Website: https://sustainablecities.uconn.edu/

What motivated you to join CLEAN EARTH?

In addition to my PhD in Geographical Sciences, I also spent five years as a National Science Foundation IGERT scholar in Urban Ecology, being trained to collaborate with scholars from numerous academic disciplines to pursue use-inspired policy-relevant research. I use geographical techniques such as GIS-based spatial analysis, statistical modelling, and qualitative methods to assess the impact of policies intended to promote sustainable cities. Much of my work to date has focused on transportation sustainability, which shapes a wide array of societal concerns such as air pollution, land use, global climate change, and social and environmental equity. However, an emerging area of interest is the ongoing transition to a low carbon economy in the United States, and the debates about what role technology will play in this transition. I am particularly interested in building knowledge about the factors that shape social acceptance of technology, particularly renewable energy. I am currently working with UConn’s Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) to develop a graduate course in Social Dimensions of Renewable Energy Technologies for the Masters in Energy & Environmental Management (MEEM) Program.

CLEAN EARTH is a great fit for my skills and academic background and I look forward to working with my colleagues to better understand how communities may respond to renewable energy technologies, particularly as wind and solar farms grow in size and number.

What aspect of your research do you find most valuable for the people and communities?

Place, and the related concepts of place attachment and sense of place, are central pillars of the discipline of Geography is place. Achieving the transition to a low carbon economy needed to address the ongoing climate crisis requires an understanding of which places may be the most suited to siting renewable energy infrastructure. I hope to be able to improve understanding of the issues that may emerge in different locations to facilitate a just transition to green energy.