ENVS UCSC Doctoral Program

Established in 1994, the Doctoral program* in the Department of Environmental Studies at

UCSC emphasizes close faculty-student interactions, department-wide intellectual exchange, and
cross-discipline innovation. The goal of our Ph.D. program is to develop exceptional individuals
with strong foundations in their own fields, and the ability to work with those in other relevant
specialties.
The program draws from two main areas: ecology and social science. These are historically
independent fields and UCSC's Environmental Studies program is one of the first to link them.
Graduates of the Environmental Studies Doctoral Program at UC Santa Cruz are expected to be
informed in conservation biology, global change ecology, agroecology, environmental policy,
and political economy of the environment. Our students have deep intellectual strength in their
area of specialty, and make substantial contributions toward the understanding of an
environmental problem.

Our graduate students come to us from all over the world, studying important and influential
research topics in many fields bridging the social and natural sciences. Here are a few of our
graduate students, discussing their experiences in the Environmental Studies Doctoral Program,
and their research interests.

 ENVS Graduate students’ profiles

Peter Brewitt
I research dam removal, a new phenomenon with huge promise for river restoration. I focus on
the politics of dams and salmon on the West Coast, where people – irrigators, environmentalists,
utilities, native tribes, and everyone else – connect strongly to their rivers and fight hard for
them. I see political concerns as the most important barrier to river restoration, and overcoming
those concerns as the key to sustainable watershed management regimes. My work combines
political science, environmental history, and restoration ecology, and also touches upon
hydrology, engineering, and economics. The interdisciplinary nature of the issue – of all
environmental issues – is an important part of why I chose our department at UCSC. The
coursework, and even more importantly the conversations I have with my colleagues (who are
also my friends) have prepared me to engage with dam removal on all levels. In the field, I spend
some of my time interviewing politicians and activists, some it going through newspaper
archives, and some of it snorkeling after Chinook salmon. At the end of my project, I expect to
know how people make dam removal happen, how communities’ relationships with their rivers
have changed, and how (and whether) salmonid populations expand upstream after dam removal.


Heather Briggs
Pollinator species are increasingly at risk of local and global extinction from human activities,
including habitat loss, introduction of alien species and global climate change. The loss of insect-
mediated pollination is potentially devastating because it is required for reproduction of nearly
90% of plant species in the world. Among other problems, if disrupting pollination services
reduces plant reproduction enough to affect plant population dynamics, such reproduction
disruptions could dramatically limit the ability of plant populations to adapt to climate change.
Global climate change is projected to disrupt the overlap in plant flowering time and of
pollinator emergence/foraging activity leading to potentially mismatched interactions. My
primary research interest is assessing the resilience of plant/pollinator networks to climate
change. My dissertation work will provide a strong basis for improved predictive models that
will be useful in anticipating likely changes in pollination services, and designing strategies to
maximize ecosystem resilience. The empirical component of my research is conducted at the
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado. http://rmbl.org RMBL is
an ideal area to conduct climate change research as montane systems are expected to be
disproportionately affected by climate change due to their exposure to low temperatures and
short growing season. For more information on my research see the Gilbert Lab Page.

Tara Cornelisse
My research investigates both the social and ecological components to endangered species
conservation, with an aim to get more science into management and policy. Specifically, for my
dissertation work, I integrate habitat requirements with metapopulation factors and population
viability to conserve the endangered Ohlone tiger beetle, a Santa Cruz County endemic. The
Ohlone tiger beetle depends on disturbance and so only occurs in areas that support grazing
and/or recreation. While recreation maintains beetle habitat, it can also cause mortality; thus,
recreation management is an important aspect of Ohlone tiger beetle conservation. I engage the
recreation community through outreach and in-person surveys that allow me to analyze how
knowledge affects both their attitudes toward the beetle as well as stated behaviors in beetle
habitat. Because my research incorporates both the social and ecological aspects in the
conservation of this unique species, the Environmental Studies Department has been
instrumental in my success. In ENVS, I have worked with both natural and social scientists to
achieve the interdisciplinary background and support I need to accomplish my research goals.
Check out my lab website and my blog.


 Sharifa G. Crandall
My doctoral research investigates which traits make forest plants thirsty and sick, that is,
susceptible to drought and disease. Climate change impacts western forests by increasing
drought frequency and duration. Shifts in temperature and precipitation, in turn, can affect forest
species function and survival. I use functional trait data to investigate emerging plant disease
epidemics in coastal redwood and mixed-evergreen forests. My research questions span different
scales from populations to ecosystems: Are host plant and pathogen populations locally adapted
to certain environmental sites and conditions? Which fungal pathogen species are most likely to
flourish under drier and hotter climatic conditions? How do forest epidemics affect native plant
species diversity? How can we manage for plant diseases given different ecosystem types and
land-use priorities in coastal Californian forests?
The faculty and students in the Environmental Studies department are an amazing community of
advisors, colleagues, and friends. Their varied expertise and backgrounds create a thought-
provoking and supportive research environment! If you are interested in more specific
information about graduate life at UC Santa Cruz and in our department, please do contact me.
My contact information is on my website.

