IBES researchers use remote sensing, advanced imaging, and DNA metabarcoding to study the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, such as tropical forests and coral reefs. This work focuses on species responses, carbon dynamics, and long-term ecological shifts driven by human activity.
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
Research
Today’s global challenges defy borders, so our response demands bold, transdisciplinary solutions.
Research
Today’s global challenges defy borders, so our response demands bold, transdisciplinary solutions.
Creating New Knowledge. Spearheading Societal Interventions.
With more than two dozen core faculty engaged in 100+ research initiatives—from air quality mapping and carbon capture strategies to combating climate misinformation—IBES is Brown’s hub for environmental inquiry. Embracing Brown’s culture of collaboration, IBES advances urgent, sustainable, and equitable solutions at local and global scales.
Banner image: A temperate mountain forest in the southwest Czech Republic from high-density drone LiDAR. This NASA-funded project was led by IBES Professor Jim Kellner.
Areas of Focus
Using satellite data, computational analysis, and epigenomics, IBES researchers study the impacts of climate change, air pollution, and other environmental factors on human health and the spread of infectious diseases.
This work focuses on analyzing media coverage of climate change, identifying misinformation in the energy policy landscape, and exploring local environmental history to better understand the intersection of policy, public perception, and environmental impact.
An emerging focus on energy and climate includes exploring decarbonization pathways, advancing renewable energy systems, and developing innovative resources, including offshore wind and carbon reservoirs, with a commitment to supporting at-risk populations and addressing equity injustice.
IBES researchers study the changing Arctic, weather-related population shifts, sustainable urban agriculture, and the socio-environmental impacts of industrial agriculture worldwide.
Transdisciplinary Research Projects
These projects both unite diverse academic fields and extend beyond academia—collaborating with community members, policymakers, industry leaders and others to tackle today’s complex environmental challenges.
The Climate and Development Lab is a student-faculty think tank informing a more just, equitable and effective climate change policy.
Breathe Providence is a community-focused air monitoring network in Providence, Rhode Island aiming to characterize Providence’s air quality on a hyperlocal level.
Our research delivers insights on the politics of climate change, providing deeper understanding of the factors obstructing action around the world.
Equitable Climate Futures is an initiative that will build Brown’s capacity for climate solutions research, with a strong focus on under-resourced and historically marginalized groups.
This project, supported by the National Science Foundation, will focus on creating a set of tools and convening experts to address climate change related challenges faced by communities along the New England coast.
Catalyst Research Awards
Accelerating Exploratory and Emerging Research
IBES nurtures innovation through flexible, exploratory seed-funded programs called Catalyst Research Awards. These startup-style initiatives enable our researchers to quickly tackle emerging challenges and uncover unexpected connections.
IBES Research In the News
Humans in Public Health
Growing a Healthier Climate
On this episode of the School of Public Health's podcast, Meredith Niles, professor of environment and society & behavioral and social sciences, explores how climate-friendly agriculture is actually a quiet powerhouse for public health.
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James Kellner — an IBES and biology professor and chief scientist for Perennial, the leading provider of measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification for soil carbon programs — is among the authors of this new study.
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This summer, the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES) welcomed its first group of students into a new program designed to expand access to faculty-mentored research opportunities in climate and the environment.
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Co-Teaching: An IBES Hallmark
A biogeochemist paired with a historian to delve into our climate history. The chair of Modern Culture & Media collaborating with an environmental historian to explore the origins of environmental inequalities. At IBES, professors are encouraged to break down barriers to connect with leading minds across campus and beyond because we know collaboration is the key to solutions to the interconnected climate and sustainability challenges of our time.