Climate Profile: Jackson Ewing

“Leading this class is one of the coolest parts of my job,” says Jackson Ewing, Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. The class is a practicum course focused around the United Nations Framework Convention …

Climate Profile: Brian Silliman

“Study nature, not books,” is one of ecologist Brian Silliman’s guiding principles and favorite phrases. It’s a quote from 19th-century naturalist Louis Agassiz that is (wonderfully, hilariously) on a sign outside a library at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. That’s not to say Silliman doesn’t also love books. The Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology and Director of …

Climate Profile: Juliet Wong

“I love marine invertebrates so much. They are just so cool and interesting. And I just want other people to love them too.” 

Clearly, it is difficult to overstate how passionate Juliet Wong is about her work and her research as part of the Duke Marine Lab. The love of the ocean and its creatures started early for her.

Climate Profile: David Hoffman

For David Hoffman, Duke’s Climate Commitment is not just about emissions or energy but about values. “The word commitment really means something,” he says. “It’s an expression of institutional values. Our job is to interrogate those values and then connect them to action so that the benefits extend beyond ourselves, to society at large.” 

Climate Profile: Tim Profeta

After graduating from Yale in political science, Tim Profeta volunteered at the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC).  

“Environmental issues are this multidimensional multidisciplinary monster and I didn’t know exactly where my passion was. I got exposed to all these people – economists, chemists, biologists, lawyers. I realized I liked the role of the lawyer. I wanted to be the one who put the suit …