from fishing-induced competitive release and the effects of size-specific obligate predation on post-harvest recovery time.
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Jason Andrews
Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and, by courtesy, of Epidemology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur laboratory aims to develop and test innovative approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and control of infectious diseases in resource-limited settings. We draw upon multiple fields including mathematical modeling, microbial genetics, field epidemiology, statistical inference and biodesign to work on challenging problems in infectious diseases, with an emphasis on tuberculosis and tropical diseases.
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Eric Appel
Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Endocrinology) and of Bioengineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe underlying theme of the Appel Lab at Stanford University integrates concepts and approaches from supramolecular chemistry, natural/synthetic materials, and biology. We aim to develop supramolecular biomaterials that exploit a diverse design toolbox and take advantage of the beautiful synergism between physical properties, aesthetics, and low energy consumption typical of natural systems. Our vision is to use these materials to solve fundamental biological questions and to engineer advanced healthcare solutions.
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Nicole Ardoin
Associate Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNicole Ardoin, the Emmett Family Faculty Scholar, is an associate professor of Environmental Behavioral Sciences in the Environmental Social Sciences Department of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS).
Professor Ardoin studies motivations for and barriers to environmental behavior among a range of audiences and in varying settings; the use of social strategies by NGOs to engage individuals and communities in decisionmaking related to the environment; and the role of place-based connections and environmental learning on engagement in place-protective and stewardship actions over time.
Professor Ardoin's Social Ecology Lab group uses mixed-methods approaches--including participant observation, interviews, surveys, mapping, network analysis, and ethnography, among others--to pursue their interdisciplinary scholarship with community collaborators through a field-based, participatory frame. Professor Ardoin is an associate editor of the journal Environmental Education Research, a trustee of the California Academy of Sciences, and chair of NatureBridge's Education Advisory Council, among other areas of service to the environment and conservation field.
RECENT RESEARCH (Selected):
Accelerating 30x30 Through a Collaborative Regional Prioritization Partnership
With support from the SDSS Accelerator
PI: Liz Hadly; co-PIs Nicole Ardoin, Debbie Sivas
Empowering Youth in Frontline Communities through Climate Data
PI: Victor Lee; co-PIs Nicole Ardoin, Jenny Suckale
A Social Science/Sustainability Incubator: Interdisciplinary scholarship and practice to amplify impact and redefine solutions
With support from Stanford’s Sustainability Initiative
PI: Nicole Ardoin; co-PI: James H. Jones
Tracking Socio-Ecological Recovery after Forest Fire: The Case of Big Basin
With support from: Digital Learning Initiative of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning
The Summen Project: Coastal Fog-mediated Interactions Between Climate Change, Upwelling, and Coast Redwood Resilience
With support from NSF Coastal SEES Program, the National Geographic Society, and the TELOS Fund
In partnership with UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, Carnegie, Oregon State University
Scholars and Land-Trust Managers Collaborating for Solutions
With support from Realizing Environmental Innovations Projects (REIP), Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
PI: Nicole Ardoin; co-PI: Deborah Gordon
Community and Collective Environmental Literacy as a Motivator for Participating in Environmental Stewardship
With support from the Pisces Foundation
Hybrid Physical and Digital Spaces for Enhanced Sustainability and Wellbeing
WIth support from Stanford Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions
PI: Sarah Billington, Civil and Environmental Engineering; co-PIs Nicole Ardoin, James Landay, Hazel Markus
Blue Habits: Leveraging Behavioral Science to Support Pro-Ocean Behaviors
With support from The Oceanic Society
eeWorks: Examining the body of evidence for environmental education with regard to conservation, academic outcomes, civic engagement, and positive youth development
With support from the North American Association for Environmental Education, US EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service, and others -
Kevin Arrigo
Donald and Donald M. Steel Professor of Earth Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsInvestigates role of ocean biology in gobal carbon and nutrient cycles.
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Ines M. L. Azevedo
Professor of Energy Science Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor Azevedo is passionate about solving problems that include environmental, technical, economic, and policy issues, where traditional engineering approaches play an important role but cannot provide a complete answer. In particular, she is interested in assessing how energy systems are likely to evolve, which requires comprehensive knowledge of the technologies that can address future energy needs and the decision-making process followed by various agents in the economy.
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Khalid Aziz
Otto N. Miller Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOptimization and reservoir Simulation.
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Jeremy Bailenson
Thomas More Storke Professor, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Education
BioJeremy Bailenson is founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Thomas More Storke Professor in the Department of Communication, Professor (by courtesy) of Education, Professor (by courtesy) Program in Symbolic Systems, and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. He has served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication for over a decade. He earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1994 and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Northwestern University in 1999. He spent four years at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and then an Assistant Research Professor.
Bailenson studies the psychology of Virtual and Augmented Reality, in particular how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. His lab builds and studies systems that allow people to meet in virtual space, and explores the changes in the nature of social interaction. His most recent research focuses on how virtual experiences can transform education, environmental conservation, empathy, and health. He is the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Stanford. In 2020, IEEE recognized his work with “The Virtual/Augmented Reality Technical Achievement Award”.
He has published more than 200 academic papers, spanning the fields of communication, computer science, education, environmental science, law, linguistics, marketing, medicine, political science, and psychology. His work has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation for over 25 years.
His first book Infinite Reality, co-authored with Jim Blascovich, emerged as an Amazon Best-seller eight years after its initial publication, and was quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court. His new book, Experience on Demand, was reviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Nature, and The Times of London, and was an Amazon Best-seller.
He has written opinion pieces for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, CNN, PBS NewsHour, Wired, National Geographic, Slate, The San Francisco Chronicle, TechCrunch, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and has produced or directed six Virtual Reality documentary experiences which were official selections at the Tribeca Film Festival. His lab has exhibited VR in hundreds of venues ranging from The Smithsonian to The Superbowl. -
Jack Baker
William Alden Campbell and Martha Campbell Professor, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioJack Baker is a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He uses probabilistic and statistical tools to quantify and manage disaster risk and resilience. He has made contributions to risk analysis of spatially distributed systems, characterization of earthquake ground motions, and simulation of post-disaster recovery. He is an author of the textbook Seismic Hazard and Risk Analysis, Director of the Stanford Urban Resilience Initiative, Editor-in-Chief of Earthquake Spectra, and a Co-Founder of Haselton Baker Risk Group.
