Addressing today’s most pressing environmental challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration, and our faculty are tackling pressing and complex problems from climate change to biodiversity loss. Researchers in biology, environmental science, geography, political science, and across the arts and humanities are pioneering solutions to ensure a sustainable future. Their work is driving innovation in conservation, energy policy, and environmental justice, transforming how we interact with and protect our planet.
Environment
Research stories
IU researcher helps solve mystery of clockwork-like earthquake system deep beneath the Pacific
IU seismologist Jianhua Gong has helped solve a 30-year mystery about why certain underwater faults produce large earthquakes like clockwork, and what’s actually stopping them from getting even b... Read more about IU researcher helps solve mystery of clockwork-like earthquake system deep beneath the Pacific
IU geochemist awarded prestigious environmental storytelling fellowship
Shelby Rader, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College at Indiana University Bloomington, has been selected as member of the 2026 cohort of Fellows for the Storymakers p... Read more about IU geochemist awarded prestigious environmental storytelling fellowship
Two IU College of Arts and Sciences faculty named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows
David Polly, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Chair of the department, and Christoph Irmscher, Distinguished Professor of English and the George F. Getz Jr. and Class of 1942 Profess... Read more about Two IU College of Arts and Sciences faculty named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows
With $1 million NSF grant, IU researcher tracks pesticide exposure across primates, people and farms
From tropical forests to smallholder farms, Indiana University’s Michael Wasserman is tracing how naturally occurring and human-made chemicals move through ecosystems, and how agricultural change... Read more about With $1 million NSF grant, IU researcher tracks pesticide exposure across primates, people and farms
New research aims to better predict and understand cascading land surface hazards
When an extreme weather event occurs, the probability or risk of other events can often increase, leading to what researchers call “cascading” hazards. For example, the danger of landslides or... Read more about New research aims to better predict and understand cascading land surface hazards