Profiles / Features

In the last decade the Chinese government has realized the need to create not just a prosperous and technologically sophisticated society but an “ecological civilization” based on its cultural and religious traditions. In the sacred mountains of Henan, Yale Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker recently participated in the Songshan Forum, an annual meeting that has become part of this effort.

By the time he arrived at F&ES, Terry Baker ’07 M.F. had already learned first-hand how the U.S. Forest Service works — and about the people who make it run. But he says his time at Yale helped make him a leader.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), we asked several of the center’s most esteemed alums to reflect on how CBEY prepared them to address challenges at the nexus of business and the environment and where those lessons have led them.

When we changed our name to Yale School of the Environment and established The Forest School last year, we knew it was time to re-imagine school swag. Priority No. 1 — sustainability.

A broad science background and some old-fashioned pluck helped Jean Thomson Black ’75 MFS build an impactful career in science publishing, for which she was honored with the School’s Distinguished Service Award at Reunion Weekend 2020.

As the summer break between her first and second year approached, Christina Stone felt the pressure to land a prestigious internship that others seemed to land easily. Then she created an opportunity in Alaska that was right for her.

Conservationist Eleanor Sterling ’83 B.A., ’93 Ph.D., chief scientist at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation,has spent her illustrious career combining biological conservation, research, and education.

In an interview, Simon Queenborough, the new Musser Director of the Tropical Resources Institute (TRI), shares his thoughts on the greatest challenges facing the planet’s tropical areas, and how TRI can make a difference.

For more than four decades, Ian von Lindern M.F.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’80 has been at the center of a massive cleanup of lead pollution in Idaho. The strategies he has helped develop are now being used to tackle health threats globally.

Federal funding has long played a key role in supporting scientific research to improve human health and the environment. But since the onset of the Trump administration, concerned scientists at F&ES have wondered about the future fate of research funding.

While working as a teacher in Mumbai, Sanjna Malpani ’17 M.E.M. was shocked that many students weren't able to do their homework because of insufficient light in their homes. So Malpani and some friends helped introduce new sources of illumination using only plastic bottles and water.

By many measures, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) has enjoyed a remarkable transformation during the three-plus years since Robert Klee ’99 M.E.S. ’04 J.D. ’05 Ph.D. joined its top ranks.

Yuan Yao, whose research examines the environmental and economic impacts of emerging technologies and industrial processes, has been named assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.