Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1-100 of 1,376 Results
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Emilius Aalto
Basic Life Research Scientist, Oceans
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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Newsha Ajami
Senior Research Scholar, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
BioDr. Ajami is a hydrologist and environmental policy expert and the Founding Director of the Program on Governance for Risk, Resilience, and Recovery (GR3) at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Trained as a civil and environmental engineer and having served in various policy roles, her work bridges science, policy, finance, and governance to advance resilient water systems. She pioneered the use of data science to study the human and policy dimensions of resilient urban water and hydrologic systems.
Previously, she served as Chief Strategic Development Officer for Research in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2022 to 2026, where she led initiatives at the nexus of water, energy, and climate. Ajami also recently co-led the development of the Aspen National Water Strategy for the Aspen Institute, a national roadmap developed with cross-sector leaders to strengthen U.S. water security, modernize infrastructure, and align water management with economic growth and climate resilience.
Earlier in her career, she founded and directed the Urban Water Program at Stanford University. Dr. Ajami has also held several public service roles, including mayoral appointee to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (2021–2024) and gubernatorial appointee to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (2013–2021). She served on the Board on Water Science and Technology at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and is currently a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and recipient of the prestigious AGU Ambassador Award, recognized for her leadership in bridging science, policy, and society, advancing science communication, and mentoring the next generation of interdisciplinary thinkers. Dr. Ajami received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the UC, Irvine, an M.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran. -
Supphanat Anantachaisophon
Undergraduate, Energy Science & Engineering
BioAn undergraduate from Thailand. I am interested in Energy Science.
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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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Nur Arafeh Dalmau
Postdoctoral Scholar, Oceans
BioI am currently a postdoc at UCLA and Stanford and an Honorary Fellow at The University of Queensland. I am a marine community ecologist and marine spatial planner. My research focuses on understanding the impacts of marine heatwaves on kelp forest ecosystems. I also research the role of marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures for providing climate resilience and designing networks of climate-smart marine protected areas. I support conservation initiatives with NGOs, parks, and fishers, and teach decision tools such as Marxan. My heart remains in my beautiful Costa Brava, Spain (Catalonia), where I do my best to support conservation. I am a naive dreamer, and I know future generations will dive into healthy kelp forests and thriving marine ecosystems.
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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 -
Tara Arenas
Director of Finance and Operations, Earth Systems Program
Current Role at StanfordDirector of Finance & Operations, Earth Systems Program and Change Leadership for Sustainability Program
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Anela Arifi
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAnela researches the nexus between engineering, socio-economic, policy, and environmental components of energy systems. She currently focuses on the characterization of the scale and pace of integrating different energy systems with natural climate solutions.
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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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Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Ph.D. Student in Geological Sciences, admitted Autumn 2022
BioI'm interested in how mass extinctions affect different types of animals, and more broadly how animals respond to their environments in general. Half of my work involves experiments to better understand the differential responses of bivalves and brachiopods to temperature-dependent hypoxia and to euxinia in settings that mimic those at the end-Permian mass extinction. The other half uses the metabolic index to explore early animal evolution and modern ecophysiology.
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Oluwafunmibi Asunmonu
Masters Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Spring 2025
BioOluwafunmibi Asunmonu is a driving force behind rural food security and resilience and has spent 3.5 years securing sustainable, catalytic financing for the climate adaptation of over 1M of the most vulnerable rural households in Africa while contributing to the development of scalable agricultural risk management solutions.
She advocates designing adaptable climate financing models for further vulnerable groups (women and youth). She has made significant contributions as a two-time speaker at the annual AGRF Summit and the AYuTe Africa Summit, a delegate at the World Bank Youth Summit and the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum, and a participant in the Nigeria National Economic Council meeting on Food Security held in the Presidential Villa. Additionally, she has contributed to technical agri-financing reports published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Shell Foundation.
Funded by the Swiss Re Foundation, she graduated with a BA(Hons) in International Business and Trade as the Best Graduating Student from the African Leadership University, where she co-founded an Initiative that won the Queen’s Young Leader Award and interned with KPMG, Andersen, and GTB. At Stanford, she plans to leverage the innovation and exposure it offers to design improved climate-adaptation investment models.
