Welcome to the SENS Lab
The Socio-Environmental Networks and Sustainability (SENS) Lab is a research group at the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. We investigate how people interact with one another and with ecosystems, and how those interactions affect social and environmental outcomes.
Much of our work focuses on coupled human-natural systems, in which collective action among diverse stakeholder groups is often necessary to address environmental risk. Likewise, stakeholders must grapple with social and ecological dynamics that span multiple spatial/administrative scales. Our research is broadly organized around three core themes: 1) how diverse stakeholder groups conceptualize risk, individually and collectively, 2) how policy actors navigate complex risk mitigation governance systems, and 3) how governance systems self-organize to manage environmental risk (see Research).
We are grateful for funding from The Ohio State University, the Sustainability Institute, and the National Science Foundation.
News
September 1, 2023Congrats Prabhjot! New project on farmer cognition of complexity in agroecosystems and decision-making about cover cropping funded by a USDA NRC-SARE grant
August 8, 2023New paper with Max Nielsen-Pincus and Cody Evers on wildfire risk interdependence and bottom-up governance models
October 3, 2022New paper led by Harrison Fried, Theorizing Multilevel Closure Structures Guiding Forum Participation
September 13, 2022Kimberly and Harrison organize a panel of presentations (video) and paired workshops on environmental justice in extreme heat and adapting through collaborative networks
August 5, 2022New paper with a big team on how to reimagine fire science for the anthropocene
April 30, 2022New book chapter on methodological approaches to the Ecology of Games Framework with Mark Lubell, Jack Mewhirter, Francesca Vantaggiato, and Ramiro Berardo
April 11, 2022New paper with Jon Salerno and Paige Fischer on cognition of feedback loops in fire-prone social-ecological systems
March 17, 2022Congrats Kimberly! New project on equity in environmental organization outcomes funded by the CFAES Internal Grants Program
February 9, 2022New paper led by Harrison Fried on integrative gaps in complex environmental governance systems