Research programs in environmental and natural resource fields at the University of Wyoming can be viewed in six clusters that complement the Ruckelshaus Institute and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Please follow the links to view a list of UW faculty associated with each cluster. Contact information for faculty members is available here.
 

The American West has strong incentives to make commercial and industrial development compatible with environmental and natural resource protection. In particular, Wyoming is in the enviable position of being able to protect its natural environment while promoting economic vitality for current and future generations. Wyoming leads the nation in coal production, producing twice as much as the next highest state. Oil and gas production ranks fifth nationally, and the state is the world's largest supplier of trona, a mineral salt necessary in the manufacture of glass and detergents. Because this region has not yet charted an irreversible course antagonistic to environmental and resource compatibility, it can seek policies that simultaneously enhance the welfare of current and future generations.

Ecosystem Dynamics

Knowledge about the structure and function of ecosystems brings a greater appreciation of the natural development and dynamics of these systems. This understanding is essential if ecosystems are to be better managed to sustain the systems and the human values associated with them. Global change, biological diversity, and viable ecological systems are among the categories of ecosystem research underway at UW.

Economic Systems

Expertise emphasizing the quantitative and ethical analyses supporting decision-making is important. Policy development is a continuous process of problem definition, analysis, choice, implementation and evaluation. Analysis and decision making require that values be assigned to environmental and resource effects and damages, most of which do not have obvious markets expressing these values. Because knowledge about the behaviors of environmental systems is incomplete, risk estimation and valuation is central to environmental and resource decision making.

Human Interactions

Changes in natural environments and the laws and customs that provide access to these environments have profound impacts on individuals and societies. Effective policy-making and management of natural environments and resources must be grounded in a deep understanding of, and sensitivity to, the political, social and economic structures and processes that drive social and environmental change.

Land and Water Resources

The majority of Americans live near a body of fresh water. These waters have aesthetic, recreational, commercial, industrial and health uses. Human activities and land-use patterns have major impacts on the quantity and quality of fresh water, including groundwater. Land-use patterns also affect the quality and availability of land for wildlife habitat and agricultural uses. Analysis of environmental systems thus requires detailed attention to the links between land-use patterns, biological resources, and fresh water systems.

Atmospheric Quality

In the United States an estimated 27,000 major stationary sources of air pollution are subject to control laws as are hundreds of thousands of minor pollution sources. Distinct production processes emit a widely varying stream of airborne pollutants. When the zone of pollution transcends local boundaries so that effects in different locations and times are connected, the technological, economic and political difficulties of implementing comprehensive, efficient control measures are compounded. Understanding atmospheric transport, chemical processes, and effects on human health and the environment is important in finding solutions to air quality problems.