Prior to Stanford, Professor Baker was a visiting researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). He has degrees in Structural Engineering (Stanford, M.S. 2002, Ph.D. 2005), Statistics (Stanford, M.S. 2004) and Mathematics/Physics (Whitman College, B.A. 2000). His awards include the William B. Joyner Lecture Award from the Seismological Society of America and Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the Shah Family Innovation Prize from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, the Early Achievement Research Award from the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability, the Walter L. Huber Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Helmut Krawinkler Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, and the Eugene L. Grant Award for excellence in teaching from Stanford. -
Halleh Balch
Assistant Professor of Oceans and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
BioHalleh B. Balch is an experimental physicist and HHMI Hanna H. Gray Faculty Fellow at Stanford University. Her research broadly focuses on advancing imaging, spectroscopy, and nanophotonics with a focus on applications in oceanography and water sustainability. Halleh received her PhD in physics from the University of California Berkeley and her undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College in physics and literature. Halleh joined Stanford as an Assistant Professor in the Doerr School of Sustainability in August 2025.
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Jeffrey Ball
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEfficacy of global clean-energy investment, focusing on China, the main player.
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Zhenan Bao
K. K. Lee Professor, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering, of Chemistry, and of Bioengineering
BioZhenan Bao joined Stanford University in 2004. She is currently a K.K. Lee Professor in Chemical Engineering, and with courtesy appointments in Chemistry and Material Science and Engineering. She was the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018-2022. She founded the Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR) and is the current faculty director. Bao received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from The University of Chicago in 1995 and joined Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. She became a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in 2001. Professor Bao currently has more than 800 refereed publications and more than 80 US patents with a Google Scholar H-index 234.
Bao is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. Bao was elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Science in 2021. She is a Fellow of AAAS, ACS, MRS, SPIE, ACS POLY and ACS PMSE.
Bao is a member of the Board of Directors for the Camille and Dreyfus Foundation from 2022. She served as a member of Executive Board of Directors for the Materials Research Society and Executive Committee Member for the Polymer Materials Science and Engineering division of the American Chemical Society. She co-founded C3 Nano Co. and PyrAmes, which have produced products used in commercial smartphones and hospitals, respectively. Multiple inventions from her lab have been licensed and served as foundational technologies for several additional start-ups.
Bao was a recipient of the VinFuture Prize Female Innovator 2022, ACS Award of Chemistry of Materials 2022, MRS Mid-Career Award in 2021, AICHE Alpha Chi Sigma Award 2021, ACS Central Science Disruptor and Innovator Prize in 2020, ACS Gibbs Medal in 2020, the Wilhelm Exner Medal from the Austrian Federal Minister of Science in 2018, the L'Oreal UNESCO Women in Science Award North America Laureate in 2017. She was awarded the ACS Applied Polymer Science Award in 2017, ACS Creative Polymer Chemistry Award in 2013 ACS Cope Scholar Award in 2011. She is a recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry Beilby Medal and Prize in 2009, IUPAC Creativity in Applied Polymer Science Prize in 2008.
In Stanford, Bao has pioneered molecular design concepts and fabrication processes to advance the scope and applications of skin-inspired electronics. Her group discovered nano confinement effect of conjugated polymers in polymer blends, which established the fundamental foundation for skin-inspired electronic materials and devices. Her work has resulted in new materials and device solutions for soft robotics, wearable and implantable electronics for precision health, precision mental health and advanced tools for understanding neuroscience and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Building on chemical insights, her group has developed foundational materials and devices that enabled a new generation of skin-inspired soft electronics. They provide unprecedented opportunities for understanding human health through developing monitoring, diagnosis and treatment tools. Some examples include: a neuromorphic e-skin that can sense force and temperature and directly communicate with brain, a wireless wound healing patch, a soft NeuroString for simultaneous neurochemical monitoring in the brain and gut, soft high-density electrophysiological recording array, a meta-learned skin sensor for detailed body movements, a reconfigurable self-healing electronic skin. -
William Barnett
Thomas M. Siebel Professor of Business Leadership, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsBarnett studies how organizations are responding to the challenge of environmental sustainability. He is now establishing research sites around the world, investigating a number of areas where organizational adaptation is key, including: the proliferation of climate tech start ups, issues around environmental justice, the challenge of climate migration, and the urgent need to preserve the world's rainforests.
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Michele Barry, MD, FACP
Drs. Ben & A. Jess Shenson Professor, Senior Associate Dean, Global Health, Director, Center for Innovation in Global Health, Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute and Professor, by courtesy, of Health Policy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAreas of research
Ethical Aspects of research conducted overseas
Clinical Tropical Diseases
Globalization's Impact upon Health Disparities
Human and Planetary Heath
Women Leadership -
Ilenia Battiato
Associate Professor of Energy Science Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnergy and environment (battery systems; superhydrophobicity and drag reduction; carbon sequestration); multiscale, mesoscale and hybrid simulations (multiphase and reactive transport processes); effective medium theories; perturbation methods, homogenization and upscaling.
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Sven Beiker
Lecturer
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAutonomous, connected, electric, and shared mobility in terms of product roadmaps, market sizing, and corporate strategy. The primary questions describing my work are:
- When will autonomous vehicles come to the market?
- Is there a viable business model for connected vehicles?
- Is there an inflection point for electric vehicles?
- Will consumers only use shared mobility and not own anymore?
As impossible as it is to answer those questions, as possible it becomes in a specific context... -
Eran Bendavid
Professor of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health), of Health Policy, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and, by courtesy, at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEffect of global health policies on health of individuals in developing countries, global health, HIV and TB.
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Sally Benson
Precourt Family Professor, Professor of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy
On Leave from 09/01/2025 To 08/31/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research is focused on reducing the risks of climate change by developing energy supplies with low carbon emissions. Students and post-doctoral fellows in my research group work on carbon dioxide storage, energy systems analysis, and pathways for transitioning to a low-carbon energy system.
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Stacey Bent
Jagdeep & Roshni Singh Professor in the School of Eng, Professor of Energy Science and Eng, Senior Fellow at Precourt & Prof, by courtesy, of Electrical Eng, Materials Sci Eng & Chemistry
On Leave from 04/01/2025BioThe research in the Bent laboratory is focused on understanding and controlling surface and interfacial chemistry and applying this knowledge to a range of problems in semiconductor processing, micro- and nano-electronics, nanotechnology, and sustainable and renewable energy. Much of the research aims to develop a molecular-level understanding in these systems, and hence the group uses of a variety of molecular probes. Systems currently under study in the group include functionalization of semiconductor surfaces, mechanisms and control of atomic layer deposition, molecular layer deposition, nanoscale materials for light absorption, interface engineering in photovoltaics, catalyst and electrocatalyst deposition.
