In recent weeks, quick glimpses of TV screens — and, for some, harrowing views from windows — have depicted flames ravaging the Amazon rainforest; hurricane-force wind and rain assailing the Bahamas and the east coast of the United States; and insidious, unseen forces weakening ice sheets and deepening an ever-expanding Arctic sea. United Nations experts warn only 11 years remain to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, a force with the potential to increase the number of intense storms, raise the average global temperature past a planetary tipping point, and drive an untold number of species to extinction. It’s clear we’re at a fundamental crossroads.

Now more than ever, we need an interdisciplinary group of experts ready and willing to challenge these threats with determination, collaboration, and creativity. The Institute on the Environment is proud to harbor that group.

This year, we welcome 32 new members to our Affiliate ranks: 16 Fellows, established in their careers, having demonstrated excellence in one or more subject areas related to the environment and sustainability; nine Associates, early- and mid-career researchers and instructors at the University of Minnesota who are building interdisciplinary careers; five Educators, who have a special interest in pedagogy and curriculum development, and two Visiting Scholars, external visitors who will enrich our community of environmental research and education. 

“This class of Affiliates is extraordinary in their diversity of perspectives and areas of expertise,” says IonE Director Jessica J. Hellmann. “Each of these scholars is doing critical research and teaching to help bring about a sustainable future, and it’s IonE’s job to connect them together and amplify their work.”

Please join us in congratulating the 2019-2020 IonE Affiliates:

 

IonE Fellows

Gaston (Chip) Small, Department of Biology and Environmental Science Program, University of St. Thomas

Richa Nagar, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, College of Liberal Arts, UMN Twin Cities

Gerard Reid, Alexa Capital

Kurt Kipfmueller, Department of Geography, Environment, and Society, College of Liberal Arts, UMN Twin Cities

A. Hope Jahren, CLIPT Lab, University of Oslo

John Linc Stine, Executive Director, Freshwater

Marek Oziewicz, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education + Human Development, UMN Twin Cities

Susanna Gibbons, Department of Finance, Carlson School of Management, UMN Twin Cities 

Jay Coggins, Department of Applied Economics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, UMN Twin Cities

Shane Stennes, Director of Sustainability, University Services, UMN Twin Cities

Troy Goodnough, Sustainability Director, UMN Morris

Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Natural Capital Project 

Richard Sharp, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University

Jennifer Schmitt, NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise 

Diana Dalbotten, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory

Melissa Kenney, Institute on the Environment

 

IonE Associates

Peter Kang, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Science & Engineering, UMN Twin Cities 

Jessica Savage, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, UMN Duluth

Kara Nell, Chemistry, UMN Morris 

Nathan Johnson, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, UMN Duluth

Yuan Cheng, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Laalitha Surapaneni, Department of Medicine, UMN Medical School

Jacob Jungers, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, UMN Twin Cities

Justin Johnson, Natural Capital Project

Jeff Standish, MnDrive, UMN Twin Cities

 

IonE Educators

Jessica Larson, Studio Art, UMN Morris

Kristin Osiecki, Center for Learning Innovation, UMN Rochester

Aparna Katre, College of Liberal Arts, UMN Duluth

Clement Loo, Environmental Studies, Equity, Diversity, and Intercultural Programs, UMN Morris

Kimberly Byrd, Department of Applied Economics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, UMN Twin Cities

 

IonE Visiting Scholars

Alex Reich

Sharon Pfeifer