Since 2010 the Urban Sustainability Research Group has trained seven doctoral graduates, five postdoctoral scholars and research scientists, and more than 25 master’s and 20 undergraduate researchers. Seven alumni hold tenure-track faculty positions at research universities in the United States and abroad.
By the Numbers
- 7 doctoral graduates
- 7 tenure-track placements
- 5 postdocs and research scientists
- 25+ master’s researchers
- 20+ undergraduates
Doctoral
Jason “Jake” Hawes
Ph.D. 2024. Assistant Professor, School of Computing and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming.
Rethinking Hybrid Infrastructures through Urban Metabolism: The Case of Urban Agriculture
Jake is an interdisciplinary scholar of the environment, exploring the intersection of computing with social and spatial science. His lab employs mixed methods to build more robust modeling and planning for coupled natural-human systems. Current work includes AI-enabled climate adaptation policy development, critical infrastructure resilience and natural hazards, and urban agriculture assessment and scaling. Before Wyoming he worked with the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience division at Idaho National Laboratory, where he retains a joint appointment.
Calli VanderWilde
Ph.D. 2023. Director, Deforestation, Ceres Inc.
Embeddedness and Environmental Governance of Palm Oil Supply Chains. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, 2022.
Calli’s dissertation used the Guatemalan palm oil supply chain to assess how the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil shapes chain organization, structure, and deforestation rates. She earned her master’s in Sustainable Systems at SEAS in 2018 with research on the techno-economic feasibility of integrated microgrid renewables in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, and led research teams in Samara, Costa Rica on a water resources assessment and a social life-cycle assessment of coral reef restoration.
Sanaz Chamanara
Ph.D. 2022. Sustainability Scientist, Microsoft Corporation.
Environmental Justice and Governance of Beef Supply Chain. Dow Sustainability Doctoral Fellowship, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, Rackham Doctoral Dissertation Award, AAUW International Fellowship.
Sanaz’s research focuses on planning environmentally sustainable and socially responsible supply chains, drawing on environmental policy, environmental justice, supply chain governance, and industrial ecology. Her dissertation explored supply chains through a spatially explicit life cycle approach. She earned her master’s at Michigan with a thesis on the impact of green infrastructure on perceptions of safety in Detroit, and holds a master’s in Landscape Architecture and a bachelor’s in Architectural Engineering from National University of Iran.
K. Arthur Endsley
Ph.D. 2019, co-chaired with Daniel Brown. Research Scientist, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, University of Montana.
Neighborhood Change and Urban Ecosystems. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, Dow Sustainability Doctoral Fellowship.
Arthur’s dissertation explored the associations between socio-economic and biophysical change in residential neighborhoods, particularly in landscapes affected by population loss, using satellite remote sensing and fine time series data on housing market conditions. He is a certified Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry instructor with broad interests in scientific computing and satellite remote sensing for the study of coupled human and natural systems.
Google Scholar · Personal site
Sara Meerow
Ph.D. 2017. Associate Professor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University. [CHECK: her Google Scholar and ResearchGate both now say Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder. Confirm before publishing.]
The Contested Nature of Urban Resilience: Meaning and Models for Green Infrastructure. ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, Dow Sustainability Doctoral Fellowship, Menakka and Essel Bailey Fellowship.
Sara’s research addresses how to make cities more resilient in the face of socioeconomic and environmental threats, in ways that are both sustainable and just. Her dissertation combined conceptual studies of urban resilience with empirical research on planning for multifunctional green infrastructure and climate adaptation across Manila, New York City, Los Angeles, and Detroit. Before Michigan she was a junior researcher at the University of Amsterdam, where she also earned her master’s in International Development Studies.
Joshua Cousins
Ph.D. 2016. Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Capturing Flow: Stormwater Governance and Water Resource Development. NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, Trent R. Dames Civil Engineering History Fellowship.
Joshua’s dissertation examined the emergence and evolution of technologies and management strategies that capture, recycle, and use stormwater as a beneficial resource rather than treating it as a hazard. Focusing on Los Angeles and Chicago, the research addressed how links between technological development and environmental governance shape how stormwater projects are implemented and understood.
Oh Seok Kim
Ph.D. 2013, University of Southern California. Associate Professor, Korea University.
A Spatially Explicit Approach to Measuring Carbon Dynamics
Oh earned his doctorate at the University of Southern California under Professor Newell, before the research group moved to Michigan. His dissertation measured carbon footprints associated with deforestation and forest degradation in China. Drawing on his expertise in carbon accounting and spatial methods, he has consulted on carbon offset projects in Southeast Asia and North Korea with researchers at Seoul National University and Korea University.
Postdoctoral scholars and research scientists
Benjamin Leffel
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021 to 2023. Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Leadership, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Ben studies the science and practice of sustainability governance by cities, states, and corporations globally. His published work addresses world cities confronting climate change, including the role of private climate consulting, city membership in transnational environmental networks, global urban pollution abatement, and climate finance allocation to local governments. His fellowship was based at Michigan’s Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.
Google Scholar · ResearchGate · LinkedIn
Benjamin Goldstein
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2018 to 2020. Assistant Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan.
