Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1,201-1,300 of 1,418 Results
-
Rafael Stern
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioRafael Stern was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is 35 years old, and married to Gal. Rafael has a BSc in Geography from the Geosciences Department of Universidade Federal Fluminense, in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has a MSc from the Climate and Environment Department of the National Institute of Amazon Research in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, with the supervision of prof. Paulo Artaxo, and he measured the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particles during forest fires season in the Amazon rainforest. He has a PhD from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, with the supervision of prof. Dan Yakir, and he used a mobile eddy covariance station to compare the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of different ecosystems and of PV fields on drylands.
-
David K. Stevenson, M.D.
Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics and Professor, by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research is focused on the study of the ontogeny and control of heme catabolism and bilirubin production in the developing neonate. A better understanding of the role of increased bilirubin production in neonatal jaundice and the prevention of hemolytic jaundice has remained an overall objective of our program. We are also study the causes of preterm birth and ways to prevent it.
-
Joseph Dalton Stitt
Ph.D. Student in Geophysics, admitted Autumn 2021
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeep learning with applications in CO2 Sequestration and DAS
-
Robert Street
William Alden and Martha Campbell Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStreet focuses on numerical simulations related to geophysical fluid motions. His research considers the modeling of turbulence in fluid flows, which are often stratified, and includes numerical simulation of coastal upwelling, internal waves and sediment transport in coastal regions, flow in rivers, valley winds, and the planetary boundary layer.
-
Jenny Suckale
Associate Professor of Geophysics and, Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioMy research group studies disasters to reduce the risk they pose. We approach this challenge by developing customized mathematical models that can be tested against observational data and are informed by community needs through a scientific co-production process. We intentionally work on extremes across different natural systems rather than focusing on one specific natural system to identify both commonalities in the physical processes driving extremes and in the best practices for mitigating risk at the community level. Our current research priorities include volcanic eruptions, ice-sheet instability, permafrost disintegration, induced seismicity and flood-risk mitigation. I was recently awarded the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers and the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.
-
Hanif Sulaiman
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2022
BioI'm interested in the marine nitrogen cycle, particularly in nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas that plays a key role in stratospheric ozone destruction. I'm focused on delineating nitrous oxide's accumulation (production-consumption) pathways in various oceanographic regions.
-
Joanna Sun
Assistant Director of Student Services, Energy Science & Engineering
Current Role at StanfordStudent Services, Department of Energy Science and Engineering
-
Yudong Sun
Postdoctoral Scholar, Geophysics
BioYudong's study areas are earthquake physics, numerical modeling, InSAR, glaciology, and geodynamics. He specializes in numerical simulations of earthquake cycles and dynamic ruptures, integrating models with observations and laboratory experiments. He has published papers covering topics including back-propagating ruptures, slow slip events, fault roughness, deformation of glaciers, and lithospheres.
-
Veda Sunkara
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
BioVeda Sunkara (she/her) is an E-IPER PhD student interested in studying disaster adaptation approaches and equity in outcomes for flood-prone communities in the face of increasing extremes due to climate change. Prior to starting her PhD, she worked as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Floodbase (formerly Cloud to Street), where she built machine learning algorithms to create flood maps from remotely-sensed imagery, in-situ sensors, and physics-based models for disaster planning and parametric flood insurance. She seeks to combine her earth observation and machine learning expertise with community-centered research to co-develop the data necessary to enable long term adaptation and resilience to flooding. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Brown University.
-
James Sweeney
Professor of Management Science & Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeterminants of energy efficiency opportunities, barriers, and policy options. Emphasis on behavioral issues, including personal, corporate, or organizational. Behavior may be motivated by economic incentives, social, or cultural factors, or more generally, by a combination of these factors. Systems analysis questions of energy use.
-
Paul Switzer
Professor of Statistics and of Environmental Earth System Science, Emeritus
BioDr. Switzer's research interests are in the development of statistical tools for the environmental sciences. Recent research has focused on the interpretation of environmental monitoring data, design of monitoring networks, detection of time trends in environmental and climatic paramenters, modeling of human exposure to pollutants, statistical evaluation of numerical climate models and error estimation for spatial mapping.
