Across seven projects, IBES faculty researchers are taking environmental research beyond campus and into the field, working alongside communities while opening new doors for undergraduates to participate.
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
Impact
IBES research doesn’t stay in the lab—it’s out in the world, driving real solutions to today’s biggest environmental challenges.
Impact
IBES research doesn’t stay in the lab—it’s out in the world, driving real solutions to today’s biggest environmental challenges.
Banner photo: Luke Fromm '23 collects an eDNA water sample to detect muskrat presence. This NASA-funded research, which launched with an IBES Seed Grant in 2021, uses a range of new technologies to uncover what's driving biodiversity loss and guide conservation solutions.
Practical solutions for a changing planet
Through interdisciplinary and applied research, hands-on education, and engagement with policymakers, IBES connects the dots between science, policy, and society.
Below is a short sampling of impactful work led by IBES faculty and students:
- The Breathe Providence project maps neighborhood air quality to inform policies that reduce pollution and improve public health.
- In the course Solving the Climate and the Carbon Challenge, students work in teams to develop actionable carbon reduction plans, competing to create the most effective strategies by the end of the semester.
- As chair of the Research Board at the World Meteorological Organization, Professor Amanda Lynch shapes global climate strategies, advancing greenhouse gas monitoring and early warning systems.
- Exploring the risks of climate change on human health—and what we can do to adapt—is the focus of research led by Professor Rachel Baker.
- Serving on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), social scientist Timmons Roberts helped inform global climate action strategies.
- The weekly Possibly podcast delivers 250+ climate insights, breaking down complex environmental challenges into actionable solutions for listeners nationwide.
Dozens of joint and affiliate faculty make IBES a collaborative hub
With 30 core faculty members bridging several academic departments, and over 200 faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate affiliates representing over 30 academic units on campus, IBES is a hub of collaboration in a world where disciplinary silos are the norm.
Catalyst Research Awards
Core and affiliate faculty members create tangible impact with the help of IBES' Catalyst Research Award: an annual award that supports exploratory, engaged research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and goes beyond academia.
IBES is meeting the moment with real-world impact
Recent developments in applied research, hands-on student training, and community engagement
October 8, 2026
Swearer Center
Meredith Hastings named Swearer Center Faculty Fellow
The Brown professor and community-engaged researcher will help advance university-wide efforts to strengthen support for community-engaged scholarship.
News from IBES
IBES joins the conversation at Climate Week NYC
IBES faculty, researchers and alumni played important roles at this year’s Climate Week NYC (September 19-26), offering their expertise on climate obstruction, extreme weather events and public health.
Johnson’s research could guide the development of sustainable plastics—and a more sustainable future.
A record 36 Brown students spent the summer working with organizations across the U.S. and around the world, exploring diverse career paths in climate, sustainability, and the environment.
Stevens spent the summer in Colorado studying land stewardship and ecosystem change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin through community interviews and vegetation mapping.
Support the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES)
Help IBES answer the call to address today's complex environmental and societal challenges.