Getachew Eshete
I came from Ethiopia to UC Santa Cruz in Fall 2008 for the Environmental studies Ph.D.
program. Since then I took various departmental courses and attended seminars offered by both
Departmental mentors and outside academic and professional communities, with
interdisciplinary experiences and interests. The enlightening formal and informal academic
discussions, among vibrant mentors and graduate students here, have improved my theoretical
knowledge and analytical skills to do research in a broader perspective, and to perceive the world
beyond my experiences, beliefs and skills. The friendly atmosphere in our Department is also
remarkable.
I am generally interested in human-environment interactions that affect biodiversity, ecosystem
services and local livelihoods under changing environments. For my dissertation, I explore the
effects of land use changes on plant biodiversity and ecosystem services vital to livelihoods of
subsistence farmers in southwest Ethiopia, the birth place of Arabica coffee. Using ethnographic,
ecological and remote sensing techniques, I examine (1) the extent of deforestation and its
impact on biodiversity (2) the relative roles of shade-coffee systems in the conservation of
woody species diversity and (3) the environmental and anthropogenic factors that affect species
and functional group diversity in the remnant forests and (4) the abundance and distribution of
ecosystem goods and services in relation to fragmentation and land use change. My findings
show the specific threats of land use change and deforestation whilst a higher diversity of woody
species in small-holder coffee systems which demonstrates the potential of human-dominated
landscapes in supporting significant biodiversity and vital ecosystem services in these rapidly
changing landscapes.


Jeffrey Jenkins
I am interested in understanding the mining industry for elements used in climate change
mitigation technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. I engage with political
ecology, extractive industries, renewable energy policy and commodity chain frameworks. My
research focus uses qualitative interview methods, geospatial technologies, life cycle analysis
and policy review. More specifically, I chose the Environmental Studies program at UCSC for its
interdisciplinary nature, which is allowing me to understand the complex set of interactions that
have allowed humans to reshape the environment through institutions, incentives and structures.
It's my hope that as a social scientist (with a human geography and regional planning
background) I will be able to gain an understanding of the physical sciences like ecology and
climatology so as to better understand anthropogenic effects and solutions to environmental
challenges. My previous research in Latin America is complimented by a domestic focus, and
faculty both in the department and throughout campus are helping me to understand the
geopolitical implications between each in a global context.

Carlo Moreno
In the Venezuelan Andes, potato production represents a principal source of rural economic and
livelihood activities. Of mounting concern among producers in the region is the proliferation
of Tecia solanivora, an introduced tuber pest capable of reducing potato yields by 90% or more.
Surprisingly, the importance of two semi-traditional potato production practices (i.e. native seed
cultivation and long fallow tenure) as viable integrated pest management strategies has been
overlooked, despite 1) reports from local farmers that the native Negra Arbolona potato variety
is resistant to tuber pest attack, and 2) evidence indicating that 5+ year fallow periods can restore
predatory and parasitic arthropod complexes which, in turn, may regulate tuber pests in
surrounding potato plots. I use a participatory research approach to spatially assess the
relationships between plot-level potato varietal composition, landscape-level long fallow area,
and natural enemy-mediated tuber pest suppression in smallholder potato producing
communities. In addition, a sustainable livelihoods framework will be used to analyze the
linkages between semi-traditional fallow/varietal cultivation strategies, access to capital
resources, and livelihood resistance and resilience among potato producers amid unstable market
and climatic conditions. Visit the Gliessman Lab's website for more information.

Ann Drevno
I chose to pursue a PhD in Environmental Studies at University of California, Santa Cruz
because of the interdisciplinary approach towards research and teaching, the breadth and depth of
knowledge and interests of faculty and graduate students, as well as the ideal location to
 undertake research in my field of interest. My research focus is on water quality policy in
agriculture on the Central Coast of California. I have a background in teaching, research, field
work and hands on experience in sustainable agriculture, including receiving a certificate in
Ecological Horticulture from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
(CASFS) Apprenticeship program at UCSC. I hope to combine these experiences with my
interest in understanding the broader environmental regulatory policy questions of how optimal
agricultural-environmental-social-political systems best operate. I am grateful to have found
such a supportive academic community and a wealth of opportunities for teaching and research.

Catherine Wade
I spend my summers in the eastern Sierra Nevada studying ecological and socioeconomic factors
that influence wildfire risk and hazard mitigation in the context of climate change. The
ecological component of my work investigates ecosystem and plant responses to global change
drivers in the sagebrush steppe. Sagebrush steppe ecosystems are one of the most widespread in
the western U.S., yet also one of the most vulnerable to large-scale ecosystem conversion from
global change drivers such as non-native species invasions, climate change, and nitrogen
deposition. Throughout much of the Great Basin, intact sagebrush steppe communities are
vanishing due to a positive feedback loop between flammable non-native grass invasions and
fire. I study the effects of future global change scenarios on interactions between native and
invasive species and fire fuel phenology and characteristics. My social science research focuses
on fire risk management challenges in the wildland-urban interface and the influences of social
and demographic change accompanying rapid population growth on collective action, mitigation,
and perceptions of risk and responsibility. My goals are to improve predictions for future
impacts on fire regimes and associated management and mitigation efforts.

Tiffany Wise-West
The primary objective of my doctoral research experience is to build expertise to identify
sustainable policies and strategies that affect technically and economically efficient and socially
acceptable solutions to the challenges at the water-energy nexus. My current work includes
sustainable water and renewable energy workforce development and applied energy efficiency
projects. My dissertation work focuses on drivers, barriers, and potential contribution of
community-scale wind energy to the overall US renewable energy transition. I draw upon the
complementary theories of bureaucracy and new institutional economics (NIE), linking technical
efficiency and feasibility of community-scale wind systems to the bureaucratic and social
processes that drive or impede their development. I conduct this interdisciplinary research
utilizing econometric techniques paired with qualitative inquiry such as semi-structured
interviews with stakeholders and regulatory players. The central questions posed by my
dissertation research include: What role does community scale wind energy play in a regional
energy portfolio? Why are community-scale wind energy installations implemented in the United
States? Is community-scale wind compatible with existing sociopolitical institutions? Do
institutional or technical barriers prevent expansion of small-scale wind energy?