The Center for Environmental Studies fosters research across disciplines and media. We are dedicated to supporting scholarly research that broadens our understanding of past, contemporary, and future environmental questions.
2025-2026
Manuscript Working Group
CES’ Manuscript Working Group is a competitive year-long writing development workshop that provides research support and editorial feedback on writing for five participants. The 2025-2026 scholars are Dr. Daniel Cohan, Dr. Camille DeSisto, Dr. Chaney Hill, Dr. Gina Pizzo, Dr. Rebecca Potts, Dr. Joshua Silver, Dr. Sean Smith, and Dr. Weston Twardowski.
Lunch Special Series:
CES hosts regular lunches with faculty and students from across the university focusing on broad, interdisciplinary topics related to the environment. 2025-2026 Lunch Specials include:
Food Futures (Sept. 16): Dr. Cassandra S. Diep, Dr. Huatse Gyal, Dr. Chin Jou, and Dr. Rachel Kimbro
Overconsumption and Waste (Nov. 3): Dr. Kristianna Bowles, Dr. Rachel Meidl, Dr. Nana Osei-Opare, and Dr. Matthew Sima
2024-2025
Native Lands: An Oral History of Indigenous People’s in Texas
PI: Texas Tribal Buffalo Project and Dr. Weston Twardowski, in partnership with the Rice University Center for Civic Leadership
An oral history project focused on understanding contemporary challenges facing Indigenous peoples, cultural loss related to migration and historic land loss, and needs to address past injustices.
To learn more and utilize the archive, please visit the Woodson Research Center's dedicated website here.
Building the "Creosote Contamination in Houston’s Fifth Ward" Collection
PI: Dr. Carrie Masiello, Dr. Lisa Spiro, Dr. Weston Twardowski, and Dr. Qilin Li
An archival and oral history project to preserve the history around the creosote contamination in Houston’s greater Fifth Ward. Additional mentorship provided by Dr. Qilin Li and Dr. Weston Twardowski.
Manuscript Working Group
CES’ Manuscript Working Group is a competitive year-long writing development workshop that provides research support and editorial feedback on writing for five participants. The inaugural scholars are: Dr. Judith Brunton, Dr. Dan Cohan, Dr. Huatse Gyal, Dr. Cymene Howe, and Dr. Casey Williams.
Lunch Special Series:
CES hosts regular lunches with faculty and students from across the university focusing on broad, interdisciplinary topics related to the environment. 2024-2025 Lunch Specials include:
Interdisciplinary Collaborations (Oct. 2): Dr. Anantika Gori, Dr. Cymene Howe, Dr. Scott Solomon, and Alison Weaver
Place (Nov. 3): Dr. Lacy Johnson, Dr. Maggie Tsang, Dr. Daniel Potter, and Dr. Sindhu Thirumalaisamy
What is a Solution? (March 5): Dr. Dominic Boyer, Dr. Carrie Masiello, Dr. Frederi Viens, and Dr. Casey Williams
2023-2024
Carbon Capture: Unclean, Unsafe, and Unjust
PI: Commission Shift (Paige Powell) in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing, Arryana Lyon, Paige Fastnow, Anya Yan, and Dr. Weston Twardowski.
Supported by the Gulf Scholars Program at Rice University.
Big, Hot, and Sticky
PI: Maggie Tsang, Dalia Munenzon
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
MESOCOSM
PI: Brittany Utting and Daniel Jacobs
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
2022-2023
Wild About Equity: An Examination of Houston's Biodiversity
PI: The Nature Conservancy (Jaime Gonzalez) in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab, Dawson Franklin, Marina Klein, Roxanna Mendez, Sharon Quinn, and Dr. Weston Twardowski.
Supported by the Gulf Scholars Program at Rice University.
2021-2022
D.I.T.C.H. (Drainage Infrastructure Toolkit Charting Houston)
PI: Bayou City Water Keeper in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab, Alex Cho, Shivani Gollapudi, Hadley Medlock, and Madison Roy
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Flood Investment in our Watershed
PI: Mashal Awais and Ayanna Jolviet Mccloud, in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Critical Ecosystems Story Map
PI: Mashal Awais and Ayanna Jolviet Mccloud, in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Wetlands Mapping Tool
PI: Mashal Awais and Ayanna Jolviet Mccloud, in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Injustice in the Sewers
PI: Mashal Awais and Ayanna Jolviet Mccloud, in collaboration with the Center for Research Computing's Spatial Studies Lab
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
2020-2021
Floodplain Reclamation Project
PI: Albert Pope, Gus Sessions Wortham Professor of Architecture
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Open Ditch Network: Micro design strategies for overlooked green drains in Houston
PI: Amelyn Ng, Wortham Fellow, Rice Architecture
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
Exploring Amphibious Acceptance in Diluvial Houston
PI: Dr. Dominic Boyer, Professor of Anthropology
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.
A Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting Children’s Stories about Hurricane Harvey
PI: Dr. Gisela Heffes, Associate Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture
Through the Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project) at Rice University.