Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Students at a table outside drawing and writing

Silhouette of three people looking out on a tower balcony with views of campus below

View from behind a group of people on a tour of a nature preserve with trees around them

Students harvest leafy greens from a row on a farm

Program spotlight: Community building among first-year PhDs 💗

Through dinners, hikes, art projects, & other gatherings throughout the year, a cohort program at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability helps first-year PhD students form friendships & spark new collaborations. stanford.io/3OfYQlO

Study reveals the extent of rare earthquakes in deep layer below Earth’s crust Stanford scientists have developed a new method for identifying rare earthquakes in the Earth’s upper mantle, under the continents. The research enhances understanding of how continental mantle earthq...

Scientists have created the first-ever global map of a rare earthquake type. It could help us understand and prepare for future quakes.

Image credits: Kayla Kauffman, De Leo Lab

People walk along a ditch in a rice paddy field

Project team members smile together outside in Saint-Louis, Senegal

Person holding a net full of fish

With the help of fish, researchers are working to reduce the transmission of a debilitating disease while supporting local economies and sustainable food systems. Here’s how: stanford.io/45Rm2wP

This work was supported by the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, based at @stanforddoerr.bsky.social.

Meet the students competing to change the world The Global Sustainability Challenge is mobilizing college students worldwide to develop sustainability solutions for their communities. Stanford University will host the Americas finals Feb. 13, with ...

Thousands of students across 91 countries are developing solutions for their communities as part of the Global Sustainability Challenge, a new initiative led by @stanforddoerr.bsky.social in collaboration with universities and nonprofits around the world.

Here are some of their stories:

Image credits: Leo Glikbarg, Laurie LaPat-Polasko, Larry Chow, Kevin Ly, Philippe Roberge, Jason Hu, Xavier Basurto, Dolly Mantle, Peter Marinos, Bernardita Ried Guachalla

📣 Now accepting submissions 📣 Our 2026 photo contest is open to all Stanford students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and alumni. Details: bit.ly/SDSS-photo-contest-26

What motivates people to engage in climate advocacy?

In a new PNAS Nexus megastudy [https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf400] led by @dgoldwert.bsky.social we tested 17 theoretical interventions on a large US sample (N=31,324) to increase public, political, and financial climate advocacy.

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How to motivate collective action on climate One of the most effective ways to move individuals to act together on climate involves showing them how past collective actions have delivered structural change, a new study finds. What doesn’t work? ...

One of the best ways to encourage collective climate action like participating in a public demonstration or writing to a representative is to show people how collective action has successfully influenced laws, policy, and public opinion in the past.

More research on what works: stanford.io/3NE7RVE

Stanford launches new Center for Just Environmental Futures Part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, the center aims to ensure that sustainability efforts enhance human dignity and ecological resilience.

Building on years of grassroots efforts at Stanford, a new center housed in the Doerr School of Sustainability will advance research and education focused on community-level needs, ecological resilience, and sustainability.

Tips for finding jobs in sustainability, according to hiring managers and industry experts ⬇️

Overlooked hydrogen emissions are heating Earth and supercharging methane New research shows rising hydrogen emissions since 1990 have indirectly intensified climate change and amplified the impact of methane. Limiting leaks from future hydrogen fuel projects and cutting me...

Hydrogen emissions indirectly intensify climate change by causing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to stay in the atmosphere longer.

Limiting leaks from hydrogen fuel projects and cutting methane emissions will be key to securing benefits from hydrogen as a clean-burning alternative to oil & gas.

Deep ocean earthquakes drive Southern Ocean’s massive phytoplankton blooms, study finds Scientists have discovered wintertime seismic activity in the ocean around Antarctica controls summer growth of phytoplankton, tiny organisms that fuel the marine food web and sequester huge amounts o...

Scientists just documented a previously unknown relationship between the ocean floor and life at the surface. Their findings could help us better understand the factors contributing to global marine health.

What are the most effective ways to talk about climate change across political divides? With support from @woods.stanford.edu, part of the Doerr School of Sustainability, two researchers teamed up to find out.

🔗 stanford.io/4pB7cRX

Pellegrini engages in field experiments around the world to understand how ecosystems respond to global change and predict their resilience to major disturbances.

