About Me

165211_bloomhardt01Dr. Elizabeth Doran is an environmental engineer and scientist focused on using interdisciplinary approaches to help better understand and address complex environmental problems.

Utilizing her broad base of knowledge and experience, a theoretical grounding in experimental techniques and high-dimensional coupled systems modeling and analysis, Dr. Doran’s research employs geospatial, agent based and integrated assessment modeling techniques to advance the science of sustainability and socio-environmental resilience in a changing climate. Her recent research has focused on modeling and mitigating extreme heat exposure in the urban and built environment, energy efficiency and equity; the role of agriculture, forest and floodplain land use and natural resource management on water quality; and, the potential impact of mega-urban region governance on production and consumption system sustainability.

Dr. Doran currently hols an appointment as an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Vermont. She joined the UVM Transportation Research Center in 2020 where her research builds on her experience conducting urban field experiments to benchmark land use and urban climate impacts from light rail infrastructure in the southeast US. Dr Doran is also an Affiliated Faculty of the Gund Institute for Environment, where, since 2017, she has collaborated with a global network of researchers to advance the science of sustainability and planetary wellbeing. Dr. Doran holds a Ph.D. from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in the Division of Earth and Ocean Science, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences from the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, and a B. S. in Environmental Engineering from Tufts University’s School of Engineering.

Her book, Innovations in Home Energy Use: A Sourcebook for Behavior Change is available from Amazon or by request.

The Doran Sustainable Futures Lab

2015_11_19_UR_DOWThe Doran Sustainable Futures Lab is directed at understanding and enabling climate change adaptation and resilience in dynamic socio-environmental systems. My lab’s research employs a multidisciplinary approach to conduct basic science and translate it into applied technical and policy solutions to address challenges stemming from modern land use and built environment practices.

Our recent work has been focused, for example, on (1) understanding the magnitude and distribution of heat exposure disparity in small cities and rural communities, and the public’s capacity for adaptation and resilience to this public health threat; (2) building robust decision-support tools to guide prioritization of nature-based restoration and conservation of Vermont’s floodplains; and (3) using machine learning techniques to understand the role of land use and climate drivers on infectious disease occurance to inform policy and intervention strategies in low and middle income countries. 

Select Publications

ARTICLES

Doran, Elizabeth, Jay Golden, Kira Matus, Lois Lebel, Vanessa Timmer, Maarten van’t Zelfde, and Arjan de Konig. (2023) The emerging role of mega-urban regions in the sustainability of global production-consumption systems. Nature Urban Sustainability, 3:23; https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-023-00098-w.

Doran, Elizabeth M. B., Mary Doidge, Robin Wilson, Semra Aytur. (2022) Understanding farmers’ conservation behavior over time: A longitudinal application of the transtheoretical model of behavior change. Journal of Environmental Management. 323:116136. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116136.

Zia, A., A.W. Schroth, J.S. Hecht, P. Isles, P.J. Clemins, S. Turnbull, P. Bitterman, Y. Tsai, I.N. Mohammed, G. Bucini, E.M.B. Doran, C. Koliba, A. Bomblies, B. Beckage, J. Winter, E.C. Adair, D.M. Rizzo, B. Gibson, G. Pinder. (2022) Climate change-legacy phosphorus synergy hinders lake response to aggressive water policy targets. Earth’s Future. DOI: 10.1029/2021EF002234

Doran, Elizabeth M. B., Asim Zia, Stephanie E. Hurley, Yushiou Tsai, Christopher Koliba, Carol Adair, Rachel E. Schattman, Donna M. Rizzo, V. Ernesto Méndez. (2020) Social-Psychological Determinants of Farmer Intention to Adopt Nutrient Best Management Practices: Implications for Resilient Adaptation to Climate Change. Journal of Environmental Management. 275:111304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111304.

Doran, Elizabeth M. B., Jay S. Golden, and Billie Turner, II. (2017) “Coupled Systems and Challenge Nexus: Two Emerging Approaches to Sustainability Science.” Current Opinion In Environmental Sustainability, 29:138-144. DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.01.013.

Doran, Elizabeth M. B. and Jay S. Golden. (2016) “Climate and Sustainability Implications of Land Use Alterations in an Urbanizing Region: Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.” Journal of Environmental Protection, 7(7):1072-1088. DOI: 10.4236/jep.2016.77096.

BOOKS AND CHAPTERS

Doran, Elizabeth M. B., Lindsay Barbeiri, Ida Kubiszewski, Kate Pickett, Tom Dietz, Michael Abrams, Richard Wilkenson, Robert Costanza, Stephen C. Farber. (2020) “Frameworks and Systems Thinking for Measuring and Achieving Sustainable Wellbeing.” in Costanza, Robert, Jon Erikson, Josh Farley, and Ida Kubiszewski, Eds. Sustainable Wellbeing Futures: A Research and Action Agenda for Ecological Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA. pp. 103-126.

Costanza, Robert, Elizabeth M. B. Doran, Tatiana Gladkikh, Ida Kubiszewski, Valerie Luzadis, Eric Zencey. (2020) “Creating Positive Futures for Humanity on Earth.” in Costanza, Robert, Jon Erikson, Josh Farley, and Ida Kubiszewski, Eds. Sustainable Wellbeing Futures: A Research and Action Agenda for Ecological Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA. pp. 17-26.

Southwell, Brian G., Elizabeth M. B. Doran, and Laura S. Richman, Eds. (2015) Innovations in Home Energy Use: A Sourcebook of Ideas for Behavior Change, Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press.

