Climate Newsletter

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… Read More

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 this past week lobbying at Tennesse senate and house representative offices for three environmental bills covering:   Wood Pellets: The bill opposes the wood pellet industry… Read More

      On this 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… Read More

Ellie Crone (2025; Climate Studies and Public Policy Studies; minor in Earth and Environmental Sciences) 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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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

Graduating Seniors Lexi Perez (double major in Climate and Environmental Studies and Human and Organizational Development). Prior to her senior year, Lexie interned with Guidehouse’s Community, Energy, and Infrastructure sector in Boulder, Colorado where she designed and evaluated customer-facing energy efficiency programs for utility clients. For her capstone project, Lexie… Read More

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… Read More