Science, Environment and Development Group

Sustainability Science Seminar

Convenors: William Clark and Nancy Dickson

Time and place: Starting 6 February 2007 and unless otherwise noted, the Spring 2007 Sustainability Science Seminar will meet weekly on Tuesdays, 8:30-10:00 am, in the Perkins Room (R-415), 4th Floor, Rubenstein Building, Kennedy School of Government (Map)

Description: The weekly Sustainability Science Seminar serves as a forum for participants in the Center for International Development’s Sustainability Science Program to present research plans and work in progress, providing opportunities for shaping proposals, critiquing ongoing research, and giving and receiving constructive peer review. The seminar, as the Program itself, considers work that explores basic understanding of the dynamics of human-environment systems; facilitates the design, implementation, and evaluation of practical interventions that promote sustainability in particular places and contexts; and improves linkages between relevant research and innovation communities on the one hand, and relevant policy and management communities on the other.

Audience: Graduate students, fellows, research staff, and faculty are invited to attend the seminar.

Sponsor: Sustainability Science Program at Harvard’s Center for International Development

For more information: To receive periodic announcements about upcoming local events either sponsored by or relevant to the activities of the Sustainability Science Program, click here to send an email to subscribe to the sustsci_events list. [Note: You will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription request; you must reply in order to complete the subscription process.] For questions or further information, please contact Mary Anne Baumgartner.

Event archive: Fall 2006 series, 2005-2006 series, 2004-2005 series, 2003-2004 series

Spring 2007

Tuesday, 6 February, 2007
Self-introductions, updates on the fellows' research plans, and an overview of Spring plans for the Sustainability Science Program

Tuesday, 13 February, 2007
Sustainability science: Core questions and grand challenges
William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Slides presented (PDF download)

Tuesday, 20 February, 2007
Striding the valley of death - Can monetary prizes speed up the translation of basic research into practice? A case study from the field of orphan diseases (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Nicole Szlezák, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Democracy on the commons: Party competition and local cooperation in India
Ashwini Chhatre, Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Tuesday, 27 February, 2007
Moving into the floodplain: Chesterfield, Missouri and the 1993 Flood
Carolyn Kousky, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 6 March, 2007
Protecting biodiversity in Norwegian and Swedish forestry: New policy instruments and competing knowledge producers
Lars Gulbrandsen, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 13 March, 2007
Incentive-based conservation: Paying for erosion control in Indonesia
Kelsey Jack, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Challenge and change: Exploring the barriers to the implementation of green chemistry in the United States
Kira Matus, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 20 March, 2007
Drought-induced Impacts on livelihoods and the role of policy and protected areas on the Maasai of East Africa
David Nkedianye, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 27 March, 2007
Spring break – no seminar

Tuesday, 3 April, 2007
Biofuels as a global energy commodity? An issue in the middle of policy, sustainability and trade agendas
Gloria Visconti, Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Incentives for research in Malaria: Assessing open and closed intellectual property rights regimes
Suerie Moon, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 10 April, 2007
The role of boundary organizations in linking knowledge and action: The case of payments for ecosystem services in Indonesia
Elizabeth McNie, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Labor supply and productivity of agricultural workers in Kenya
Jessica Leino, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 17 April, 2007
Health and disease, local and global – science and politics in the emerging global health domain: A case study of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Nicole Szlezák, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 24 April, 2007
Protected forest areas and development in northern Thailand
Kate Sims, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 1 May, 2007
Issues in evaluating wildland fire and fuels management
Elizabeth Reinhardt, Associate, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 8 May, 2007
Non-state institutions for global environmental governance: The emergence and effectiveness of forest and fisheries certification
Lars Gulbrandsen, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Drought-induced impacts on livelihoods and the role of policy and protected areas among the Maasai of East Africa
David Nkedianye, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Tuesday, 15 May, 2007
Forests at the intersection of institutional strategies for addressing rural poverty, biodiversity conservation, and climate change
Ashwini Chhatre, Doctoral Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University