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Hélène Benveniste
Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Sciences
BioHélène Benveniste is an Assistant Professor in the Global Environmental Policy unit of the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. She works on international environmental policy and politics, with focuses on climate-related human migration and global governance of environmental issues. In her research, she uses both quantitative and qualitative methods drawn from political and other social sciences. Her work has appeared in scientific journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Nature Climate Change. Prior to joining Stanford, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
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Greg Beroza
Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEarthquake seismology
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Karan Bhuwalka
Research Engineer, Energy Science & Engineering
BioDr. Karan Bhuwalka leads the materials supply chain modeling at STEER, a research group that conducts rigorous techno-economic analysis to guide investment, innovation, and policy for the energy transition. Karan's research integrates economics, statistics, manufacturing and materials science to identify pathways to sustainably scale-up critical minerals production. Scaling-up energy supply chains rapidly while minimising life-cycle impacts requires aligning technology, markets and policies. STEER takes a systems approach that links engineering process models with supply and demand considerations to inform decision-making under uncertainty. Karan's current work is focused on modeling graphite production. Previous work spans lithium, nickel, recycled plastics systems and Bayesian modeling to reduce uncertainity in material demand.
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Adrien Gabriel Bilal
Assistant Professor of Economics, Center Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Assistant Professor, by courtesy, of Environmental Social Sciences
BioAdrien Bilal is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He is a macroeconomist who works on topics related to climate change, spatial and labor economics.
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Sarah Billington
UPS Foundation Professor, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioMy research program focuses on the impact of sustainable building design and materials on human wellbeing. This work includes developing design tools to quantify nature experience in buildings, understanding and increasing wellbeing in and through affordable housing, and identifying the risk of forced labor in building material supply chains through fingerprinting and AI methods. The goal of my research program is to provide building occupants, designers, and owners tools to achieve built environments that meet their needs for environmental and social sustainability and to design interventions that support human wellbeing over time while preserving privacy. While no longer active in this area, my group has a long history of expertise in the design and evaluation of sustainable, durable construction materials including bio-based composites and ductile cement-based composites.
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Biondo Biondi
Barney and Estelle Morris Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
My students and I devise new algorithms to improve the imaging of reflection seismic data. Images obtained from seismic data are the main source of information on the structural and stratigraphic complexities in Earth's subsurface. These images are constructed by processing seismic wavefields recorded at the surface of Earth and generated by either active-source experiments (reflection data), or by far-away earthquakes (teleseismic data). The high-resolution and fidelity of 3-D reflection-seismic images enables oil companies to drill with high accuracy for hydrocarbon reservoirs that are buried under two kilometers of water and up to 15 kilometers of sediments and hard rock. To achieve this technological feat, the recorded data must be processed employing advanced mathematical algorithms that harness the power of huge computational resources. To demonstrate the advantages of our new methods, we process 3D field data on our parallel cluster running several hundreds of processors.
Teaching
I teach a course on seismic imaging for graduate students in geophysics and in the other departments of the School of Earth Sciences. I run a research graduate seminar every quarter of the year. This year I will be teaching a one-day short course in 30 cities around the world as the SEG/EAGE Distinguished Instructor Short Course, the most important educational outreach program of these two societies.
Professional Activities
2007 SEG/EAGE Distinguished Instructor Short Course (2007); co-director, Stanford Exploration Project (1998-present); founding member, Editorial Board of SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences (2007-present); member, SEG Research Committee (1996-present); chairman, SEG/EAGE Summer Research Workshop (2006) -
Ettore Biondi
Assistant Professor of Geophysics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEttore Biondi’s research advances the use of distributed fiber-optic sensing to monitor and understand dynamic Earth system processes. By leveraging high-resolution data from fiber sensors, his work yields new insights into seismic, hydrological, and environmental phenomena at varying scales. The innovative methodologies developed contribute to improved hazard detection, enhanced subsurface imaging, and a deeper understanding of complex geophysical interactions.
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Dennis Bird
Professor of Geological Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsTheoretical geochemistry of reactions among aqueous solutions and minerals in magma-hydrothermal systems; environmental geochemistry of toxic metals in the Mother Lode Gold region, CA, and the emergence of life in the aftermath of the Moon-forming impact, ca. 4.4Ga.
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Brian Blackburn
Clinical Professor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy interests include parasitology and global health; I've investigated cryptosporidium and angiostrongylus outbreaks; schistosoma/strongyloides seroprevalence in refugees, and the distribution and impact of ITNs for malaria and filariasis prevention in Nigeria and India. I have done clinical and programmatic work at teaching hospitals in Liberia and Bangladesh and have opportunities for research in Bangladesh and Kenya, in collaboration with ICDDR,B and CDC, Kenya
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Barbara Block
Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor of Marine Sciences, Professor of Oceans and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThermal physiology, open ocean predators, ecological physiology and tuna biology
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Alexandria Boehm
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies, Professor of Oceans and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioI am interested in pathogens in the environment including their sources, fate, and transport in natural and engineered systems. I am interested in understanding of how pathogens are transmitted to humans through contact with water, feces, and contaminated surfaces. My research is focused on key problems in both developed and developing countries with the overarching goal of designing and testing novel interventions and technologies for reducing the burden of disease.
I am also interested broadly in coastal water quality where my work addresses the sources, transformation, transport, and ecology of biocolloids - specifically fecal indicator organisms, DNA, pathogens, and phytoplankton - as well as sources and fate of nitrogen. This knowledge is crucial to formulating new management policies and engineering practices that protect human and ecosystem health at the coastal margins. -
Adam Boies
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Center Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSee www.ANEEStanford.com/research
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Donna M. Bouley, DVM, PhD
Professor of Comparative Medicine at the Stanford University Medical Center, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch interests: ocular pathology, host-pathogen interactions in infectious disease, infectious disease in frogs, phenotypic characterization of tg and ko mice, histopathology of minimally-invasive radiological ablation techniques (focused ultrasound, cryoablation).
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Kevin Boyce
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and, by courtesy, of Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPaleontology/Geobiology; Fossil record of plant physiology and development; Evolution of terrestrial ecosystems including fungi, animals, and environmental feedbacks with the biota
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Stephen Boyd
Samsung Professor in the School of Engineering
BioStephen P. Boyd is the Samsung Professor of Engineering, and Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Information Systems Laboratory at Stanford University, and a member of the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering. His current research focus is on convex optimization applications in control, signal processing, machine learning, and finance.
Professor Boyd received an AB degree in Mathematics, summa cum laude, from Harvard University in 1980, and a PhD in EECS from U. C. Berkeley in 1985. In 1985 he joined Stanford's Electrical Engineering Department. He has held visiting Professor positions at Katholieke University (Leuven), McGill University (Montreal), Ecole Polytechnique Federale (Lausanne), Tsinghua University (Beijing), Universite Paul Sabatier (Toulouse), Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm), Kyoto University, Harbin Institute of Technology, NYU, MIT, UC Berkeley, CUHK-Shenzhen, and IMT Lucca. He holds honorary doctorates from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, and Catholic University of Louvain (UCL).