Doran, Elizabeth M. B. “Leverage Points for Achieving Sustainable Consumption in Homeowner Energy Use.” in Southwell, Brian G., Elizabeth M. B. Doran, Laura S. Richman, Eds. (2015) Innovations in Home Energy Use: A Sourcebook of Ideas for Behavior Change, Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press. Reviewed in Energy Research and Social Science

BOOK REVIEWS

Doran, Elizabeth M. B. and Brian G. Southwell. (2016) Rev. of Fact and Fiction in Global Energy Policy: 15 Contentious Questions, by Benjamin K. Sovacool, Marilyn A. Brown and Scott V. Valentine. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. DOI 10.1007/s13412-016-0417-2.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Doran, Elizabeth. Priority Intervention Points to Mitigate Urban Heat in the Context of Planning for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project. 4th International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Island, National University of Singapore, Singapore. May 30-31 and June 1, 2016.

Doran, Elizabeth, Jay S. Golden and Douglas P. Nowacek. Sustainable Systems Analysis Framework for Oceans: Scenarios for Conventional and Bio-based Energy Commodities. Conference Poster, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2013.

Gibbs, S. Chad, Ivan Wang, Elizabeth Bloomhardt and Earl H. Dowell. Aeroelastic Behavior of Noise-Reducing Membranes for Aircraft Lifting Surfaces Part I: Theory. Conference Proceedings, 53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 23-26, 2012.

Wang, Ivan, S. Chad Gibbs, Elizabeth Bloomhardt, and Earl H. Dowell. Aeroelastic Behavior of Noise-Reducing Membranes for Aircraft Lifting Surfaces Part II: Experiment. Conference Proceedings, 53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 23-26, 2012.

Bloomhardt, Elizabeth and Earl H. Dowell. Study of the Aeroelastic Behavior of Flat Plates and Membranes with Mixed Boundary Conditions in Axial Subsonic Flow. Conference Proceedings, 52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ACS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Denver, CO, April 4-7, 2011.

TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS

Bloomhardt, L. (2012). Environmental Health Summit: Incorporating Public and Environmental Health into Sustainable Solutions: Recommendations from the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative. http://environmentalhealthcollaborative.org/images/2011_Environmental_Health_Summit_Recommendation_FINAL.pdf

GENERAL INTEREST PUBLICATIONS

Envirobites blog, “Environmental science research for everyone.” Bimonthly contributor, August 2017 – Present. Available online: envirobites.org.

Green Devil Column, “Following the journey toward a greener Duke,” The Chronicle, biweekly, January 2010 – December 2011. Archives can be found at http://www.dukechronicle.com or http://www.dukegreendevil.wordpress.com.

Private: Other Projects & Affiliations

PROJECTS

Envirobites

I currently contribute periodic blog posts to the envirobites.org website on topics related to land use, water quality and freshwater pollution. The site is a collaborative initiative that aims to bring environmental science research to the general public in a digestible form that is easy to read and understand. Sister sites include astrobites and chembites. Each website features founders and contributors from the graduate and post doctoral scholar communities who are committed to effective science communication and have participated in the flourishing ComSciCon series of workshops.

Bass Connections: LIT HoMESInnovations_Cover

Over the course of the 2014-15  academic year, I was part of a unique experiential learning experience made possible through the Duke University Bass Connections Program in Energy. Together, my colleagues from across the university and I spent the year planning a one day summit that took place in late February. The focus of the summit was: Leveraging Individual Transitions to Home Ownership to Motivate Energy Savings (LIT HoMES). Participants attending the summit have since contributed time and effort to fleshing out the ideas presented there for inclusion in a source book titled Innovations in Home Energy Use: A Sourcebook of Ideas for Change, published by RTI Press in December, 2015. The book is currently available on Amazon.

Duke Green Devil

The Duke Green Devil project was a regular bi-weekly column I wrote for the Duke student newspaper The Chronicle for two years from January, 2010 to December, 2011. The column covered the University’s efforts to meet the Climate Action Plan goal of becoming a climate neutral campus by 2024 as well as efforts to tackle other issues related to sustainability. An archive of past columns can be found here or here.

AFFILIATIONS

Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont

I am currently honored to be an affiliated postdoctoral scholar at the newly formed Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. The Gund brings together a diverse population of scholars from across campus and around the world that are each interested in addressing the global sustainability challenges of our day. It’s an exciting time to be a member of the community as the mission and future directions of the Gund take shape.

Duke Center for Sustainability & Commerce

During my time at Duke, I had the privilege to be affiliated with the research group at the Duke Center for Sustainability & Commerce. Led by Director Jay Golden, the Center leverages partnerships, research and education to address the complex challenges arising from global commerce to provide governments and industry with innovative strategies, tools and solutions.

Lake Meddybemps Association

The Lake Meddybemps Association (LMA) is a volunteer based, citizen science organization based in Meddybemps, Maine, USA that is focused on the preservation and well-being of the water and lake quality of Meddybemps Lake. The lake is located in Washington County, Maine. For three years from 2012-2015, I was honored to lead this dedicated group of volunteers and citizen scientists in their mission of ongoing lake monitoring, education, and outreach. Prior to my tenure as President and Vice President of the organization, I served as a board member, a position to which I returned and now continue to serve the organization. More information can be found here.

Private: Contact Me

Do you have a question or comment about the site, my research, or the topics covered here? Send me a message! I’ll be in touch as soon as possible.

 

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