The Columbia Climate School Postdoctoral Research Program brings together early-career scholars from across disciplines to advance solutions to the climate crisis and its connected challenges—spanning energy, water, food, health, ecosystems, risk, and climate justice. Embedded in Columbia’s world-class research ecosystem and working alongside faculty across the University and partner institutions, Climate School postdocs pursue innovative, policy-relevant research designed to generate real-world impact. The symposium will showcase the work of the following current Postdoctoral Researchers:
- Rebecca Gustine: Becca completed her PhD at Washington State University in Water Resources Engineering. Her research focuses on the connections between climate change, snow, food and water security, and broader societal impacts. She is trained as a hydrologic and ecohydrologic modeler but she frequently uses interdisciplinary methods including physically based modeling, remote sensing, and survey and interview methods.
- Presentation title: “Environmental Variability and Human Migration in South America”
- Linqiang He: Linqiang is currently a Lamont-Doherty Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University. Before joining Lamont, he received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on how regional hydroclimate responds to past and future warm climates.
- Presentation title: “Regional Hydroclimate Responses to Warming: Lessons from the Past”
- Lovees Lueong: Lovees is a climate change scientist and climate justice scholar whose research examines how participatory governance, anticipatory action and equitable climate finance can strengthen the resilience of vulnerable farming communities across Africa. His work focuses particularly on smallholder farmers and forest-dependent communities, exploring the intersections between climate information services, early-warning systems, climate-risk financing, gender equity and resilient agricultural production systems.
- Presentation title: “Participatory Governance and Equitable Access to Climate Information among African Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from a Multi-Country Survey”
- Pavithra Selvakumar: Pavi is an environmental social scientist interested in how communities navigate sustainability, environmental justice, and resilience in the face of today’s climate challenges. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Oklahoma State University. Her interdisciplinary background drives a research approach that combines technical fluency with a strong foundation in environmental policy and social inquiry. As a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Columbia Climate School, she studies community resilience, environmental justice, and the ways institutions and communities respond to climate-related challenges.
- Presentation title: “Beyond the Checklist: Toward Relational Engagement in Coastal Resilience Planning”
The Symposium will be presented and moderated by Suzana Camargo, Professor of Climate; Co-Director of the Postdoctoral Program, and Michael Puma, Professor of Climate; Co-Director of the Postdoctoral Program.