Professor Boyd is the author of many research articles and four books: Introduction to Applied Linear Algebra: Vectors, Matrices, and Least-Squares (with Lieven Vandenberghe, 2018), Convex Optimization (with Lieven Vandenberghe, 2004), Linear Matrix Inequalities in System and Control Theory (with El Ghaoui, Feron, and Balakrishnan, 1994), and Linear Controller Design: Limits of Performance (with Craig Barratt, 1991). His group has produced many open source tools, including CVX (with Michael Grant), CVXPY (with Steven Diamond) and Convex.jl (with Madeleine Udell and others), widely used parser-solvers for convex optimization.
He has received many awards and honors for his research in control systems engineering and optimization, including an ONR Young Investigator Award, a Presidential Young Investigator Award, and the AACC Donald P. Eckman Award. In 2013, he received the IEEE Control Systems Award, given for outstanding contributions to control systems engineering, science, or technology. In 2012, Michael Grant and he were given the Mathematical Optimization Society's Beale-Orchard-Hays Award, for excellence in computational mathematical programming. In 2023, he was given the AACC Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award, the highest recognition of professional achievement for U.S. control systems engineers and scientists. In 2025, he was awarded the IFAC Nathaniel B. Nichols Medal.
He is a Fellow of the IEEE, SIAM, INFORMS, IFAC, and ACA, a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Control Systems Society, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. He has been invited to deliver more than 100 plenary and keynote lectures at major conferences in control, optimization, signal processing, and machine learning.
He has developed and taught many undergraduate and graduate courses, including Signals & Systems, Linear Dynamical Systems, Convex Optimization, and a recent undergraduate course on Matrix Methods. His graduate convex optimization course attracts around 300 students from more than 20 departments. In 1991 he received an ASSU Graduate Teaching Award, and in 1994 he received the Perrin Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in the School of Engineering. In 2003, he received the AACC Ragazzini Education award, for contributions to control education. In 2016 he received the Walter J. Gores award, the highest award for teaching at Stanford University. In 2017 he received the IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal, for a career of outstanding contributions to education in the fields of interest of IEEE, with citation "For inspirational education of students and researchers in the theory and application of optimization." -
Dane A. Boysen, PhD
Research Engineer, Precourt Institute for Energy
BioDr. Boysen is a visionary leader in advanced energy technologies, with over two decades of ex-perience spanning research, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership. Boysen has held pivotal roles, including the CEO of RedoxBlox, where he spearheaded the commercialization of a breakthrough thermochemical energy storage technology, raising over $40 million in venture capital. His career highlights include founding Modular Chemical, Inc. to pioneer modular gas treatment solutions and serving as Chief Technologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Cyclotron Road (now called Activate)—a national lab-embedded incubator—where he developed the program’s core curriculum and mentored over 20 energy-technology startup companies. As the Executive Director of Research Operations at the Gas Technology Institute, he helped build a public-private coalition to launch the RAPID Institute, a $70 million initiative to advance modular chemical processing. At ARPA-E, Boysen managed a $120 million portfolio of cutting-edge energy projects, spearheading initiatives like the MOVE program for natural gas vehicle technology. A prolific inventor and contributor to the field, Boysen holds over 10 patents and authored more than 25 publications—driving advancements in fuel cells, energy storage, and emissions reduction—and solidifying his reputation as a thought leader in cleantech commercialization. With a Ph.D. and M.S. in Materials Science from the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Boysen has consistently bridged the gap between scientific innovation and commercial viability, cementing his status as a transformative force in cleantech commercialization and sustainable energy development.
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Adam Brandt
Professor of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGreenhouse gas emissions, energy systems optimization, mathematical modeling of resource depletion, life cycle analysis
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Mark Brongersma
Director, Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials (GLAM), Stephen Harris Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Applied Physics
BioMark Brongersma is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received his PhD in Materials Science from the FOM Institute in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1998. From 1998-2001 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the California Institute of Technology. During this time, he coined the term “Plasmonics” for a new device technology that exploits the unique optical properties of nanoscale metallic structures to route and manipulate light at the nanoscale. His current research is directed towards the development and physical analysis of nanostructured materials that find application in nanoscale electronic and photonic devices. Brongersma received a National Science Foundation Career Award, the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, the International Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences (Physics) for his work on plasmonics, and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the SPIE, and the American Physical Society.
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Gordon Brown
Dorrell William Kirby Professor of Geology in the School of Earth Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSurface and interface geochemistry; environmental fate of heavy metals; nanotechnology, applications of synchrotron radiation in geochemistry and mineralogy
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Marshall Burke
Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
BioMarshall Burke is an associate professor in Global Environmental Policy unit in the Doerr School of Sustainability, deputy director at the Center on Food Security and the Environment, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Woods Institute, and SIEPR at Stanford University. He is also a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-founder of AtlasAI, a remote sensing start-up. His research focuses on social and economic impacts of environmental change and on measuring and understanding economic development in emerging markets. His work has appeared in both economic and scientific journals, including recent publications in Nature, Science, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, and The Lancet. He holds a PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in international relations from Stanford University.
Prospective students should see my personal webpage, linked at right. -
Maxine Burkett
Professor of Environmental Social Sciences
BioMaxine Burkett is a Professor of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. Burkett’s research examines the relationship between environmental change and inequity and its impact on frontline communities, both domestic and international. With a background in law and diplomacy, her areas of expertise include climate change (international, national, subnational law and policy), ocean and coastal law, climate-related migration, and climate change and human security.
Professor Burkett most recently served as a Professor Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law as well as in senior roles at the White House and the State Department. At the State Department she oversaw the formulation and implementation of U.S. policy on a broad range of international issues concerning the oceans, the Arctic, the Antarctic, and marine conservation in her role as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs. She also served as a Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where her portfolio included climate-related migration, climate security, bilateral relationships with island nations, and Indigenous Peoples’ engagement. From 2021-2023, Burkett was also a Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, where she advanced research on climate justice and public health. -
Jen Burney
Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
BioJennifer (Jen) Burney is a Professor in Global Environmental Policy and Earth System Science in the Doerr School of Sustainability. Her research focuses on the coupled relationships between climate and food security – measuring air pollutant emissions and concentrations, quantifying the effects of climate and air pollution on land use and food systems, understanding how food production and consumption contribute to climate change, and designing and evaluating technologies and strategies for adaptation and mitigation among the world’s farmers. Her research group combines methods from physics, ecology, statistics, remote sensing, economics, and policy to understand critical scientific uncertainties in this coupled system and to provide evidence for what will – or won’t – work to simultaneously end hunger and stabilize earth’s climate. She earned a PhD in physics in 2007, completed postdoctoral fellowships in both food security and climate science, and was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2011; prior to joining the Doerr School, she served on the faculty at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
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Thomas Byers
Entrepreneurship Professor in the School of Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsApplied ethics, responsible innovation, and global entrepreneurship education (see http://peak.stanford.edu).
