The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and the URI Science and Story Lab are excited to introduce the first cohort of SciComm Identities Project Fellows. Out of a competitive applicant pool, thirteen Fellows were selected to participate in this innovative science communication fellowship for pre-tenure faculty of color. The 2023 Fellowship will focus on the intersections of climate change and energy, and Fellows study issues that range from data-driven sustainable transportation to institutional barriers of energy poverty.
Dr. Dominic J. Bednar is committed to fighting climate change by interweaving academic research on residential energy injustices in a way that engenders community engagement and visioning through the co-development of innovative and impactful solutions. Dr. Bednar is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Irvine’s School of Social Ecology in the Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy.
His research examines the institutional barriers of energy poverty recognition and response in the United States and explores the spatial, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic patterns of residential energy affordability, consumption, and efficiency. Their research also explores equitable and just pathways towards decarbonization and clean energy workforce development in Black and Brown communities. His body of work promotes ongoing policy analysis and program evaluations to improve community health and to
effectuate a just energy transition. Dr. Bednar holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and a MS in Natural Resources and Environment (Sustainable Systems) from the University of Michigan. He has been recognized as an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education Fellow (PAGE), Fulbright Scholar, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society member, Rackham Merit Fellow, and GEM Fellow.
Dr. Sergio Castellanos Rodriguez
Dr. Sergio Castellanos is an assistant professor at the UT Austin’s Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department, where he leads the RESET (Rapid, Equitable & Sustainable Energy Transitions) Lab, analyzing just decarbonization pathways for emerging economies, data-driven sustainable transportation approaches, and equitable local energy transitions. With collaborators, his interdisciplinary projects have been awarded international prizes (United Nations’ Data for Climate Action Challenge), won national competitions (México), and gathered media attention (Forbes, Greentech Media). Prior to UT Austin, he worked as a researcher at UC Berkeley leading bi-national (US-Mexico) projects, helping to bridge the clean energy technology gap between these two countries. Sergio holds an Engineering Ph.D. from MIT.
Dr. Chuqing Dong is an Assistant Professor of Advertising + Public Relations. Her research focuses on public relations, social responsibility, ethical relationship management, and digital media. Her primary research question asks, “How can public relations assist organizations of different types, such as corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, to be part of meaningful social change?” Dr. Dong’s work has been published in flagship journals in the field of public relations, such as Journal of Public Relations Research and Public Relations Review, and multidisciplinary journals, such as Internet Research, International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations (VOLUNTAS), and Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. Her articles have won multiple top paper awards at major communication conferences (e.g., ICA, AEJMC, IPRRC), and she is recently recognized as a Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar by The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication for her work on government public relations and the ethics of care. Dr. Dong earned her Ph.D. from the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. She also received a master’s degree in Public Policy (M.P.P.) and an M.A. degree in Professional Strategic Communication from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Christine C. Ekenga is a Rollins Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Trained in epidemiology and the environmental health sciences, Dr. Ekenga’s work focuses on investigating the contributions of environmental and occupational factors to human health and well-being. Much of her research focuses on the prevention and control of chronic diseases. In recent years, her work has explored environmental justice issues related to air quality, natural and built environments, and occupational health and safety. She utilizes transdisciplinary and community-engaged approaches to better understand complex public health challenges.
Dr. Ekenga earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from New York University and completed National Institutes of Health postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Jiawei Sophia Fu is an Associate Professor of Communication at the School of Communication and Information of Rutgers University. Her research interests revolve around organizational communication, social networks, digital technology, and social entrepreneurship and innovation. Dr. Fu is dedicated to applying mixed methods to answering one question: How can organizations more effectively tackle societal challenges? Dr. Fu has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and has won awards for her research from the Academy of Management, National Science Foundation, International Communication Association, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, National Communication Association, and Association for Chinese Communication Studies. She received a master’s degree in Statistics, a management certificate from the Kellogg School of Management, and Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society, all from Northwestern University.
Dr. Sharon Grant
Dr. Sharon Grant is a former Environmental Scientist/Wet Chemist who currently serves as Associate Professor and Director of African American Studies at Texas Lutheran University. She previously served as Associate Professor of the History of Christianity at Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina. In 2019 she was an applicant and was awarded the Science for Seminaries grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) through its Dialogue on Religion, Science and Ethics (DoSER) project. Dr. Grant began an initiative with the $75,000 grant called the International Center of Faith, Science and History ( ICFSH) to host sustainable programs that integrate religion and science – on campus, throughout the local community and beyond.
Dr Won Jung Kim is an assistant professor at Santa Clara University, School of Education and Counseling Psychology. Kim’s research explores and works toward justice-centered K-12 science education in formal (e.g., elementary/secondary schools) and informal (e.g., science museums) learning contexts. She believe that one way to center justice in/through science education is to provide students with learning programs that matter to their lives and concerns, such as programs involving climate change and its cascade effects. Her work involves research practice partnerships (RPP) with students and their teachers in South Korea (Korea hereafter) and the US (primarily in Lansing, Michigan and East San Jose, California) across different learning spaces. Through RPP with teachers and students, she has co-designed and implemented long- and short-term curricula that focus on the science of climate change, its societal consequences and predictions, critical consciousness of climate-justice issues.
Dr. Cynthia Lima is an Assistant Professor in STEM Education in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on developing, implementing, and examining STEM approaches based on math modeling and scientific inquiry to support teachers’ learning. Her interdisciplinary research uses STEM learning environments anchored on phenomena to promote understanding of the concept of energy and participation in STEM practices. Dr. Lima is also interested in equity and innovations in STEM assessment for diverse populations. Dr. Lima has secured funding from the National Science Foundation and other national organizations to support her research. She has presented at local, national, and international conferences. She is committed to equity and increasing participation in STEM among diverse populations.
Dr. Naaborle Sackeyfio is an Associate Professor of Global and Intercultural Studies at Miami University. Her research interrogates energy and resource politics, political economy, and the intersection between gender and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. She also examines the dynamics of eco-governance, economic change andempowerment for West African women. She is the author of Energy Politics and Rural Development: The Case of Ghana (Palgrave, 2018). Her publications have appeared in the journals such as New Political Science, African Affairs, and Review of Black Political Economy.
Dr. Parth Vaishnav is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Systems at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He says, “My research aims to understand how technology can help solve social problems. Much of my work focuses on the environmental and human health consequences of energy production and use. I employ quantitative decision analysis, buttressed by qualitative insight, to understand how economic, political, and operational realities constrain technology deployment. I focus on finding strategies to decarbonize the economy, and to adapt to the warming that has and will occur even if we cut greenhouse gas emissions very rapidly. I am particularly interested in finding ways to make both mitigation and adaptation equitable. My projects fall into two broad categories: (1) the environmental consequences of electrification, and (2) the consequences of automation for the environment, equity, and work.”