Ben is founder and lead of the Sustainable Urban-Rural Futures (SURF) Lab. His work focuses on the sustainable production, procurement, and consumption of food, fuels, and fibres, using tools from industrial ecology, geography, and engineering to map the relationships between urban processes and environmental change at bioresource production sites within cities and far beyond their borders. He continues to collaborate with the group and co-chairs a current USRG doctoral committee.
Alec Foster
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2016 to 2018. Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Illinois State University.
Alec is a broadly trained urban geographer with both quantitative and qualitative research expertise. His dissertation examined the role of participation in urban environmental stewardship in shaping Philadelphians’ sense of self, place, and nature. His work with the group included a time series analysis of urban gardens in Detroit’s Lower East Side and developing integrative approaches to the food-energy-water nexus.
Master’s
Samuel “Sam” Limerick, M.S. Environment and Sustainability and Master of Urban and Regional Planning, 2023. Principal Data Scientist, Metropolitan Council, Twin Cities. Community gardens and the 15-minute city: scenario analysis of garden access in New York City
Jesse Vega-Perkins, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2022, co-chaired. Managing Consultant, ESG and Sustainability, Ramboll. Deploying electric vehicles to decarbonize and reduce energy burdens
Wanja Waweru, M.S. Geospatial Data Sciences, 2022. GIS Program Coordinator, The Polis Center, IU Indianapolis. Assessing social vulnerability to flooding across the contiguous United States
Kimin Cho, M.S. Environmental Justice, 2020. Ph.D. Candidate, University of Hawai’i at Manoa. The environmental impacts of the U.S. and Mexico avocado supply chain
Timothy Johnson, M.S. Environmental Informatics, 2020, co-chaired. Lead MuleSoft Engineer, Zoom. Improvements in Landsat land-cover change results using time series classifications
Tawechote Wongbuphanimitr, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2018. Social Impact Manager, The AES Corporation. Green infrastructure and life cycle assessment
Ye “Agnes” Li, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2017. Consultant, Boston Consulting Group. Urban green space
Zhenzhen “Zee” Zhang, M.S. Environmental Informatics and Master of Landscape Architecture, 2017. Principal Consultant, Danovo Energy Solutions. Enhancing landscape connectivity in Detroit through multifunctional green corridor modeling and design
Jose Solis, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2014. Independent Consultant, Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Green economy plan for the city of Houston
Yu Feng, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2014, committee. Finding critical intermediate demand and final consumption of Russian wood
Kwangkeun Park, M.S. Russian Studies, 2013, co-chaired. A spatial-temporal analysis, 1975 to 2009, of the timber industry in the Russian Far East and Siberia
Research mentorship
Dana Wall, Master of Urban Planning and M.S. Environmental Policy and Planning, 2016. Senior Project Director, Street Plans.
Brandon List, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2016. Campus Planner, Michigan State University.
Paul Winters, M.S. Conservation Ecology and Natural Resources Management and Policy, 2014. Director of Public Affairs, Clean Fuels Alliance America.
Katie O’Gara, M.S. Conservation Ecology and Environmental Justice, 2014. Program Manager, Climate and Nature Finance, CLUA.
Anne Shishkovsky Milne, Master of Urban Planning and M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2013. Community Planner, CUPPAD Regional Commission.
Andrew Fang, M.S. Sustainable Systems and M.Eng. Energy Systems Engineering, 2012. Senior Energy and Climate Specialist, District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment.
Jordan Garfinkle, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2012. Director of Government Affairs, Bloom Energy.
Graduate research assistants
Christian Noyce, M.S. Environmental Policy and Planning, Environmental Justice, 2020
Alex Bennett, M.S. Environmental Justice, 2018
Grace Rodriguez, M.S. Sustainable Systems and M.S.E. Environmental Engineering, 2017
Adam Reichenberger, Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Food Systems, 2017
John Willard, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2012. Senior Principal and Global Lead for Climate Strategy and Risks, Quantis.
Kerby Smithson, M.S. Sustainable Systems, 2011. Energy Analyst, City of Asheville.
Visiting scholars
Jianxun Yang
Visiting doctoral student, February 2020 to July 2021. Ph.D. Candidate, Nanjing University. [CHECK: he is now Assistant Professor at the Academy of Environment and Health, Nanjing University. Update this line before publishing.]
Jianxun’s research uses psychophysiological and neuroscience tools to understand how people perceive environmental risks and how the environment affects mental and physical health. With the group he worked on using social media data to analyze public opinion on climate change.
Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=n43xno4AAAAJ · ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jianxun-Yang
Undergraduate researchers
Natalie Dwortz, Environment; Biology, Health, and Society, 2022 to 2023
Kate Jarecke, Economics; Food and the Environment, 2022 to 2023
Ella Hook, Program in the Environment, 2022 to 2023
Xinyi Zhang, Economics, 2022 to 2023
Jianella Macalino, Program in the Environment; International Studies, 2019 to 2020
Lydia Whitbeck, Program in the Environment, 2019 to 2020
Dominique Witten, Biomedical Engineering, 2016 to 2017
Hannah Lee, Program in the Environment, 2015
Garrett Anderson, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, 2013 to 2014
Jacob Shapiro, Cognitive Science, 2013 to 2014
Bradford Gowland, Program in the Environment, 2014
Phoebe Barghouty, Program in the Environment, 2013
Jasmine Omeke, Harvard University, Summer Research Opportunity Program, 2013
Jennifer M. Buison, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, 2011