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Bodie Cabiyo
Social Sci Res Scholar
BioBodie uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate nature-based solutions to climate change. He currently studies how policy and innovative technology can enable carbon-beneficial forest management. This work bridges industrial ecology, forest economics, and forest ecology. His modeling work has focused on the role of innovative wood use in reducing carbon emissions, both in California and East Africa. His applied policy work focuses on improving forest carbon offset protocols. The intent of this work is to promote the more credible translation of carbon dioxide removals to a market context. Bodie also has latent interests in the social aspects of technology adoption, short-lived climate pollutants, and soil carbon storage.
Bodie completed his PhD in the UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group in 2022, where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Bodie will usually abandon his desk after snow storms in the Sierras, or just on sunny afternoons when he’d rather be trail running. -
David Cade
Basic Life Research Scientist
BioFor the most up to date information, check out www.davidecade.com
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Jef Caers
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and, by courtesy, of Geophysics
On Leave from 09/01/2025 To 06/30/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on assuring 100% renewable energy through development of geothermal energy and critical mineral supply, developing approaches from data acquisition to decision making under uncertainty and risk assessment.
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Bruce Cain
Charles Louis Ducommun Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, at SIEPR, at the Precourt Institute for Energy & Professor of Environmental Social Sciences
BioBruce E. Cain is a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West. He received a BA from Bowdoin College (1970), a B Phil. from Oxford University (1972) as a Rhodes Scholar, and a Ph D from Harvard University (1976). He taught at Caltech (1976-89) and UC Berkeley (1989-2012) before coming to Stanford. Professor Cain was Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley from 1990-2007 and Executive Director of the UC Washington Center from 2005-2012. He was elected the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000 and has won awards for his research (Richard F. Fenno Prize, 1988), teaching (Caltech 1988 and UC Berkeley 2003) and public service (Zale Award for Outstanding Achievement in Policy Research and Public Service, 2000). His areas of expertise include political regulation, applied democratic theory, representation and state politics. Some of Professor Cain’s most recent publications include “Malleable Constitutions: Reflections on State Constitutional Design,” coauthored with Roger Noll in University of Texas Law Review, volume 2, 2009; “More or Less: Searching for Regulatory Balance,” in Race, Reform and the Political Process, edited by Heather Gerken, Guy Charles and Michael Kang, CUP, 2011; “Redistricting Commissions: A Better Political Buffer?” in The Yale Law Journal, volume 121, 2012; and Democracy More or Less (CUP, 2015). He is currently working on problems of environmental governance.
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Brian Cantwell
Edward C. Wells Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus
BioProfessor Cantwell's research interests are in the area of turbulent flow. Recent work has centered in three areas: the direct numerical simulation of turbulent shear flows, theoretical studies of the fine-scale structure of turbulence, and experimental measurements of turbulent structure in flames. Experimental studies include the development of particle-tracking methods for measuring velocity fields in unsteady flames and variable density jets. Research in turbulence simulation includes the development of spectral methods for simulating vortex rings, the development of topological methods for interpreting complex fields of data, and simulations of high Reynolds number compressible and incompressible wakes. Theoretical studies include predictions of the asymptotic behavior of drifting vortex pairs and vortex rings and use of group theoretical methods to study the nonlinear dynamics of turbulent fine-scale motions. Current projects include studies of fast-burning fuels for hybrid propulsion and decomposition of nitrous oxide for space propulsion.
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Matteo Cargnello
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering
BioMatteo Cargnello received his Ph.D. in Nanotechnology in 2012 at the University of Trieste, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Paolo Fornasiero, and he was then a post-doctoral scholar in the Chemistry Department at the University of Pennsylvania with Prof. Christopher B. Murray before joining the Faculty at Stanford University in January 2015. He is currently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering and Silas Palmer Faculty Scholar. Dr. Cargnello is the recipient of several awards including the Sloan Fellowship in 2018, the Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award for Creative Work in 2020, and the Early Career Award in Catalysis from the ACS Catalysis Division in 2022. The general goals of the research in the Cargnello group pertain to solving energy and environmental challenges. The group focuses on capture and conversion of carbon dioxide, emission control and reduction of methane and hydrocarbon emissions in the atmosphere, sustainable chemical practices through electro- and photocatalysis, sustainable production of hydrogen, and chemical recycling of plastics.
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Karen Casciotti
Associate Dean for Facilities and Shared Labs, Professor of Oceans, of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor in Oceans and ESS, focus on marine chemistry and biogeochemistry.
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Page Chamberlain
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of Earth System Science
On Leave from 09/22/2025 To 12/12/2025Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch
I use stable and radiogenic isotopes to understand Earth system history. These studies examine the link between climate, tectonics, biological, and surface processes. Projects include: 1) examining the terrestrial climate history of the Earth focusing on periods of time in the past that had CO 2-levels similar to the present and to future projections; and 2) addressing how the chemical weathering of the Earth's crust affects both the long- and short-term carbon cycle. Field areas for these studies are in the Cascades, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, the European Alps, Tibet and the Himalaya and the Southern Alps of New Zealand.
International Collaborations
Much of the research that I do has an international component. Specifically, I have collaborations with: 1) the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt Germany as a Humboldt Fellow and 2) the Chinese University of Geosciences in Bejiing China where I collaborate with Professor Yuan Gao.
Teaching
I teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in isotope biogeochemistry, Earth system history, and the relationship between climate, surface processes and tectonics.
