Ruth DeFries examines human transformation of the landscape and its consequences for climate, biogeochemical cycling, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services that make our planet habitable. The ...

Vijay Modi is a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and an Earth Institute faculty member. He also lead the UN Millennium Project effort on the role of energy and energy ...

The Earth Institute was established in 1995 to advance our understanding of Earth science and apply that knowledge to decisions made by governments and businesses around the world. A world leader in ...

The Millennium Villages project offers a bold, innovative model for helping rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Millennium Villages themselves are proving that by ...

Mark Cane has never been one to follow the status quo. After studying pure mathematics and what is now known as computer science at Harvard in the 60s, he took a hiatus from academia to work in New ...

The Earth Institute Professional Development Program helps students and alumni to achieve their sustainability-related career goals. The program offers skill-building seminars, networking ...

Landslides kill at least a thousand people each year but because they are often triggered by earthquakes or heavy rains, the danger remains poorly understood. Scientists know less about landslides ...

As the deputy director and director of research at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, Peter Schlosser plays an active role in developing interdisciplinary research on sustainable development—in ...

The Earth Institute at Columbia University aims to create a rich educational environment for study in the earth and environmental sciences. One way that it accomplishes this objective is by providing ...

Pedro Sanchez attributes the roots of his life’s work in soil sciences to the fact that he always liked to “play with dirt.” That boyhood pastime was nurtured by the fact that his family owned a ...

More than one billion people--one-sixth of the world's population--live in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day. At the Earth Institute, researchers take a “human needs" approach to developing ...

These are busy and exciting times for the Bamboo Bike Project (BBP). Established in 2007 with seed funding from the Earth Institute, the BBP has been working alongside the Earth Institute’s Millennium ...