-
Katie Taflan
Assistant Director, Explore Energy, Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Role at StanfordAssistant Director for Explore Energy, Precourt Institute for Energy
-
Sindy Tang
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Radiology and of Bioengineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProf. Sindy K.Y. Tang develops engineering platforms that measure biological systems and convert these measurements into quantitative datasets. Her research focuses on experimental systems that probe biological processes across cellular and tissue scales, particularly how physical context—geometry, mechanics, and spatial organization—shapes biological function. Current work spans immune diagnostics, spatial tissue sampling for multi-omics analysis, and single-cell perturbation studies.
-
Daniel Tartakovsky
Professor of Energy Science Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnvironmental fluid mechanics, Applied and computational mathematics, Biomedical modeling.
-
Clyde Tatum
Obayashi Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus
BioTatum's teaching interests are construction engineering and technical construction. His research focuses on construction process knowledge and integration and innovation in construction.
-
Hamdi Tchelepi
Max Steineke Professor and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent research activities: (1) model and simulate unstable miscible and immiscible fluid flow in heterogeneous porous media, (2) develop multiscale numerical solution algorithms for coupled mechanics and multiphase fluid flow in large-scale subsurface formations, and (3) develop stochastic solution methods that quantify the uncertainty associated with predictions of fluid-structure dynamics in porous media.
-
Faye Shen Li Thijssen
Ph.D. Student in Environmental Social Sciences, admitted Autumn 2025
BioFaye is a PhD student in Environmental Social Sciences. Her research focuses on how global institutions and powerful actors shape environmental governance structures, with particular focuses on United States overseas military basing & anti-basing social movements, and multinational corporations.
Prior to coming to Stanford, her research focused on indirect corporate influence in environmental politics, investigating executional greenwashing and its potential to affect public perceptions and preferences for regulatory policy. This research primarily employed experimental methods, with support from the Oxford Department of Politics & International Relations and the Nuffield Centre for Experimental Social Sciences. -
Leif Thomas
Professor of Earth System Science and, by courtesy, of Oceans
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPhysical oceanography; theory and numerical modeling of the ocean circulation; dynamics of ocean fronts and vortices; upper ocean processes; air-sea interaction.
-
Barton Thompson
Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioA global expert on water and natural resources, Barton “Buzz” Thompson focuses on how to improve resource management through legal, institutional, and technological innovation. He was the founding Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, where he remains a Senior Fellow and directs the Water in the West program. He also has been a Senior Fellow (by courtesy) at Stanford’s Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He founded the law school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Program. He also is a faculty member in Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER).
Professor Thompson served as Special Master for the United States Supreme Court in Montana v. Wyoming, an interstate water dispute involving the Yellowstone River system. He also is a former member of the Science Advisory Board of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He chairs the boards of the Resources Legacy Fund and the Stanford Habitat Conservation Board, is a California trustee of The Nature Conservancy, and is a board member of the American Farmland Trust, the Sonoran Institute, and the Santa Lucia Conservancy.
Professor Thompson is of counsel to the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, where he specializes in water resources and was a partner prior to joining Stanford Law School. He also serves as an advisor to a major impact investment fund. He was a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist ’52 (BA ’48, MA ’48) of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Joseph T. Sneed of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. -
Sonia Tikoo-Schantz
Assistant Professor of Geophysics and, by courtesy, of Earth and Planetary Sciences
BioI utilize paleomagnetism and fundamental rock magnetism as tools to investigate problems in the planetary sciences. By studying the remanent magnetism recorded within rocks from differentiated planetary bodies, I can learn about core processes that facilitate the generation of dynamo magnetic fields within the Earth, Moon, and planetesimals. Determining the longevities and paleointensities of dynamo fields that initially magnetized rocks also provides insight into the long-term thermal evolution (i.e., effects of secular cooling) of planetary bodies. I also use paleomagnetism to understand impact cratering events, which are the most ubiquitous modifiers of planetary surfaces across the solar system. Impact events produce heat, shock, and sometimes hydrothermal systems that are all capable of resetting magnetization within impactites and target rocks via thermal, shock, and chemical processes. Therefore, I am able to use a combination of paleomagnetic and rock magnetic characterization to investigate shock pressures, temperatures, structural changes, and post-impact chemical alteration experienced by cratered planetary surfaces.