Professional Activities
Editor American Journal of Science; Co-Director Stanford Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory (present);Chair, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences (2004-07); Co-Director Stanford/USGS SHRIMP Ion microprobe facility (2001-04) -
Christopher Chidsey
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Chidsey group research interest is to build the chemical base for molecular electronics. To accomplish this, we synthesize the molecular and nanoscopic systems, build the analytical tools and develop the theoretical understanding with which to study electron transfer between electrodes and among redox species through insulating molecular bridges
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Srabanti Chowdhury
Professor of Electrical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWide bandap materials & devices for RF, Power and energy efficient electronics
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Steven Chu
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and of Energy Science and Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSynthesis, functionalization and applications of nanoparticle bioprobes for molecular cellular in vivo imaging in biology and biomedicine. Linear and nonlinear difference frequency mixing ultrasound imaging. Lithium metal-sulfur batteries, new approaches to electrochemical splitting of water. CO2 reduction, lithium extraction from salt water
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William Chueh
Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Kimmelman Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Energy Science and Engineering, and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioThe availability of low-cost but intermittent renewable electricity (e.g., derived from solar and wind) underscores the grand challenge to store and dispatch energy so that it is available when and where it is needed. Redox-active materials promise the efficient transformation between electrical, chemical, and thermal energy, and are at the heart of carbon-neutral energy cycles. Understanding design rules that govern materials chemistry and architecture holds the key towards rationally optimizing technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and novel thermodynamic cycles. Electrochemical and chemical reactions involved in these technologies span diverse length and time scales, ranging from Ångströms to meters and from picoseconds to years. As such, establishing a unified, predictive framework has been a major challenge. The central question unifying our research is: “can we understand and engineer redox reactions at the levels of electrons, ions, molecules, particles and devices using a bottom-up approach?” Our approach integrates novel synthesis, fabrication, characterization, modeling and analytics to understand molecular pathways and interfacial structure, and to bridge fundamentals to energy storage and conversion technologies by establishing new design rules.
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Jon Claerbout
Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsReflection Seismology
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Bruce Clemens
Walter B. Reinhold Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus and Academic Secretary to the University
BioClemens studies growth and structure of thin film, interface and nanostructured materials for catalytic, electronic and photovoltaic applications. He and his group investigate phase transitions and kinetics in nanostructured materials, and perform nanoparticle engineering for hydrogen storage and catalysis. Recently he and his collaborators have developed nano-portals for efficient injection of hydrogen into storage media, dual-phase nanoparticles for catalysis, amorphous metal electrodes for semiconductor devices, and a lift-off process for forming free-standing, single-crystal films of compound semiconductors.
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Collin Closek
Basic Life Scientist
BioI am a Staff Scientist at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. My research focuses on optimizing molecular and computational tools to address ecological and evolutionary questions. I have published in the areas of environmental change, ocean health, biodiversity, disease, eDNA, -omics, and aquaculture. I hold a B.S. in Biology from the University of Georgia, began my doctoral studies at the University of California, Merced, and earned my Ph.D. at Penn State. I completed two postdoctoral appointments, first as a joint-postdoctoral researcher at University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and University of Maryland's Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology. Second, I completed advanced collaborative training as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment in conjunction with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I enjoy exploring and teaching about the natural world, its diversity, complexities, and the challenges faced by our environment.
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David Cohen
WSD-HANDA Professor of Human Rights and International Justice, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent research includes book projects on World War II war crimes trials; the Tokyo and Nuremberg International Military Tribunals; analysis of blasphemy prosecutions in Indonesia; analysis of the misuse of electronic communication, criminal defamation, lese majeste, blasphemy and asspociated laws in Southeast Asia; international best practices on whistleblower protection and justiuce collaborators in corruption cases in ASEAN; the UN justice process in East Timor under the Special Panels for Serious Crimes; comparative study of strategic decision making in American, British, and Japanese policy circles in WWII; analysis of the Judgment in Case 002/2 at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia.
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Sara Constantino
Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Center Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioSara Constantino is an assistant professor at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability in the Department of Environmental Social Sciences and a visiting research scholar at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. She is also a faculty affiliate at SPARQ and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute. She has an interdisciplinary background at the intersection of economics, psychology, and environmental policy and politics. Her research focuses on understanding the interplay between individual, collective, institutional and ecological factors, including how they shape preferences, decisions, experiences and resilience to extreme events or shocks. In recent and ongoing studies, she is looking at the role of polarization, social norms and governance in stimulating or stifling climate action, including both adaptation and mitigation, and what conditions lead groups mobilize to shape policy and other outcomes. She also works on the impacts and politics of guaranteed income and other cash transfer programs. Prior to starting at Stanford, she was an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University and an associate research scholar at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. Before this, she was a senior research fellow in guaranteed income with the Jain Family Institute, a founding editor at Nature Human Behavior, and a research coordinator with the Institute for Fiscal Studies. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from McGill University, a master’s degree in economics from University College London, a Ph.D. in cognitive and decision sciences from New York University, and did a postdoc focused on environmental policy, politics and decision-making at Princeton University.
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Craig Criddle
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCriddle's interests include microbial biotechnology for the circular economy, including recovery of clean water from used water, renewable energy, valuable materials that can replace fossil-carbon derived materials. Current projects include energy-efficient anaerobic wastewater treatment technology, assessment of new treatment trains that yield high quality water; fossil carbon plastics biodegradation, and biotechnology for production of bioplastics that can replace fossil carbon plastics.
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Larry Crowder
Edward Ricketts Provostial Professor, Professor of Oceans, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Biology and of Environmental Social Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEcology, conservation, fisheries, protected species, ecosystem-based management
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Yi Cui
Fortinet Founders Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Energy Science and Engineering, of Photon Science, Senior Fellow at Woods, at Precourt and Professor, by courtesy, of Chemistry
BioCui studies fundamentals and applications of nanomaterials and develops tools for their understanding. Research Interests: nanotechnology, batteries, electrocatalysis, wearables, 2D materials, environmental technology (water, air, soil), cryogenic electron microscopy.
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Simone D'Amico
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Geophysics
BioSimone D’Amico is Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AA), W.M. Keck Faculty Scholar in the School of Engineering, Associate Professor of Geophysics (by Courtesy), Science Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Chief Science Officer at EraDrive Inc. He is the Founding Director of the Stanford Space Rendezvous Laboratory, Founding Co-Director of the Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR), and Director of the Undergraduate Program in Aerospace Engineering at Stanford. He has 23+ years of experience in research and development of autonomous spacecraft and distributed space systems. He developed and deployed the distributed Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system of several formation-flying, rendezvous and proximity operations missions such as GRACE (NASA/DLR), PRISMA (OHB/DLR/CNES/DTU), TanDEM-X (DLR), BIROS (DLR) and PROBA-3 (ESA). Currently, he is the institutional PI of four autonomous satellite swarms funded by NASA (STARLING, STARI) and by NSF (VISORS, SWARM-EX). Dr. D'Amico is Fellow of AAS, Associate Fellow of AIAA, Associate Editor of the AIAA's JGCD and he is in the Advisory Board of four space start-ups focusing on distributed space systems for future applications in SAR remote sensing, orbital lifetime prolongation, and space-based solar power. He was the recipient of several awards, most recently the 2024 NASA Ames Honor Award for the Starling mission, Best Paper Awards at IAF (2022), IEEE (2021), AIAA (2021), AAS (2019) conferences, the M. Barry Carlton Award by IEEE (2020), the Leonardo 500 Award by the Leonardo da Vinci Society/ISSNAF (2019), FAI/NAA’s Group Diploma of Honor (2018), DLR’s Sabbatical/Forschungssemester (2012) and Wissenschaft Preis (2006), and NASA’s Group Achievement Award for the GRACE mission (2004). He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Politecnico di Milano (2003) and the Ph.D. degree from Delft University of Technology (2010).
