Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA

Mapping Community: CDLS Fellow Olivia Zhang on Climate, Data, & Storytelling From experiencing the effects of climate change to working towards solutions: read about Olivia's journey. Even from an early age, community has been a central theme in Olivia Zhang’s life. At just a few months old, Hurricane Katrina hit her birthplace of New Orleans, fully flooding her family’s entire neighborhood. Her …

Announcing Winners of the 2026 La Kretz Center and Stunt Ranch Reserve Research Awards Congratulations to our 2026 awardees! Congratulations to the 12 UCLA conservation researchers awarded the 2026 La Kretz Center and Stunt Ranch Reserve Research Awards! Use the links below to visit their project page and learn more about their background and project goals. Divine Adeboye (Undergraduate): Chemica…

La Kretz Center Partners with Turtle Survival Alliance on Joint Initiative to Transform Turtle Conservation The Atlas of Turtle Genomes for Conservation is a national effort to generate high-quality genomic reference maps that will revolutionize conservation and support the repatriation of trafficked turtles.

In memoriam: Morton La Kretz, 100, alumnus, environmental champion and lifelong supporter of UCLA Morton La Kretz served on the IoES advisory board and established the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science. Administered through the IoES in partnership with the National Park Service, the center is a pioneer in science aimed at preserving California’s rich biodiversity.

CDLS Repeating Events: Winter Quarter CDLS hosts a variety of weekly events for fellows and community members. Sign up to the CDLS mailing list or view our events to find out about other events and opportunities to meet CDLS Fellow commitments. We look forward to seeing you get involved! Climate Currents Climate Currents is a Fellow-led creative blog and working group for writers, artists, and mu…

VSTEM Winter 2026 Workshops Veterans in STEM (VSTEM) are hosting hybrid workshops this quarter on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4pm – 5pm PT. VSTEM’s focuses on supporting veterans & people who are veteran-affiliated (dependents and spouses). However, these events are open to all CDLS Fellows & community members. RSVP for Workshops linktr.ee/VSTEM.CDLS Workshops are either on Zoom or at: UCLA Geolo…

STEM, Star Wars & Sea Monsters How Cosplay for Science bridges science & pop culture “I’m not a scientist” is a sentence CDLS Fellows Gabriel-Philip Santos and Randy Flores frequently hear during cosplay conventions when interacting with the general public at their science-themed booths. Visitors often lead with the assumption that since they don’t work in research or academic spaces, they can’t …

Deepak Rajagopal for The Hindu Businessline — CAFE norms are too lenient Deepak Rajagopal, professor at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, discusses India’s proposed fuel-economy rules — Phase III Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards — in his op-ed for The Hindu Businessline, explaining how the design of these standards shape what kinds of cars end up on the road. …

Stress-relief: How veteran Tyrus Korecki encourages mindfulness and mentorship Learn about Tyrus Korecki's journey and the CDLS program VSTEM. Tyrus Korecki understands stress. Before beginning a PhD in Health Psychology at UCLA, Tyrus spent eight years in the Air Force as a pilot, an experience that gave him an empirical understanding of high-pressure conditions. A long-time yoga lover, he disco…

Nique Stumbaugh: Pioneering AI in Space Weather – and Opening Doors in STEM Learn about a CDLS Fellow's early career trajectory Dominique (“Nique”, pronounced “Nikki”) Stumbaugh just published her first scientific article as lead author about AI prediction of space weather environments. It’s a big deal – marking a major milestone in her professional academic career, but is also something she neve…

How an international student from Chile is making waves in CDLS

How a CDLS Fellow is bridging science and journalism

Now Accepting Applications from UCLA Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, & Postdoctoral Researchers. Deadline to Apply: December 1st, 2025

The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is proud to share that Ph.D. candidate Lorena De la Puente Burlando has been accepted into the 2025–2026 Critical Minerals Research Lab,…

Featured in this week’s Los Angeles Times Climate and Environment coverage, Edith de Guzman, Ph.D. ‘23, brings climate and heat inequities to the spotlight. This summer at Descano Gardens, a…

Are you a Cameroonian citizen and looking for a position in ecology and conservation? The Ebony Project is hiring a Research Assistant to support tropical forest restoration and community-based conservation in…

Featured in this week’s Los Angeles Times Climate and Environment coverage, UCLA Ph.D. student Wilson Sherman shares insights on how inconsistent policies, surveillance infrastructure and fragmented governance affect where wildlife…

Rajit Gadh, professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, joined LAist 89.3-FM’s “AirTalk” to discuss how large-scale battery storage is…

UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) Magazine has been ranked #2 on Feedspot’s list of the Top 30 California Sustainability Blogs. The list recognizes the most influential platforms…

Shanna Shaked, adjunct professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and senior associate director at UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences, has been…