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Using multiple social science tools and approaches, department faculty study topics from green energy transitions to food insecurity to biodiversity and climate change. Current research questions include:
- How do fishers in Indonesia and the Northeast US adapt to environmental change and in what ways can policies support sustainable coastal livelihoods? (Dr. Victoria Ramenzoni)
- How can we label new kinds of cell-based meat to maximize public understanding? (Dr. Bill Hallman)
- How is wildlife managed across borders and different cultures? (Dr. Jenny Isaacs)
- How do local-level governments perceive “One Health” in their sustainability governance frameworks and how do different local-level departments/agencies operationalize “One Health” in their disaster response and prevention plans? (Dr. Kasia Klasa)
- How can we best deliver programs on campus and in schools that reduce food insecurity for students ? (Dr. Cara Cuite)
- What are public perceptions and preferences for building solar energy on agricultural lands (agrivoltaics)? (Dr. Ethan Schoolman)
- How have community payment for forest ecosystems programs evolved in Vietnam and how are they working to protect forests and livelihoods? (Dr. Pamela McElwee)
- What legal tools do we have to protect the high seas – the ocean that is 200 miles offshore of any nation and outside national jurisdiction? (Dr. Cymie Payne)
- What are the public’s preferences for energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and how can this inform acceptable energy policies? (Dr. Rachael Shwom)
Our work has been funded by grants from programs including Sea Grant/NOAA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Our research interests include, but are not limited to forests, oceans, energy, climate, animals, health, disasters, biodiversity and agriculture while our research sites include the local (New Brunswick, NJ; the Raritan and Rahway, NJ river watersheds; the New Jersey coastlines, New York City) to the global (high seas, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Canada, and Cuba).
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES:
If you are an undergraduate and would like to do research in one of these areas or have related human-environment and sustainability research questions of interest, please contact the appropriate professor to discuss research opportunities for credit.