Read his story: stanford.io/49eW8VV
@afapellegrini.bsky.social

Adam Pellegrini smiling outside on campus

“Stanford is building a critical mass of people that are specialists on different components of ecosystems I could never hope to specialize in myself. It’s a great opportunity to take my work, add other people’s expertise, and springboard it to a new level.” –Adam Pellegrini, new assistant professor

What most corporate carbon reports get wrong, and how to fix them Companies undercount emissions from their supply chains by billions of tons, a new study reveals. A new model could help them find and shrink the biggest contributors to their carbon footprints.

Most corporate carbon reports undercount emissions from their supply chains.

New research could make reporting more accurate, and help identify opportunities to cut global carbon pollution.

Physics of atmospheric rivers, explained What drives atmospheric rivers? Da Yang explains how these "rivers in the sky" gain and lose momentum, and how researchers are studying their physical properties to improve forecasts and reduce risks.

Atmospheric rivers, explained 🌧️ Da Yang, assistant professor of geophysics, describes how these "rivers in the sky" grow to expansive rainstorms and how researchers are studying their physical properties to improve forecasts and reduce risks.

Bike rider on a pedestrian overpass with city skyscrapers nearby

🌳 One factor that could support healthier cities in 2026? Access to urban parks.

Research shows that across the U.S., cities with more accessible parks are linked to higher levels of physical activity. Improving ways to connect to existing parks can strengthen public health. stanford.io/44QYEz2

Collage. Geothermal plant, boat, person speaking, bike rider, pine cone on tree, researchers collecting samples

The journey of microplastics.
The physics of Antarctic ice movements.
A historic boat-turned-floating classroom.

Here are our top stories of 2025. stanford.io/49igDQj

Hear from Stanford scholars featured on recent podcasts where they discuss topics like:

🏙️ The future of buildings stanford.io/4bdUe97
🚜 Measuring food security from space bit.ly/4ja6o50
🥒 Art and fermentation youtu.be/Kq54h8HtwLo

What’s the right amount of indoor nature? Stanford engineers quantified what level of indoor greenery benefits well-being – and what level might overwhelm.

Refreshing your space for the new year? Here’s what the science says about the right amount of indoor nature to support well-being.

One surprise: More plants are not always better.

In Forbes '30 Under 30,' Stanford affiliates nab seven of energy category’s 30 spots Forbes' 2026 cohort includes eight Stanford affiliates working in sustainability. The five women and three men have taken advantage of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in and around the university.

Congratulations to the eight Stanford scholars recognized in the 2026 U.S. feature of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” ⭐️

These students and alumni are working to transform biomass waste, make residential solar more accessible, quantify and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the food industry, and more.

Is the air inside your home more dangerous than the air outside it? Gas and propane stoves emit substantial amounts of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to higher risks of asthma, heart and lung disease, and other conditions. A Stanford-led study finds switching fr...

Using a gas stove exposes people to substantial amounts of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to higher risks of asthma, heart and lung disease, and other conditions, new research shows.

Learn about the study and ways to reduce exposure to pollutants from gas stoves ⬇️

@woods.stanford.edu

Collage of researchers in tidepools, a forest, an icy landscape, and a classroom

The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability aims to build a thriving, enduring future for humanity and the planet through research, education, and impact.

Learn about our work and progress over the past year: bit.ly/4iGlaA4

Find insights about the impact of meat production on the environment in this collection from @woods.stanford.edu, part of the Doerr School of Sustainability.

🔗: stanford.io/48uyft2

Profile photo of Maxine Burkett smiling outside

“My work has always been about all of us thriving by focusing on those who are often experiencing the impacts of climate change first and worst.”

Meet Maxine Burkett, new professor of environmental social sciences: stanford.io/48roBaC

Stanford Ecopreneurship Podcast - Stanford Ecopreneurship Some of the world’s most powerful ideas start in a university lab. These innovations drive humanity forward and make our lives on Earth more sustainable. But how do we get those ideas out of the lab a...

Cui is a professor of energy science and engineering and faculty director of the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, based at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

Learn more about the podcast series that highlights how scholars are translating their research into real-world impact ⬇️

Yi Cui talking at a table across from podcast host Sam McClure

What can faculty, students, and researchers learn from experiences in entrepreneurship?

In the latest episode of the Stanford Ecopreneurship podcast, Yi Cui discusses battery innovations and translating research into real-world impact: bit.ly/3MhyW0a

📸 Pasquale Vassallo, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn