Graduate Programs in Environmental Sciences
New 2025 PhD Cohort
We are pleased to welcome our newest cohort of Environmental Sciences and Society (ESS).
Bryton Codd
With a degree in Anthropology and a minor in Environmental Science, Bryton’s academic and professional background integrates people and environment. He serves as a diplomatic fellow to the Alliance of Small Island States, where he supports the Chair of his negotiating group and Belize’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. In this line of work, he engages in negotiations at the subsidiary bodies, the conference of parties, the intercessionals and other bilateral and multilateral negotiations accordingly. Bryton aims to research innovative climate finance approaches with a meticulous lens on mechanisms for recommendation for Small Island Developing States.
Talofa Fe'a
Talofa’s exposure to climate change impacts as a Pacific Islander and academic journey has clarified her interests in food sovereignty, environmental resilience, and Indigenous ecological stewardship. She’s interested in how Indigenous and local communities adapt traditional practices to environmental stressors. As a research assistant with the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS), she designed a study to assess how fishers’ ecological knowledge could inform public health strategies and marine resource management. Talofa ’s climate change research is grounded in community needs and fanua (land and ocean; place) rather than driven solely by the latest data or trending headlines.
Tanya Jagdish
Tanya’s interest in climate-related displacement crystallized during her senior year through an honors project, which allowed her to integrate her interests in climate change and sociology through a study on Creole environmentalism—a term she coined to describe the distinct environmental movement shaped by race, history, and social structures in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. Tanya analyzed climate exposure data to pinpoint hazards with increasing risk and developed an interactive dashboard to visualize site-specific vulnerabilities. Tanya’s research goal is to study one of the world’s most pressing threats—climate-induced mobility and immobility.
Yuhao Jia
Yuhao's academic background and professional experience have prepared him to tackle the complexities of urban systems and environmental science, equipping him with advanced skills in spatial data analysis, deep learning, and remote sensing. After earning a master’s degree in Urban Spatial Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania, Yuhao worked with a local NGO through field research in Kenya informal settlements, investigating the relationship between environmental conditions and community perceptions. He later joined the United Nations, contributing to key knowledge assets on global digitization and sustainable development. His research interest centers on Geospatial AI for understanding urban dynamics and improving environmental health, aiming to develop innovative frameworks and produce actionable insights.
Qifan Wu
With a background in urban planning, landscape architecture, and information science, Qifan is committed to address environmental challenges and foster a harmonious coexistence between urbanization and nature. Her academic experience across multiple departments at the University of Michigan, spanning Climate and Space Sciences, Environment and Sustainability, Architecture and Urban Planning, and Information - have provided her with not only a diverse skillset for geospatial studies, but also a multifaceted perspective on ecological dynamics and challenges facing urban systems. Qifan’s research interests center on addressing urban environmental challenges through interdisciplinary research, with emerging data sources and advanced analytical techniques.
ENVS Graduate Program Highlights
We are pleased to highlight the 2025 graduates from the MS in ENVS program.
Yaneth Vazquez Jacinto is a Master’s student and researcher at Emory University’s Environmental Science Department. Her research consists of replicating a ten-year study examining tree community and structure in the cloud forests of Ecuador. This work will allow to examine how cloud forests change over time, crucial for informing conservation efforts. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology at Clayton State University, where she conducted an independent study of inventorying the flora of Reynold’s Nature Preserve. Her passion for botany and ecology grew even further working with the Atlanta Botanical Garden where she helped to create a genetic library of the Conservation and Research Department’s Sarracenia collection. Her duties consisted of collecting tissue, pollen, seed, and specimen samples of all Sarracenia individuals. She also performed DNA isolation and seed viability procedures.
As part of Yaneth's Master’s thesis, she is leading groundbreaking research in the Siempre Verde Preserve, which is nestled in the foothills of Ecuador's Cotacachi volcano. This preserve, started by the local Ruiz Family and The Lovett School of Atlanta in 1990, is home to stunning montane cloud forests!
This research is a continuation of a study conducted in 2014 aimed at understanding how elevation and time have shaped the trees in this cloud forest. The fieldwork involved measuring trees in harsh weather conditions, but it will provide crucial insights into the fight to protect cloud forests from the effects of climate change.
Yaneth is grateful for the support of an incredible field team- Dr. Emily Coffey, Dr. Sylvia Seger, Joe Stockert, and Kelly Coles, with support from students and staff from The Lovett School- who worked together to tag, identify, and measure trees, as well as support and the kind hospitality of the Ruiz Family. Specimens are being analyzed at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) by local expert Dr. Álvaro Javier Pérez Castañeda. This research will help bring us closer to demystifying cloud forests and protecting our planet’s future.
Laney Graduate School - Important Links:
Dr. Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec
Director of Graduate Studies
In July 2023 and August 2024, Dana set up 100 soil collars for in-situ greenhouse gas fluxes, collected over 300 soil samples, conducted forest inventory assessments, and performed isotope pool dilution technique to understand how the forest produces and consumes methane. From the first intensive field campaign, she analyzed her samples for baseline soil characteristics such as Total Carbon, Total Nitrogen, pH, soil moisture, and microbial biomass.
During the April 2024 Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium hosted by Georgia State University, Dana presented her poster titled “Heterogeneity in soil and landscape properties of Northern Forests” featuring her first year of fieldwork, wet lab analyses, and geospatial work. For her second summer of fieldwork, she was grateful to be a Research Assistant Intern with Woodwell Climate Research Center under the direction of senior research scientist Kathleen Savage.
Dana earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science (concentration in Earth and Atmospheric Science) and Minor in Music at Emory College in May 2023. Her passion for soil science began the summer after her freshman year when interned for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Southern California; her project focused on characterizing the electromagnetic and hydraulic properties of soil. Dana believes that researching soils encompasses an interdisciplinary mindset that will be crucial to solving inevitable climate challenges.
In addition to conducting scientific research, Dana is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who performs her original, environmental advocacy music. Her current environmental music project is recording her song about forest ecosystems for a grade-school audience as the outreach component of her master’s thesis. As a Just Energy Academy member with the Partnership for Southern Equity, Dana will perform her music in elementary schools to inspire kids to care for the Earth and better understand climate change.
Throughout her time in the graduate program, Dana has been recognized for her commitment to the science community. In her first year, she earned Honorable Mention for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Additionally, she earned the 2024 Al Thumann Scholarship from the Association of Energy Engineers and the Georgia Association of Environmental Professionals’ Scholarship.
PhD - Environmental Sciences and Society (ESS)
By integrating environmental and social sciences, we empower our alumni to effectively confront the urgent environmental challenges of our time, fostering innovative solutions that promote sustainability and justice across diverse communities.
In the News: Laney Graduate School Adds Multidisciplinary Environmental Sciences and Society PhD Program
