Latest research

Oceans advanced lecturer Robin Elahi and civil and environmental engineering Assistant Professor Christine Baker share tips for bringing a scientist’s perspective to your next trip to the coast.

Soaring water utility bills force many households to ration water use for essential needs while still falling behind on payments. Stanford scientists offer a new approach to measuring water affordability that could help utilities and government agencies identify and aid those most at risk.

Stanford researchers and others are assessing an innovative curriculum and infrastructure maintenance program that could provide a blueprint for more effective school-based sanitation and hygiene interventions.

New research provides the clearest evidence to date that a rapid burst of evolution 540 million years ago could have been caused by a small increase in oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere and shallow ocean waters.

Environmental law expert Deborah Sivas discusses the implications of the Supreme Court overturning the Chevron decision, which had established 40 years of precedent related to the independence of government agencies.

Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator grant, a multidisciplinary team is exploring policy options such as prescribed burning with the goal of reducing wildfire risk in California.

Stanford researchers are developing a technology to analyze wastewater for a range of pathogens. Their approach could lead to more timely and comprehensive public health guidance on issues such as drug-resistant pathogens and emerging diseases.

Leaders and experts from across sectors and countries show how investing in nature is an antidote to local and global crises and the foundation of a better future.

The study simulated the economic, environmental, and climate impacts of new hydropower projects using computer models, seeking optimal outcomes across sectors.

Researchers and collaborators in a densely populated California floodplain developed a way to help planners see how infrastructure designs, sea-level rise, and severe storms fueled by climate change will affect flood risk at the local level.

Tiny plankton play a huge role in regulating natural systems, but they remain poorly understood. Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash leads an international effort to develop innovative, low-cost tools that could help enable citizen scientists to monitor oceans and contribute to climate change solutions.

Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator Seed Grant, researchers created a mapping software to help people actively manage the recharge of groundwater.

The majority of people in the United States support affordable housing, but attitudes often shift when local developments are proposed. Stanford researchers have found that negative emotional associations with the idea of affordable housing, as well as racist beliefs, contribute significantly to neighborhood-level opposition.

Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property, and natural resources, and managing wildlife.

Residents of the wildfire-choked San Joaquin Valley desperately want something done about their air quality – but they want researchers to approach the work in a new way.

A study led by Economics Professor Matthew Gentzkow and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Professor Hunt Allcott investigated how quitting social media affected users’ political views leading up to the 2020 presidential vote.

Mastercard’s chief sustainability officer discusses how companies can avoid greenwashing and align with their social and environmental values.

A new white paper from Stanford researchers analyzes Western investor-owned utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans, highlighting those that are leading the way and identifying steps utilities with exposure to wildfire risk should be taking.

A new study of air pollution in U.S. homes reveals how much gas and propane stoves increase people’s exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to childhood asthma. Even in bedrooms far from kitchens, concentrations frequently exceed health limits while stoves are on and for hours after burners and ovens are turned off.

Conventional sunscreen ingredients can damage coral reefs and human health. An immunologist and a marine ecologist teamed up to develop a better approach.