-
Jayson Toweh
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAssessing the Health Impacts of the Major California Outages between 2017-2019
This research aims to investigate the relationship between major power outages and hospitalizations in California. Using outage data between 2017 and 2019, we are working to identify the hospitalization rates following outages. Additionally, we are evaluating how severe weather-caused outages can further impact hospitalizations. -
Danielle Tucker
Senior Associate Director of Institutional Communications, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Current Role at StanfordSenior Associate Director of Institutional Communications, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
-
Shripad Tuljapurkar
The Dean and Virginia Morrison Professor of Population Studies
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStochastic dynamics of human and natural populations; prehistoric societies; probability forecasts including sex ratios, mortality, aging and fiscal balance; life history evolution.
-
Koen van Greevenbroek
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioKoen is a postdoctoral scholar at the Sustainable Solutions Lab, working with Ken Caldeira and Steve Davis. His current work involves developing a global food systems optimization model to study trade-offs and synergies between emissions and health. With a background in mathematics and interested in sustainability generally, he has previously worked on continental long-term planning of energy systems. During his PhD at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, he focussed in particular on near-optimal solutions and weather variability.
-
Tiziana Vanorio
Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and, by courtesy, of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsRock Physics, Fossil Energy Exploration, Volcanic and Geothermal Environments and Microseismicity
-
Anjani D Varma
Assistant Director of Student Services, Earth & Planetary Sciences
Current Role at StanfordManages all aspects of graduate and undergraduate programs, such as policy interpretation, advising, problem-solving, and developing action plans to ensure student success. Provides comprehensive support to the department and graduate program by addressing various issues, including academic progress, funding inquiries, faculty advising concerns, personal wellness, and referrals to campus resources.
-
Erika Veidis
Lecturer, Earth Systems Program
Strategic Initiatives Advisor, Human and Planetary HealthBioErika Veidis is the Strategic Initiatives Advisor for the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health, where she supports a range of efforts focused on community engagement, outreach, education, and impact. Prior to this role, Erika directed the forestry program at the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, where she led funding and capacity-building initiatives focused on forest restoration and wildfire resilience, and served as program manager for the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health and Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, where she led policy influence and strategic communications initiatives, coordinated research and outreach programs, and designed and implemented curricula for undergraduate and graduate students in planetary health and environmental systems thinking. Erika also previously built and managed a global network of 200+ universities, NGOs, research institutes, and government entities investigating the linkages between global environmental change and public health through the Planetary Health Alliance.
Erika has published on the health and social dimensions of climate change and other environmental challenges, ranging from wildfires to plastic pollution to heat stress. She graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with a BA in Government and Mind/Brain/Behavior, where she studied the sociological determinants of community resilience and adaptation responses, particularly in response to economic and political stress, and obtained an MBA from the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in 2016, where she focused on environmental economics, nonprofit and philanthropic strategy, and corporate sustainability. -
Daniel Verdi
Ph.D. Student in Education, admitted Autumn 2025
Research Assistant, Environmental Social SciencesBioComputational Social Science • Social Computing • Science of Science • Natural Language Processing • Responsible AI
I apply data science methods, mainly natural language processing (NLP) and social network analysis, to evaluate the communication and governance of science and technology. A focus of my work is how academic knowledge is translated across audiences, amplified or distorted through digital media, and taken up in political debate.
My research is particularly concerned with how algorithmic systems like AI and social media are changing information ecosystems and how their own risks and benefits are transmitted to the public. At the core of my work is a commitment to questions of equity, ethics, and social justice.
Beyond conducting science, I am also passionate about designing tools and events to put it in conversation with communities and create opportunities for marginalized students to engage with research and technology. I’m especially interested in improving digital and AI literacies, as well as in using AI and other technologies in informal education.