Oluwafunmibi enjoys hiking and playing sudoku. -
Desi Silviani Aulian Barry
Masters Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2026
BioI am a master's student in Earth System Science at Stanford University and a member of the Terrestrial Carbon Lab advised by Professor Alison Hoyt. My research focuses on tropical peatland hydro-biogeochemistry, particularly how carbon dynamics, greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂ and CH₄), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and iron (Fe) interactions shape peatland ecosystem processes under changing hydrological conditions. Through field and laboratory research, I aim to improve our understanding of tropical peatlands and contribute to science-based solutions for climate change mitigation, wetland restoration, and sustainable land management.
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Ines M. L. Azevedo
Professor of Energy Science Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, 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 fifteen years. 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 250 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. -
Christine M Baker
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and, by courtesy, of Oceans
BioBaker’s research examines processes at the land-ocean interface, a highly dynamic region with fragile ecosystems, progressively vulnerable communities, and coastal hazards further magnified by a changing climate. Her research integrates laboratory experimentation with numerical modeling and remotely sensed field observations to build our fundamental understanding of hydrodynamics in coastal regions. The goals of her research include informing predictions of coastal water quality, shoreline evolution, and other coastal hazards and improving coastal resiliency in changing environments. Her ongoing and planned projects include studying wave transformation in shallow waters, surf-shelf transport driven by eddy and rip current dynamics, wave-driven sediment transport, and coupled hydro- and morphodynamics in the context of extreme events.
Baker completed a bachelors degrees in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University and a Masters and PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. -
Jack Baker
William Alden Campbell and Martha Campbell Professor 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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Elizabeth "Bhe" Balde
Assistant Director of Student Services, Change Leadership for Sustainability
Current Role at StanfordAssistant Director of Student Services for Sustainability Science and Practice Coterminal Mater's Program
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Jeffrey Ball
Instructor, Stanford Engineering Center for Global and Online Education
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEfficacy of global clean-energy investment, focusing on China, the main player.
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Banny Banerjee
Adjunct Professor, Change Leadership for SustainabilityCurrent Role at StanfordDirector, Stanford ChangeLabs
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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, Bioengineering and Material Science and Engineering. She was the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018-2022 and in 2025. 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 237.
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. (acquired by Du Pont) 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 -
Brian Bartholomeusz
Managing Director of Innovation Transfer, TomKat Center, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy Operations
Current Role at StanfordBrian is the TomKat Center’s executive director of innovation transfer. In this position, he helps assist in the commercialization of energy related technology inventions and innovations resulting from research at Stanford.
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Alexander Basaraba
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
BioAlex Basaraba (he/him) is an interdisciplinary social scientist, practitioner, educator, and science-informed visual storyteller working at the interstice between people, the environment, and the climate. Building on an academic foundation in the social and natural sciences, he has more than 10 years of domestic and international experience in the climate adaptation field. His experience includes supporting communities domestically and internationally, as well as organizations and governments at different scales (federal, state, Tribal, city, and county) in preparing for and responding to the impacts of climate change, including: the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, the District of Columbia, among others. Basaraba is currently a PhD candidate at Stanford University in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at the Doerr School of Sustainability. His current research is focused on transformative climate adaptation using community-engaged research methods. Beyond publishing dozens of white papers, policy reports, government plans, academic journal articles, and popular media articles, Basaraba has served as a contributing author, chapter graphic design lead, and review editor on multiple National Climate Assessments.
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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, Graduate School of Business - Academic Administration
BioSven Beiker is a Lecturer in Management at the GSB, and the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Mobility, an independent consulting & advisory firm. He covers the electrification, automation, connectivity, and sharing of automobiles through the lens of new technologies and business models. This is reflected in his teaching at the GSB as well as in his professional engagements. Prior to his independent consulting work, he served as an Expert Consultant for mobility topics at McKinsey & Company for 2.5 years.
Dr. Beiker is also the former Executive Director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford, an industry affiliates program that he launched in 2008 together with Stanford Professors Gerdes, Nass, and Thrun. Before coming to Stanford, Dr. Beiker worked at the BMW Group for more than 13 years. Between 1995 and 2008 he pursued responsibilities in technology scouting, innovation management, systems design, and series development. He primarily applied his expertise to chassis and powertrain projects, which also provided him with profound insights into the industry’s processes and best practices. In addition, he worked in three major automotive and technology locations: Germany, Silicon Valley, and Detroit.
Dr. Beiker received his MS (1995) and PhD (1999) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University in Braunschweig, Germany. He published various technical papers and holds several patents in the fields of vehicle dynamics and powertrain technology. -
Isabela Beine
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Spring 2026
Masters Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2024BioResearching hydrogen storage in porous media. Interest in energy storage solutions for renewable energy sources.
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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.