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Gretchen C. Daily
Bing Professor of Environmental Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and, by courtesy, at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsLand use, biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem services
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David Danielson
Adjunct Professor
BioDavid T. Danielson became a Precourt energy scholar at Stanford in 2016. With Stuart Macmillan and Joel Moxley, Dave co-teaches the yearlong course "Energy Transformation Collaborative." This project-based course provides a launchpad for the creation and development of transformational energy ventures. Interdisciplinary student teams research, analyze and refine detailed plans for high-impact opportunities in the context of the new energy venture development framework offered in this course.
Since January 2017, Dave has been managing director of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion fund focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation.
From 2012 to 2016, Dave was assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. There, he directed the U.S. government’s innovation strategy in the areas of sustainable transportation, renewable power, energy efficiency and clean-energy manufacturing, investing about $2 billion annually into American clean-energy innovation. He is considered a global expert in the development of next generation clean-energy technologies and the creation of new R&D and organizational models for high-impact clean energy innovation.
Prior to being appointed by President Obama as assistant secretary, Dave was the first hire at DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency– Energy (ARPA-E), a funding agency that focuses on the development of high-risk, high-reward clean-energy technologies. Prior to his government service, he was a clean-energy venture capitalist and, as a PhD student at MIT, was the founder and president of the MIT Energy Club. -
Barnabas Daru
Assistant Professor of Biology and Center Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioBarnabas Daru is an Assistant Professor of Biology. He is interested in the ecology and biogeography of plants across ecological scales. He studied botany in Johannesburg, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard, where he worked on new uses of herbarium specimens for understanding plant ecology and evolution in the Anthropocene, the epoch of profound human impact on Earth. Current research in the Daru lab addresses the role of phylogeny in: 1) understanding how species are distributed, 2) conserving unique communities, and 3) understanding changing distributions in the Anthropocene.
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Reinhold Dauskardt
Ruth G. and William K. Bowes Professor in the School of Engineering
BioDauskardt and his group have worked extensively on integrating new materials into emerging technologies including thin-film structures for nanoscience and energy technologies, high-performance composite and laminates for aerospace, and on biomaterials and soft tissues in bioengineering. His group has pioneered methods for characterizing adhesion and cohesion of thin films used extensively in device technologies. His research on wound healing has concentrated on establishing a biomechanics framework to quantify the mechanical stresses and biologic responses in healing wounds and define how the mechanical environment affects scar formation. Experimental studies are complimented with a range of multiscale computational capabilities. His research includes interaction with researchers nationally and internationally in academia, industry, and clinical practice.
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Jenna Davis
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, of Environmental Social Sciences and Higgins-Magid Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor Davis’ research and teaching deals broadly with the role that water plays in promoting public health and economic development, with particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. Her group conducts applied research that utilizes theory and analytical methods from public and environmental health, engineering, microeconomics, and planning. They have conducted field research in more than 20 countries, most recently including Zambia, Bangladesh, and Kenya.
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Kristen Davis
Associate Professor of Oceans and, by courtesy, of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioI am an engineer and oceanographer who is interested in studying how physical processes shape coastal waters – combining principles of fluid mechanics, oceanography, and ecology. I use both field observations and numerical tools to examine circulation in the ocean, its natural variability, and influence on marine ecosystems and human-nature interactions. I joined Stanford department of Oceans in 2024. Before that, I was an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine.
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Steven J. Davis
Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Energy Science and Engineering
BioSteve Davis is a highly-cited researcher and expert in earth system science, emissions and energy scenarios, climate impacts and solutions, and corporate climate strategy. He is a Professor of Earth System Science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and leads the Sustainable Solutions Lab, a research group dedicated to quantifying how different human activities are affecting climate and air quality, how those environmental changes in turn jeopardize human wellbeing, and the relative priority of solutions.
Steve was a Contributing Author of two Working Group III chapters in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), serves on the Scientific Steering Committee of the Global Carbon Project, was the Lead Author of the Mitigation chapter in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, and is a member of the Technical Council of the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Prior to his science career, Steve worked as a lawyer to venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley, and holds degrees from Stanford University, the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Florida, where he double-majored in Political Science and Philosophy. -
Giulio De Leo
Professor of Oceans, of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am a theoretical ecologist mostly interested in investigating factors and processes driving the dynamics of natural and harvested populations and on how to use this knowledge to inform practical management. I have worked broadly on life histories analysis, fishery management, dynamics and control of infectious diseases and environmental impact assessment.
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Anne Dekas
Associate Professor of Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnvironmental microbiology, deep-sea microbial ecology, marine biogeochemistry
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Mark Denny
John B. and Jean De Nault Professor of Marine Science at the Hopkins Marine Station, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsBiomechanics, ecology, and ecological physiology
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Thomas Devereaux
Professor of Photon Science, of Materials Science and Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy main research interests lie in the areas of theoretical condensed matter physics and computational physics. My research effort focuses on using the tools of computational physics to understand quantum materials. Fortunately, we are poised in an excellent position as the speed and cost of computers have allowed us to tackle heretofore unaddressed problems involving interacting systems. The goal of my research is to understand electron dynamics via a combination of analytical theory and numerical simulations to provide insight into materials of relevance to energy science. My group carries out numerical simulations on SIMES’ high-performance supercomputer and US and Canadian computational facilities. The specific focus of my group is the development of numerical methods and theories of photon-based spectroscopies of strongly correlated materials.
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Carlos Diaz Marin
Assistant Professor of Energy Science and Engineering
BioCarlos Diaz-Marin is an Assistant Professor in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He leads the Diaz Energy Lab on Theory and Advanced materials (DELTA) Group, which studies and leverages soft matter for applications in energy, water, and sustainability. The group integrates fundamental studies of material-molecule/ion interactions, synthesis, characterization, modeling, and device demonstration, while guided by technoeconomic analyses, for applications such as water production from air, carbon capture, building energy efficiency, biomass utilization, critical mineral recovery, and electrochemistry.
Before coming to Stanford, Carlos was an ARPA-E ORISE Fellow at the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) within the US Department of Energy, helping develop research funding programs in high-risk, high-reward energy and sustainability technologies. Carlos obtained his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and double undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from the University of Costa Rica. -
Noah Diffenbaugh
Kara J Foundation Professor and Kimmelman Family Senior Fellow
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Noah S. Diffenbaugh is an Editor of the peer-review journal Geophysical Research Letters, and a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is a recipient of the James R. Holton Award from the American Geophysical Union, a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, and a Terman Fellowship from Stanford University. He has also been recognized as a Kavli Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and as a Google Science Communication Fellow.