Before Stanford, I graduated from the University of Richmond as a Richmond Scholar, the institution's most prestigious and competitive academic award. Additionally, I have conducted research at universities such as Carnegie Mellon, University of Southern Califronia, and University of Copenhagen, and interned at Amazon Alexa AI. I’m also proud to have co-founded one of Brazil's largest high school science fairs, the Brazilian Fair of Young Scientists (FBJC), which has engaged over 2,000 participants and received over 1M website visits. -
Edgar Virgüez
Research Engineer
BioEdgar Virgüez is a Research Engineer in the Department of Energy Science & Engineering at Stanford University, where his work advances reliable, low-carbon energy systems. His research has resulted in more than 40 scholarly outputs and over 1,000 citations in leading journals, including Energy & Environmental Science, PNAS, and Science. He serves on the Editorial Board of Environmental Research: Energy and, in 2026, was awarded the IOP Publishing Editorial Excellence Award in recognition of his individual excellence and leadership, as one of 10 outstanding board leaders among more than 1,000 members across over 100 IOP journals. Beyond his editorial service, he contributes as a reviewer for more than 15 journals, including Nature Communications and Nature Sustainability.
Complementing his scholarship, Dr. Virgüez serves as Managing Director of the $23 million U.S. Department of Energy-funded EARNEST Consortium, led by Stanford University. This initiative brings together 16 universities, 3 national laboratories, and 2 research organizations to advance solutions for the future of the U.S. electricity system. Beyond EARNEST, he has worked with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, contributing expertise in life cycle assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and decarbonization strategies for governments.
Globally, Dr. Virgüez contributes to major energy and climate initiatives. Since 2024, he has served as an Expert Advisor to the Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, reviewing nominations in the Fix Our Climate category and assessing their potential for innovation, impact, and scalability toward a $1.25 million annual award. He also serves in advisory roles for institutions such as Schmidt Sciences, evaluating research programs advancing scalable decarbonization and energy systems solutions, and provides expert review of energy-related reports for organizations including the International Energy Agency.
For his contributions, Dr. Virgüez has received 22 awards totaling $34,365. Among his honors are the Science for Solutions Award (2025) from the American Geophysical Union, recognizing significant contributions to applying Earth and space science to societal challenges, and the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award (2020) from the Association of American Colleges and Universities, which highlights scholars with strong promise as future leaders in higher education. As an educator, Dr. Virgüez has taught 17 courses to approximately 600 students, with consistently outstanding evaluations and recognition for innovative teaching. In 2021, he received the Graduate School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from Duke University, the institution’s highest teaching honor for graduate scholars.
At the highest levels of university governance, he previously served on Duke University’s Board of Trustees, the institution’s top governing body and one of its most selective and distinguished leadership appointments. He continues this leadership through his service on the Nicholas School of the Environment Board of Visitors and the Climate Commitment Campaign Board at Duke University.
Dr. Virgüez holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Policy, with a Certificate in College Teaching (2022), and an M.A. in Environment, with a Geospatial Analysis Certificate (2018), from Duke University. He also holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering (2010) and dual B.Sc. degrees in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (2009) from Universidad de los Andes. He has completed professional certificates in Australia, the United States, and Colombia, and has received more than $795,000 in competitive scholarships and fellowships, including support from the Sloan Foundation. -
Peter Vitousek
Clifford G. Morrison Professor of Population and Resource Studies and Professor of Earth System Science, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsVitousek's research interests include: evaluating the global cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus, and how they are altered by human activity; understanding how the interaction of land and culture contributed to the sustainability of Hawaiian (and other Pacific) agriculture and society before European contact; and working to make fertilizer applications more efficient and less environmentally damaging (especially in rapidly growing economies)
-
Madalina Vlasceanu
Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and, by courtesy, of Organizational Development at the Graduate School of Business
BioMadalina Vlasceanu is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability and the Director of the Climate Cognition Lab. Professor Vlasceanu is also a Faculty Fellow at the Stanford Center for Affective Science, the chair of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology at the United Nations, and a committee member of the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations, and the International Panel on the Information Environment. She obtained a PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience from Princeton University in 2021 and a BA in Psychology and Economics from the University of Rochester in 2016. Prior to Stanford, she was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University. Her research focuses on the cognitive and social processes that give rise to emergent phenomena such as collective beliefs, collective decision-making, and collective action, with direct applications to climate policy. Guided by a theoretical framework of investigation, her research employs a large array of methods including behavioral laboratory experiments, social network analysis, field studies, randomized controlled trials, megastudies, and international many-lab collaborations, with the goal of understanding the processes underlying climate awareness and action at the individual, collective, and system level. Professor Vlasceanu's research is theoretically grounded and focused on applications for practice, incorporates an interdisciplinary perspective, and directly informs policies and practices relevant to climate mitigation and adaptation.
