Research Areas
Atmospheric Science research at the Nicholas School is interdisciplinary in nature and encompasses a broad range of fields, including climatology, exposure science, chemistry, computer modeling, geochemistry, geological sciences, aeronomy, cloud physics and dynamic meteorology.
Climate change research at the Nicholas School encompasses a broad range of fields, including air quality, human and social impacts, ecosystems, global warming, atmospheric science, climatology, climate modeling, sustainability, climate policy, geothermal dynamics and land use planning.
Ecology & conservation research at the Nicholas School is interdisciplinary and spans a broad range of fields, including biology, marine science, resource economics, sustainability, natural resource management, forestry, land-use change, population studies, geospatial analysis, biochemistry and restoration science.
Economics, policy & governance research at the Nicholas School is interdisciplinary in nature, combining the physical, biological and social sciences to study how natural resource policy affects the economic choices of individuals and businesses, and how they in turn affect resource consumption and the environment.
Energy research at the Nicholas School encompasses the biological, physical and social sciences. It covers a broad range of fields, including urban planning, environmental design, energy conservation, energy policy, energy physics, energy economics, renewable energy, sustainability and environmental anthropology.
Environmental health research at the Nicholas School focuses on the impacts of the natural and built environment on both human and ecological health. It encompasses fields including ecotoxicology, exposure science, environmental chemistry, environmental exposomics, environmental epidemiology, water quality, climate change and natural resource management.
Food systems research at the Nicholas School encompasses faculty expertise in a broad range of fields, including ecology, sustainable agriculture, fisheries management, resource economics, community-based ecosystem management, ethics, environmental justice, soil science and eco-labeling.
Forestry research at the Nicholas School encompasses a broad range of fields, including ecology, climate change, forest management, forestry policy, watershed management, wildfire management, invasive species, silviculture, hydrology, soil science, and natural resource economics and finance.
Geoscience research at the Nicholas School encompasses many fields, including geochemistry, geobiology, geoengineering, physical oceanography, geoinformatics, geophysics, hydrology, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, geography, sedimentology, seismology, soil science and stratigraphy.
Marine and coastal research at the Nicholas School encompasses many fields, including biological oceanography, marine biology, ecology and conservation, sustainability, sociology, geospatial and remote sensing technology, economics, policy and governance, bioacoustics, molecular biology, fisheries and resource management, and ocean energy.
Sustainability research at the Nicholas School spans many fields, including biodiversity, food systems, conservation, clean energy, climate change, agriculture, ecosystem science, green economics, restoration ecology, soils, sustainable forestry and ecotourism.
Nicholas School faculty develop and use innovative technologies to study air quality, water quality, endangered species and habitats, carbon capture and storage, ecological and human health, energy efficiency, green chemistry, renewable energy, sustainable design and numerous other fields.
Toxicology research at the Nicholas School encompasses many fields, including aquatic toxicology, ecology, ecotoxicology, environmental health, environmental chemistry, exposure science, forensic toxicology and risk assessment.
Research on the urban environment at the Nicholas School blends expertise in population studies, land-use change, sustainability, exposure science, environmental health, ecotoxicology, environmental justice, environmental policy, water and wastewater management, air quality and environmental engineering.
Water research at the Nicholas School spans many focal areas, including aquatic ecosystems, climate change, coastal ecosystems, desalination, groundwater, hydrology, stormwater runoff, streams, water resource management, and water quality and availability.
Wetland research at the Nicholas School spans many fields, including carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation, flood control, invasive species, resource ecology, restoration science, sediment transport, soil science, ecology and conservation, and nutrient cycling.
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What We're Studying: NSOE Faculty Research Symposium Highlights
Learn more about the wide array of research underway in this series of stories on the Nicholas School of the Environment's annual faculty research symposium held at the Duke Marine Lab.
lab of the month series
NSOE Field Notes
Learn about research happening across Duke Environment through faculty profiles and Q&As that highlight current research projects as well as the experiences of lab members themselves.
Celebrating 30 Years of Impact at the Nicholas School
We're honoring the Nicholas School’s 30th anniversary with a collection of 30 remarkable discoveries, innovations, and research initiatives that illustrate the breadth and depth of our faculty’s expertise and its far-reaching impacts.