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Jihui Ding
Physical Science Research Scientist
BioJihui is interested in advancing sustainability by developing geoscience-based solutions. This includes geothermal energy, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), geological storage of renewable energy, and critical mineral exploration. Previously, Jihui utilized various experimental techniques to quantify rock behavior under different geological conditions and used modeling approaches to understand experimental observations. Currently, he is working on integrating artificial intelligence and data science into geological uncertainty quantification for an economical and safe development of geothermal energy.
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Jennifer Dionne
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford)
BioJennifer (Jen) Dionne is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Radiology at Stanford. She is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, deputy director of Q-NEXT (a DOE National Quantum Initiative), and co-founder of Pumpkinseed, a company developing quantum sensors to understand and optimize the immune system. From 2020-2023, Jen served as Stanford’s Inaugural Vice Provost of Shared Facilities, raising capital to modernize instrumentation, fund experiential education, foster staff development, and support new and existing users of the shared facilities. Jen received her B.S. degrees in Physics and Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, her Ph. D. in Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology in 2009, and her postdoctoral training in Chemistry at Berkeley. As a pioneer of nanophotonics, she is passionate about developing methods to observe and control chemical and biological processes as they unfold with nanometer scale resolution, emphasizing critical challenges in global health and sustainability. Her research has developed culture-free methods to detect pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility; amplification-free methods to detect and sequence nucleic acids and proteins; and new methods to image light-driven chemical reactions with atomic-scale resolution. Jen’s work has been featured in NPR, the Economist, Science, and Nature, and recognized with the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award, a NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, a Moore Inventor Fellowship, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She was also featured on Oprah’s list of “50 Things that will make you say ‘Wow’!”. She also perceives outreach as a critical component of her role and frequently collaborates with visual and performing artists to convey the beauty of science to the broader public.
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Rodolfo Dirzo
Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives in Environmental Justice, Bing Prof in Environmental Science, Professor of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEcological and evolutionary aspects of plant-animal interactions, largely but not exclusively, in tropical forest ecosystems.
Conservation biology in tropical ecosystems.
Studies on biodiversity.
Education, at all levels, on scientific practice, ecology and biodiversity conservation. -
Sibyl Diver
Lecturer
BioDr. Sibyl Diver is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist, a lecturer at Stanford University in the Earth Systems Program, and co-director for the Stanford Environmental Justice Working Group. She does community-engaged research on Indigenous water governance from an allied perspective, focusing on Pacific Northwest salmon watersheds. This includes research on co-management (or collaborative management) arrangements between Indigenous communities and state agencies. She received her PhD from Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, where she helped build the Karuk-UC Berkeley Collaborative, a group supporting the Karuk Tribe's eco-cultural revitalization strategy in Northern California. Current work includes conducting a social impact assessment of Klamath dam removal with the Karuk Tribe.
For over two decades, Sibyl has worked in partnership with community leaders on issues of Indigenous peoples and salmon around the North Pacific – in the Russian Far East, Alaska, Canada and the US. Previous to graduate school, she spent eight years doing international conservation work and facilitating international exchanges with community leaders as a Russian translator -- an experience that introduced her to the deep connections between salmon conservation and Indigenous peoples. She completed her undergraduate work at Stanford, earning a dual degree in Human Biology and Russian.
For additional research information please see www.sibyldiver.com. -
Rob Dunbar
W.M. Keck Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, Professor of Oceans and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
On Leave from 10/01/2025 To 09/30/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOcean processes, biogeochemistry, climatology/paleoclimatology, isotopic chemistry, ocean policy
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Eric Dunham
Professor of Geophysics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPhysics of natural hazards, specifically earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Computational geophysics.
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Omar Duran
Physical Science Research Scientist
BioA computational mechanician with a solid foundation in reservoir engineering, continuum mechanics, applied mathematics, and finite element methods.
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William Durham
Bing Professor in Human Biology, Emeritus
BioWilliam (Bill) Durham is Bing Professor in Human Biology (Emeritus), Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, and a Senior Fellow (Emeritus) in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. He has been jointly appointed in Human Biology and Anthropology at Stanford since 1977, when he came from the Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan. Bill was an undergraduate Biology major at Stanford, Class of 1971, and received the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award at graduation for his contribution to undergraduate education via the NSF-funded Student Air Pollution Research Project, the first student initiative nationally to receive NSF funding.
Bill’s career has focused on two main themes: (1) putting principles of evolution to work in efforts to sustain the biological and cultural diversity of our world; and (2) identifying social dimensions of environmental problems in Latin America and working with local leaders to help solve them. He has carried out fieldwork in Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador (especially Galápagos) in South America, and in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Costa Rica in Central America. In 1983, he was one of the first scholars to receive the MacArthur Prize Fellowship and has also received five five awards for research and teaching at Stanford, including one by vote of the students. Bill’s recent book, Exuberant Life: An Evolutionary Approach to Conservation in Galápagos (Oxford University Press, 2021) was named a Finalist for the 2022 PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers.
Bill’s other publications include the books Scarcity and Survival in Central America (Stanford Press 1979; and in Spanish, by UCA Editores 1988), Coevolution: Genes, Culture, and Human Diversity (Stanford Press, 1991), The Social Causes of Environmental Destruction in Latin America (U. of Michigan Press, 1995, with M. Painter), Inbreeding, Incest and the Incest Taboo (Stanford Press 2004, with A. Wolf), and Ecotourism and Conservation in the Americas (CABI, 2008, with A. Stronza). In addition, he served as Editor in Chief for 16 volumes of the Annual Review of Anthropology between 1992 and 2008.
Bill was Founding Co-Director of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), a research organization that views tourism as a means to promote local livelihoods and environmental conservation. Along with Stanford Professors Rodolfo Dirzo and Larry Crowder, Bill has been Co-director of the Osa-Golfito Initiative (INOGO) in the Woods Institute, working with Costa Ricans to develop a sustainability strategy for the southern region of the country.
He has led more than 35 Stanford Alumni Association trips to Galápagos, Costa Rica, the Amazon, East Africa, and elsewhere. -
Louis Durlofsky
Otto N. Miller Professor in the School of Earth Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGeneral reservoir simulation, optimization, reduced-order modeling, upscaling, flow in fractured systems, history matching, CO2 sequestration, energy systems optimization
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Paul Ehrlich
Bing Professor of Population Studies, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe role of the social sciences in dealing with global change
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Marco Einaudi
Welton Joseph and Maud L'Anphere Crook Professor of Applied Earth Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOre deposits and exploration; geology and geochemistry of hydrothermal mineral deposits
