Faculty Advisors

During their first semester at Tufts, students are assigned an academic advisor who will be their advisor until they declare their major (before the end of their sophomore year). Students majoring in Environmental Studies must select an advisor from the list below and list that advisor on their major declaration form. Faculty on this list may be on leave or be at advising capacity, therefore, students must email to inquire first before listing them. If you need help finding an advisor or deciding who might align best with your interests, contact Dr. Sara Gomez at sara.gomez@tufts.edu. Visit our ENVS Step-by-Step guide for more information on becoming an ENVS major. 
 

List of Faculty Advisors

Track I: Environmental Science

Benjamin Davies
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental anthropology, environmental data, paleoecology, forager and pastoralist land use, climate adaptation, serious games

John Durant
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Expertise: Air and water pollution

Sara Gomez
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant ecology, Plant-insect interactions, Invasive Species, Sustainable Agriculture

David Gute
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Expertise: Environmental health, Environmental and social Justice

Andrew Kemp
Earth and Ocean Sciences
Expertise: Sea-level research, Wetlands, Coastal management, Climate change

Hassaan Khan
Environmental Studies and Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Expertise: Water-energy-food nexus, Urban water systems, Transboundary water conflicts, Hydroeconomics

Karen Kosinski
Environmental Studies and Community Health
Expertise: Environmental health, Environmental justice, One Health, Global health, Water resources, Sanitation, Infectious diseases

Colin M. Orians
Biology & Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant Biology, Tropical Ecology, Food systems, Conservation

J. Michael Reed
Biology
Expertise: Conservation, Habitat Loss, Animal Behavior, Biodiversity

Learn more about Track I

Track II: Sustainability, Policy, and Equity

Alexander Blanchette
Anthropology
Expertise: Industrial agriculture, Ecology, Ethnography of labor, Food systems

Ujjayant Chakravorty
Economics
Expertise: Resource and environmental economics, Energy and development, Food systems

Tatiana Chudakova
Anthropology
Expertise: Medical anthropology, science and technology, environment, ethnicity and indigeneity, nationalism, post-socialism

Benjamin Davies
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental anthropology, environmental data, paleoecology, forager and pastoralist land use, climate adaptation, serious games

Patrick Forber
Philosophy
Expertise: Ecology, Evolutionary biology, Philosophy of biology, Philosophy of science

Sara Gomez
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant ecology, Plant-insect interactions, Invasive Species, Sustainable Agriculture

Hassaan Khan
Environmental Studies and Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Expertise: Water-energy-food nexus, Urban water systems, Transboundary water conflicts, Hydroeconomics

Karen Kosinski
Environmental Studies and Community Health
Expertise: Environmental health, Environmental justice, One Health, Global health, Water resources, Sanitation, Infectious diseases

Nimah Mazaheri
Political Science
Expertise: Comparative political economy, Developing countries, Oil and mining sectors, Government-business relations

Colin M. Orians
Biology & Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant Biology, Tropical Ecology, Food systems, Conservation

Alisha Rankin
History
Expertise: Early modern Europe, History of science and medicine, Women's history, History of the body and sexuality

George Scarlett
Child Studies and Human Development
Expertise: Child-Nature Connection, Ecological literacy Development

Caleb Scoville (on leave Fall 2024)
Sociology
Expertise: Environmental sociology, Science and technology studies, Political sociology, Economic sociology, Social and political theory

Ninian Stein
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice, Environmental Communication, Landscape Change, Archaeology, Environmental Anthropology

Learn more about Track II

Track III: Environmental Communications

Silvia Bottinelli
Visual and Critical Studies
Expertise: History and theory of environmental art, Eco-art, Food-based art, Art and environmental activism, Social practice and public art

Benjamin Davies
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental anthropology, environmental data, paleoecology, forager and pastoralist land use, climate adaptation, serious games

Julie Dobrow
Child Study and Human Development
Interdisciplinary Studies
Expertise: Media literacy, Children and media, Ethnicity/gender and media, Adolescents and media use

Sara Gomez
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant ecology, Plant-insect interactions, Invasive Species, Sustainable Agriculture

Colin M. Orians
Biology & Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant Biology, Tropical Ecology, Food systems, Conservation

Alisha Rankin
History
Expertise: Early modern Europe, History of science and medicine, Women's history, History of the body and sexuality

Modhumita Roy
English
Expertise: Environmental humanities, Anglophone literatures of Africa and the Africa diaspora, South Asian literature, Feminist theory, Literary theory

George Scarlett
Child Studies and Human Development
Expertise: Child-Nature Connection, Ecological literacy Development

Ninian Stein
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice, Environmental Communication, Landscape Change, Archaeology, Environmental Anthropology

Markus Wilczek
German
Expertise: Literature and the Environment, Discourses of Sustainability; Literary and Cultural Theory, Theories of Reading; Intersections of Literature, Science, and Philosophy; Media Studies

Learn more about Track III

Track IV: Food Systems, Nutrition, and the Environment

Alexander Blanchette
Anthropology
Expertise: Industrial agriculture, Ecology, Ethnography of labor, Food systems

Silvia Bottinelli
Visual and Critical Studies
Expertise: History and theory of environmental art, Eco-art, Food-based art, Art and environmental activism, Social practice and public art

Benjamin Davies
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental anthropology, environmental data, paleoecology, forager and pastoralist land use, climate adaptation, serious games

Ujjayant Chakravorty
Economics
Expertise: Resource and environmental economics, Energy and development, Food systems

Kyle Emerick
Economics
Expertise: Agricultural and Resource Economics, Technology adoption by farmers, Economics of agricultural development, Development Economics, Applied Econometrics

Sara Gomez
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant ecology, Plant-insect interactions, Invasive Species, Sustainable Agriculture

Hassaan Khan
Environmental Studies and Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Expertise: Water-energy-food nexus, Urban water systems, Transboundary water conflicts, Hydroeconomics

Karen Kosinski
Environmental Studies and Community Health
Expertise: Environmental health, Environmental justice, One Health, Global health, Water resources, Sanitation, Infectious diseases

Colin M. Orians
Biology and Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant Biology, Tropical Ecology, Food systems, Conservation

Cathy Stanton
Anthropology
Expertise: Food systems, Intersection of cultural anthropology and public history, advocacy and activism

Ninian Stein
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice, Environmental Communication, Landscape Change, Archaeology, Environmental Anthropology

Benjamin Wolfe
Biology
Expertise: Food microbiology, Evolution, Metagenomics, Comparative genomics/transcriptomics, Genome engineering, In situ community reconstructions

Learn more about Track IV

Track V: Environmental Humanities

Silvia Bottinelli
Visual and Critical Studies
Expertise: History and theory of environmental art, Eco-art, Food-based art, Art and environmental activism, Social practice and public art

Sara Gomez
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant ecology, Plant-insect interactions, Invasive Species, Sustainable Agriculture

Colin M. Orians
Biology & Environmental Studies
Expertise: Plant Biology, Tropical Ecology, Food systems, Conservation

Modhumita Roy
English
Expertise: Environmental humanities, Anglophone literatures of Africa and the Africa diaspora, South Asian literature, Feminist theory, Literary theory

James Rice (on leave until Spring 2026)
History
Expertise: Early America, Native American history, Environmental History

Ninian Stein
Environmental Studies
Expertise: Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice, Environmental Communication, Landscape Change, Archaeology, Environmental Anthropology

Markus Wilczek
German
Expertise: Literature and the Environment, Discourses of Sustainability; Literary and Cultural Theory, Theories of Reading; Intersections of Literature, Science, and Philosophy; Media Studies

Learn more about Track V