Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

09/10/2026

IBES and Biology Professor James Kellner delivered the keynote address — “Why Openness and a Willingness to Take Risks Will Drive Your Success at Brown and Beyond” — at this year's Opening Convocation.

“The university has given you the freedom to explore, so use it, don’t waste it — point your freedom toward knowledge [and] have the courage to say what you think,” he told students. “Develop the character to change your mind and do this because your education demands it, because this great university — and society, too — needs people who are willing to say things, who know things, and because that is what an education is for.”

Watch the full ceremony, including Professor Kellner's remarks around minute 52: https://livestream.brown.edu/

09/09/2026

After decades of teaching, scholarship, and service, Professors Timmons Roberts and Kurt Teichert are entering their last academic year at Brown University. As they prepare to retire, they leave behind a lasting legacy through the students they've mentored, the research they've advanced, and the communities they've served.

Read on:

This fall marks the start of Roberts’ and Teichert’s final academic year at Brown. As they prepare to retire, they leave a lasting legacy through decades of teaching, scholarship, and service.

09/08/2026

Tune in to this week's episode of Possibly, IBES' podcast with Ocean State Media!

Experts say the devastating floods in Nepal at the end of August were caused in part by melting glaciers. On this episode from 2023, the Possibly team looks into why these glaciers are melting, and what we can do about it

09/04/2026

Meet Voss Fellow Isidora Stevens ’28! A double concentrator in ENVS and Social Analysis & Research, Stevens spent the summer in Colorado studying land stewardship and ecosystem change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin through community interviews and vegetation mapping.

Watch along as Stevens conducts fieldwork, and read more about her research: https://ibes.brown.edu/news/2026-09-01/isidora-stevens-voss

09/01/2026

Tune in to this week's episode of the Possibly podcast!

Environmental decisions aren't always straight forward. Like, is it worth cutting down a forest to build a solar farm? This week on Possibly we take a look.

09/01/2026

Tag along with Shailja Gangrade, an IBES postdoc affiliate supported by the Equitable Climate Futures initiative, and her team of undergraduate researchers!

08/28/2026

Meet the newest members of the IBES community, whose work spans climate science, economics, agriculture, sociology, public health, and global policy:

Meet the newest members of the IBES community, whose work spans climate science, economics, agriculture, sociology, public health, and global policy.

08/25/2026

Tune in to this week's episode of the Possibly podcast, a collaboration between IBES and Ocean State Media:

Lone star ticks are spreading all over Rhode Island. What should you know to stay safe?

08/20/2026

What does it take to turn a class assignment into a story? Brown students in IBES' Science Journalism course investigated environmental issues shaping communities across Providence and saw their work appear in Ecori News. Learn more:

What does it take to turn a class assignment into a story? Last fall, Brown students in IBES' Science Journalism course investigated environmental issues shaping communities across Providence and saw their work appear in ecoRI News.

08/18/2026

Are sewers the best way to deal with stormwater? Find out on this week's episode of the Possibly podcast, a collaboration between IBES and Ocean State Media!

Paved surfaces like roads, sidewalks, and driveways send stormwater into our sewers. This week on Possibly we explore engineering solutions that can help keep sewers and waterways clean