Experiences conducting interdisciplinary research focused on human-environment interactions

Wednesday, October 8, 2025
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
1028 HN (in-person only)

Presented by
Dr. Alex de Sherbinin
Director and Senior Research Scientist
CIESN, Columbia Climate School

This talk will describe my experience over three and a half decades in conducting human-environment research, with a particular emphasis on spatially-enabled research and work that spans the science-policy interface. I will present examples from my research on climate change and migration; climate vulnerability mapping; urban climate vulnerability and resilience; population dynamics and the environment; environmental indicators; and remote sensing applications. I will describe how my training as a geographer has enabled me to work well across disciplines, including with colleagues from demography, political science, environmental law, ecology/biology, climate science, and public health.

About the Speaker. Dr. Alex de Sherbinin is a geographer whose research interests focus on the human aspects of global environmental change and geospatial data applications, integration, and dissemination. He is lead or co-author more than 70 peer reviewed articles and chapters, including lead authored articles appearing in Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources, Climatic Change, Environmental Research Letters, Global Environmental Change, Science, and Scientific American. He is a senior research scientist and the director of the Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), a research and data center at the Columbia Climate School. Prior to CIEISN, he held positions at the International Union for the Conservation Nature (IUCN) and the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). He teaches courses in climate mobility and composite sustainability indicators.

Open to all students, faculty, and staff. RSVP not required.