Knowledge & leadership for a sustainable future
Cutting-edge research, teaching, and public engagement on society’s evolving and urgent environmental challenges
News & Research
Karen Seto Honored With Geography’s Top Prize
2026 Alumni Award Honorees
Afternoons with Alison: Indy Burke
Dean Burke sat down with Alison Cole ’99, executive director of the Yale Alumni Association, to talk about her focus on increasing scholarship support and the importance of maintaining and modeling optimism. She also reveals her favorite New Haven pizza place (which bucks the recent trend).
Global Voices, Global Climate Solutions
Global Perspective, Community, Opportunity, Enriching – that's how these graduates from the Class of 2026 describe their experience as Three Cairns Scholars at YSE. Hear their stories and see where they're headed next.
María Gallegos Koyner
MFS
Panama
Kumaresh Ramesh
MEM
India
Reeti Sethi
MEM
India
Rahul Shah
MEM
Kenya
Degrees & Programs
The Yale School of the Environment offers a variety of degree programs, many of which can be customized to meet each student’s professional goals, and prepare them for careers in environmental science, management, and policy.
RESEARCH DEGREES
PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
OTHER DEGREES & PROGRAMS
Alumni Impacts
From Complex Science to Systems-Level Impact
Hassan Alzain ’26 MEM is turning research into impact at Saudi Aramco’s Green Energy and Environmental Policy Department. He led project management for Aramco’s inaugural E&H Roadshow. The global initiative aligns environmental and health practices across affiliates on issues such as climate change and biodiversity.
“Real progress in climate action is not defined by ambition alone, but by the ability to turn complex science into decisions that reshape systems and deliver measurable impact at scale,” Alzain says.
His work has earned him the UK’s Chartered Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, which recognizes exceptional leadership in environmental protection.
Strengthening State Solar Programs
As an intern with the National Association of State Energy Officials, Olivia Johnson ’26 MEM co-authored a report designed to support state-level solar efforts by offering practical strategies to strengthen safeguards for residential customers. Drawing on lessons from solar programs and other regulated industries, the report provides an overview of common challenges and actionable solutions. What makes it especially useful is its focus on enforceability and program design, specifically in the contract phase of a consumer solar journey.
“Energy runs our world, and decarbonizing the sector is an extremely complicated challenge, which is what makes it exciting,” Johnson said.
Cleaning Up the Seas, One Tanker at a Time
Shipping moves over 80% of global trade — yet the industry’s waste streams remain underregulated. As co-founder of Oilzyme, Jenelle Lee ’26 MEM developed a bioremediation system that uses microbes to break down toxic oil sludge onboard tankers, cutting the need for costly, polluting waste disposal at sea.
Oilzyme won the Planetary Solutions Prize Grand Prize and the Audience Choice award at Startup Yale 2026.
“We started with a simple idea, that shipboard oil waste doesn’t have to be treated as an inevitable pollutant, and this recognition reinforces that scalable, biology-driven solutions can play a real role in decarbonizing.” Lee said.
Centers, Programs, and Initiatives
In The Media
3 things to know about rising diesel prices and how they affect you
The average person, including myself, doesn’t typically buy diesel fuel. But diesel fuel is crucial for so many parts of our economy.
Kenneth Gillingham
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Grinstein Class of 1954 Professor of Environmental and Energy Economics
The average person, including myself, doesn’t typically buy diesel fuel. But diesel fuel is crucial for so many parts of our economy.
Kenneth Gillingham
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Grinstein Class of 1954 Professor of Environmental and Energy Economics
Black bears are moving into the neighborhood. How do we coexist?
As much as we are concerned about the growth of population of black bears, we also have to remember that they are playing important ecosystem functions and roles. So we do want them to be around.
Nyeema Harris
Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation
As much as we are concerned about the growth of population of black bears, we also have to remember that they are playing important ecosystem functions and roles. So we do want them to be around.
Nyeema Harris
Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation