Climate News
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Larisa DeSantis
May. 6, 2026—Cautionary Tales of the Prehistoric Past: Bridging Deep Time and a Changing Planet For Dr. Larisa DeSantis, the prehistoric past is as important as the study of our historic past—the fossil record holds an archive of cautionary lessons that our planet desperately needs us to read. Reading the record, is much like deciphering ancient languages,...
CES 2026 Rachel Carson Council Advocacy Days
Apr. 27, 2026—Congratulations to the following students who represented Vanderbilt University at a Capitol Hill Environmental Advocacy Day organized by the The Rachel Carson Council (RCC)! Chloe Whalen, Adna Mutic, Alvin Liu, Ziheng Yan, and Grace Park spent March 25-27, 2026 in Washington D.C. lobbying Tennessee Senate and House Representatives for three environmental bills covering: Wood Pellets Sustainable Agriculture/Pesticides Polluter Accountability (Make Polluters Pay!)
CES Mississippi Delta and New Orleans Field Trip, October 2025
Apr. 24, 2026— On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the team (Rhett Adam, Sarah Alfonso, Brandon Buchalter, Truman Hill, Cortneia Jasper, and Chelsea Liebenthal, Sophie Mykhaisouk, Sabrina Wang, Mia Wen, and Tony Yoo) began this learning experience at the Whitney Plantation, immersing themselves in the history of the region through the perspective of enslaved people, whose lives and...
CES Alumni Spotlight
Apr. 24, 2026—Ellie Crone (2025) works as a Research Associate at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in Washington, DC. At ELI, Ellie’s work spans a range of environmental law and policy research topics, including judicial education on climate science, plastics and toxins, nature-based solutions in the Mississippi River Basin, and state and local environmental governance. She previously interned at...
Director’s Note
Apr. 24, 2026—Director’s Note Welcome to the Climate and Environmental Studies Program’s inaugural newsletter! We plan to make this an annual issue so all of you—students, faculty, alumni, donors, and friends—can stay up to date with our many exciting activities and the program’s impact. First, let me introduce myself as the new Director of Climate and Environmental...
CES Student Organizations
Apr. 24, 2026—PLANT FUTURES Plant Futures is a student organization at Vanderbilt focused on helping students connect withplants, sustainability, and the local community. We host speaker events with people from both campus and the Nashville community so students can learn more about topics like sustainable food and environmental work. We also spend time actually getting our...
CES Accolades and Awards
Apr. 24, 2026—Faculty Accolades & Awards Professor Larisa DeSantis was named a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow. Read more on her research and journey here! Professor Dan Morgan was awarded the 2026 Chancellor’s Cup for his dedication to undergraduate and graduate students in mentoring, teaching, and research support over the past two decades. Read more about his achievement here!...
CES Student Spotlight
Apr. 17, 2026—Graduating Seniors Hayden Davidson (double major in Climate Studies and Human & Organizational Development). During his time on campus, he served as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Zdravka Tzankova’s Business, Society, and the Environment course and as a Research Assistant for Dr. David Hess in his work on local siting authority for utility-scale solar farms. Hayden...
Featured Course: EES 2110: Introduction to Climate Science with Professor Husile Bai
Apr. 13, 2026—Inside the Climate System: A Quantitative Way of Learning Climate Science EES 2110: Introduction to Climate Science is designed as a rigorous, quantitative science course that brings students directly into the logic and methods of climate research. Rather than treating climate change as a set of conclusions to memorize, the course centers on the climate system itself:...
Graduating Seniors Future Steps
Jun. 11, 2025—Maya Maciel-Seidman Major(s): Earth and Environmental Sciences Minor(s): Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Data Science Future Steps: Maya Maciel-Seidman majored in Earth and Environmental Sciences and minored in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Data Science. During her time at Vanderbilt, she conducted research in the Climate, Health, and Energy Equity Lab (CHEEL), culminating in “Mobilizing carbon...