People

Seán Kavanagh

skavanagh@seas.harvard.edu

Environmental Fellow: 2024-2026

PhD, Computational Materials Science, University College London & Imperial College London

Seán Kavanagh uses quantum mechanical simulations to identify bottlenecks in the performance of renewable energy materials. Seán studied for his undergraduate in Nanoscience, Physics and Chemistry of Advanced Materials at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in...

Melissa E. Kemp

mkemp@austin.utexas.edu

National Science Foundation Environmental Fellow: 2015-2017

PhD Biology, Stanford University

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin

Melissa Kemp is an evolutionary biologist who uses the fossil record and historical data to investigate species responses to global change phenomena. Melissa earned her BA in biology from Williams College in 2010 and her PhD in biology from Stanford...

Shannon Kennedy

skennedy@fas.harvard.edu

Program Coordinator

Jacob Krich

jkrich@uottawa.ca

Ziff Environmental Fellow: 2009-2011

PhD Physics, Harvard University

Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Ottawa

Jacob Krich is a theoretical condensed matter physicist interested in the quantum mechanical properties of materials at the nanoscale, and especially on applications of these properties to clean energy science. Jacob is completing his PhD in physics at...

Jiameng Lai

jiamenglai@fas.harvard.edu

Environmental Fellow: 2025-2027

PhD, Soil and Crop Science, Cornell University

Jiameng Lai is an environmental scientist who integrates plant physiology theories, land surface modeling, satellite remote sensing, and data assimilation techniques to monitor, understand and predict the complex dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems in...

Brian Lander

brian_lander@brown.edu

Ziff Environmental Fellow: 2015-2017

PhD East Asian Languages and Literatures, Columbia University

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Environment and Society & History, Brown University

Brian Lander employs textual, archaeological and paleoecological sources to study the human impact on the environment in ancient China. Brian received a BA in history from the University of Victoria, an MA in East Asian studies from McGill University and...

Elizabeth Landis

elandis@holycross.edu

Henson Environmental Fellow: 2010-2012

PhD Chemistry, University of Wisconsin

Current Position: Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross

Beth Landis is a materials chemist who is interested in applying surface chemistry to solar energy collection and storage. Beth received a PhD in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2010. She previously completed a BA in chemistry and...

Jessica LaRocca

jlarocca@fas.harvard.edu

Ziff Environmental Fellow: 2012-2014

PhD Pathobiology, Brown University

Current Position: Mammalian Toxicologist and Regulatory Science Team Leader, Corteva Agriscience

Jessica LaRocca is an environmental toxicologist interested in how exposures to endocrine disruptors during pregnancy can influence development before and after birth. Jessica received her BS in environmental biochemistry at the University of Connecticut...

Joanna Linzer

jlinzer@holycross.edu

Environmental Fellow: 2021-2023

PhD, History, Yale University

Current Position: Assistant Professor, History Department, College of the Holy Cross

Joanna Linzer is a historian of Japan, researching the environmental and social consequences of developments in industry and agriculture.​ Joanna earned a BA in History at Yale University and an AM from Harvard’s Regional Studies–East Asia program. Her...

Chiara Lo Prete

cxl63@psu.edu

Ziff Environmental Fellow: 2012-2014

PhD Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Current Position: Associate Professor of Energy Economics, The Pennsylvania State University

Chiara Lo Prete is an energy economist who studies issues involved in the design and regulation of electricity markets. Chiara earned a BA in economics from Luiss University and an MA in energy economics from the Scuola Mattei. While working for the...

Francis Ludlow

fludlow@tcd.ie

Ziff Environmental Fellow: 2011-2013

PhD Geography, Trinity College Dublin

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Medieval Environmental History, Trinity College Dublin

Francis Ludlow is a historical climatologist studying the long neglected documentary record of annalistic and chronicle sources compiled in Ireland from the fifth to the seventeenth centuries AD, with respect to their rich evidence for the occurrence of...

Cameron MacDonald

cgmacdonald@fas.harvard.edu

Environmental Fellow: 2025-2027

PhD, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Princeton University

Cameron uses numerical models and theory to better understand the fundamental dynamics of Earth's atmosphere. ​ ​ Cameron received his B.Sc. in mathematical physics from the University of Waterloo in 2020. While working toward his undergraduate degree, he...