Media Tip Sheet: Earth Day Expertise for the Media

Posted 04/08/02

Economic and Development Concerns

Rich Howarth, associate professor of environmental studies, is an environmental economist interested in sustainable development and its applications to energy policy, climate stabilization and ecological conservation. He uses mathematical models to investigate the links between economic growth, natural resources and environmental quality, focusing on the integration of economic efficiency, ecological sustainability and distributional fairness in the design of policies and institutions.

Christopher S. Sneddon, assistant professor of geography and environmental studies, researches the issues surrounding long-term nature-society relations. Primarily his work focuses on how human use water and, in particular, on the transformation of river basins due to large-scale development. Much of this research has focused on developing areas around the Lower Mekong Basin and the Zambesi River, but his work has applications to a variety of historical and geographical contexts.

Natural Biology and Earth Sciences

Kathryn Cottingham, an assistant professor of biology, teaches ecology and statistics, and she conducts research on freshwater ecosystems. She's currently collaborating with microbiologists, geneticists, and molecular biologists to study the ecology of Vibrio cholerae, the organism that causes cholera.

Arjun Heimsath, an assistant professor of earth sciences, examines how the Earth's surface changes under the shifting forces of climate, tectonics and human land management. His research focuses on erosion and is principally concerned with quantifying and predicting changes across the landscape. Fieldwork takes Heimsath to the coastal ranges of California and Oregon; the Outback, the Top End, and the southeast of Australia; and to the high central Himalaya of Nepal.

Daniel R. Lynch, the Maclean Professor at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering, believes that scientific management of natural resources should be a leading international priority. A leading researcher in the computer modeling of the coastal ocean, Lynch pioneered an interdisciplinary effort to model the physical and biological properties of the Gulf of Maine, particularly Georges Bank. This region of the continental shelf between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia is a vital commercial fishery and a bellwether of climatic and ecological change. Lynch's work contributes to a global management approach driven by science, not politics.

Energy Sustainability

Benoit Cushman-Roisin, professor at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering, works on traditional environmental engineering with a focus on fluid mechanics, pollution prevention, and environmental design in industry. He looks at the flow of materials and energy through industrial systems and attempts to identify ways to lessen negative environmental impacts. Roisin also uses mathematical models to better understand and predict the physics and biochemistry of coastal waters, and he is working on extracting energy from the coastal ocean to help with aquaculture endeavors and de-icing research.

Lee Lynd, associate professor at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering and adjunct associate professor of biology, is an environmental engineer active in research on sustainable energy. Lynd works on plant biomass conversion, which he considers the only foreseeable sustainable source of energy. His research focuses on biological production of commodity products (fuels, bulk chemicals, and materials), an emerging field representing a cornerstone of environmentally benign manufacturing and sustainable resource supply.

Charles R. Sullivan, assistant professor at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering, works on power conversion, electric machine modeling and control, energy efficiency and environmental impacts. He holds three patents, and his interests include analog circuit design, power electronics, system theory and control, engineering design and energy issues, all incorporating a concern for the environment. Sullivan works to help his engineering students consider environmental impact early in the design of products, rather than tacking it on as an afterthought.