-
Katie Vogelheim
Ecopreneurship Summer Innovation Coach, Graduate School of Business - Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Education Advisor, Human and Planetary Health
Lecturer, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability - Dean's OfficeBioKatie Vogelheim is an Education Advisor and Lecturer at the Human and Planetary Health (HPH) Center at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, where she has designed a series of project-based courses—HPH Action Labs—focused on tackling complex climate and sustainability challenges. She also serves as an Innovation Coach for the Stanford Ecopreneurship program, mentoring entrepreneurial student teams in the early stages of product and market development. Through these roles, Katie actively supports student education and mentorship in developing innovative solutions to address climate change.
With a 30-year business career spanning multiple industries, Katie has been directing funding since 2010 toward global nature-based solutions and early-stage companies committed to sustainability. From 2020 to 2022, she was a Distinguished Career Institute Fellow at Stanford, concentrating on sustainability, climate, and energy.
Katie collaborates across campus to develop curriculum and connect resources that advance human and planetary health initiatives. She also holds additional affiliations, serving on the Board of Dean’s Advisers at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, the Harvard Data Science Initiative, and Conservation International’s Science and Leadership Councils. -
Adrian A. Wackett
Ph.D. Student in Geological Sciences, admitted Autumn 2022
BioAdrian A. Wackett was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota (unceded Wahpekute/Dakota lands). He double majored in Chemistry and Geosciences at Trinity University (TX) before returning to Saint Paul and completing his MS degree in Land & Atmospheric Sciences (specifically pedology/biogeochemistry) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he studied global w'o'rming. Before coming to Stanford as an NSF GRFP Fellow he traveled extensively through Latin America and SE Asia (by bike) and worked as an independent researcher affiliated with the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at Umeå University and the Climate Impacts Research Centre in Abisko, Sweden. He's passionate about exploring the interconnectedness of Earth’s systems through his research and is equally passionate about looking beyond academia to cultivate enduring relationships with the lands and peoples he works with.Previous topics of inquiry include coupling ant bioturbation to the erosion and weathering of hillslope soils in SE Australia, exploring earthworm invasions and their deterministic effects on soil carbon dynamics in Fennoscandian and Alaskan forests, and examining the biogeochemical diversity of ‘black smoker’ plume particles at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. His dissertation focuses on applying an array of isotopic tracers and synchrotron-based X-ray approaches to explore how landscapes record and respond to a diverse set of disturbances, from biological invasions in Earth’s northern biomes to extreme storm events in Puerto Rico to cultural burning and wildfires in California.
-
Diane Wade
RA, Research, Grants & Finance Manager, Energy Science & Engineering
BioDiane is a Research Finance Manager for the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. In this role, she oversees finance, grant, and affiliate management, including faculty financial portfolios and sponsored grants through all stages, from pre-award to post-award. She collaborates with faculty on research proposals and provides training to new Research Administrators to enhance their understanding of complex financial and sponsored research processes. Previously, she managed department budgets and affiliate faculty appointments.
In addition, Diane served as Interim Diversity Officer for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, where she led strategic DEI initiatives and managed project finances during the Associate Dean’s leave.
Diane’s academic background spans advertising, art, and mechanical engineering, complemented by an internship at NASA focused on building flight simulators. She also holds an MBA with a specialization in Finance and Strategic Management. -
Virginia Walbot
Professor of Biology, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur current focus is on maize anther development to understand how cell fate is specified. We discovered that hypoxia triggers specification of the archesporial (pre-meiotic) cells, and that these cells secrete a small protein MAC1 that patterns the adjacent soma to differentiate as endothecial and secondary parietal cell types. We also discovered a novel class of small RNA: 21-nt and 24-nt phasiRNAs that are exceptionally abundant in anthers and exhibit strict spatiotemporal dynamics.
