I am an Associate Professor of Climate Change Impacts in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California, Davis. I also serve as co-director of the UC Davis Climate Adaptation Research Center.
Research
My research focuses on better understanding the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on society and the environment. My Global Environmental Change Lab uses interdisciplinary approaches to examine the co-evolution of human and natural systems in the face of global environmental change. We explore the impacts of climate change, extreme weather and land-use change on agriculture, forests, wildfires, and biodiversity. We also examine the interactions between climate change, air quality and health. Our aim is to derive actionable information to support adaptation to climate change and extreme weather and ensure a resilient, equitable, sustainable and prosperous world. Learn more about my research, including my mentoring philosophy and my publications.
Teaching
My teaching focuses on the complex interactions between humans and our environment. I teach the Science and Society course “Crisis in the Environment“, an undergraduate general education course that examines the causes, effects and solutions to a wide range of environmental problems facing the global ecosystem. I co-teach a graduate course on “Climate Change, Water & Society” that integrates climate science and hydrology with policy to understand California water issues. I also co-teach an undergraduate course on “Biometeorology” that explores the relationship between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Finally, I occasionally teach an undergraduate general education course on “Severe and Unusual Weather“. Find out more information about my teaching, including my teaching philosophy, course summary, learning outcomes and syllabus.
Service
At UC Davis, I serve as graduate advisor for the Atmospheric Science Graduate Group and the Geography Graduate Group. I am also the Climate Change and Air Quality track advisor for the Environmental Science and Management major. I serves on Academic Senate Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) and the Undergraduate Council General Education Subcommittee, as well as on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. Outside the University, I am a member of the Facilitation Team of the MultiSector Dynamics community of practice and I also serve as a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting program committee. Finally, I am a guest editor for the Environmental Research Letters special issue on the Northern Eurasia Future Initiative.
Education and training
Prior to joining the faculty at UC Davis, I was a researcher at MIT for 9 years. I worked at the Center for Global Change Science and Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, with secondary affiliations with the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab. Before joining MIT, I received a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at UC Davis and obtained a M.Eng. in Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics at the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, ENSEEIHT.
Go Aggies!