SCHOLAR PROFILES

SICJS faculty scholars foster research, scholarship and teaching in in climate, environmental justice and sustainability.
 

Todd Aagaard

Todd Aagaard

Professor of Law 
Heller McGuinness Leadership Chair
Charles Widger School of Law

Todd's research focuses on issues of environmental law, energy law and regulation. In each of these areas, he tries to bring conceptual coherence and clarity to the legal treatment of issues of sustainability.   

Recent publications:

John Abubakar, OSA

John Abubakar, OSA

Chief Sustainability Officer
Chair, Sustainability Leadership Council
Adjunct Professor of Sustainability
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

John’s research focuses on sustainable cities, human flourishing, circular economy and sharing economy. He is a transdisciplinary scholar interested in advancing the polyculture of complementary knowledges in improving human flourishing and nature’s health. As a scholar-practitioner, he works within established systems to implement change. He is a fellow of the International Society for Development and Sustainability.

Recent publications:

  • Abubakar, J. (2026). Sustainable Cities and Communities: Informal Settlements and Left behind places, (forthcoming)
  • Abubakar, J. (2025). The Bible and Sustainability, London: Routledge.
  • Abubakar, J. (2023). Urbanism: Using Settlement upgrading and Self-help housing in addressing the housing shortage in Nigeria and Italy, ICSD, Rome
     
Samantha Chapman

Samantha Chapman

Professor and Co-Director Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship
Department of Biology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Samantha and her group study biodiversity and global change in coastal ecosystems. She leads the WETFEET project, an interdisciplinary group of scientists, land managers and environmental educators who work with an array of field experiments in marshes and mangroves and plan climate adaptation strategies. She feels honored to be able to study the ways plants shape our world and hopes that her work can contribute to our ability to rediscover how to value and live with nature.

Recent publications:

Sarah Cooney

Sarah Cooney

Assistant Professor
2025 SICJS Faculty Fellow
Department of Computing Sciences
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Sarah’s research falls under the broad umbrella of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and more specifically she focuses on Sustainable HCI. She is interested in the ways people and communities use technology to promote sustainability and how this aligns with their personal values including spiritual and religious values. She has several ongoing research projects, including work on technological mediation in campus re-use programs, supported by the SICJS fellowship; a study of the way religious values shape how users imagine, design and use technology to promote sustainability, supported by an NSF CRII grant; and an upcoming First-Year Match project on Trad Wife culture and sustainability.   

Recent publications:

Jonathan Doh

Jonathan Doh

Senior Associate Dean for Research, Faculty Advancement, and Global Engagement
Herbert G. Rammrath Endowed Chair in International Business
Professor, Management & Operations
Villanova School of Business

Jonathan’s research focuses on climate change adaptation, corporate socio-political engagement, sustainability in global supply chains, and ESG as a risk mitigation strategy. He has published more than 100 referred articles, eleven books, and two dozen case studies. He has been editor-in-chief of Journal of World Business and Journal of Management Studies and is currently Editor (Sustainability) at Journal of International Business Studies. He is a fellow of the Academy of Management and the Academy of International Business, has been ranked by Stanford/PLOS among the top .5% of management scholars globally (282 out of 57,191), and has 26,000+ google scholar citations.

Recent publications:

Frank Galgano

Frank Galgano

Professor 
Director of Sustainability Studies
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Geographical Society
Department of Geography and the Environment 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

If climate change is the most important problem facing the global community, then violent conflict that may be triggered by its adverse effects represents an existential threat to human security. This is the environmental security doctrine which is the focus of Frank’s research. Frank examines linkages among climate change, adaptive capacity, vulnerable populations, non-sustainable practices and violent conflict. He has published five books, three physical geography study guides, and more than 30 professional articles focused on geographic, environmental and military subjects. He recently published a new book titled The Environment-Conflict Nexus: Climate Change and the Emergent National Security Landscape (Springer, 2019), which examines the geography of global security from the perspective of climate and environmental change.

Recent publications:

  • Laughlin, A. and Galgano, F.A., 2025. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Drought and Violence in Darfur, Sudan. African Security Review, 34 (1): 60-83. 
  • Galgano, F.A. 2024. The 1964 Jordan River Diversion Plan: Transboundary Water Basins and Conflict. Case Studies in the Environment, 8 (1): 1-18.
  • Galgano, F.A. 2024. Hostis Humani Generis: Pirates and Global Maritime Commerce. Research in Globalization, 8 (2024) 100188

Steven Goldsmith

Steven Goldsmith

Professor
Environmental Science Program Director
Department of Geography and the Environment 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Steven’s current research program focuses on identifying and mitigating environmental impacts on river systems. This research employs a community-inclusive approach, where academics, regulatory agencies, NGOs, students, and/or individual residents collaborate and utilize science to understand and mitigate the impacts on freshwater systems. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles on the biogeochemistry of river systems in journals such as Nature Climate Change and Science of the Total Environment. He has also developed and implemented an immersive, locally based, culturally responsive research experience in urban environmental geochemistry, through an environmental justice lens, to broaden a pathway to the geosciences for underrepresented students.

Recent publications:

  • Hassebrock, J. M., Kremer, P., Seng, K. E., & Goldsmith, S. T. (2025). Long-term impacts of land cover change on nitrate export in mixed-use exurban and suburban watersheds. Science of the Total Environment, 1002, 180612.
  • Marks, N. K., Cravotta III, C. A., Rossi, M. L., Silva, C., Kremer, P., & Goldsmith, S. T. (2024). Exploring spatial and temporal symptoms of the freshwater salinization syndrome in a rural to urban watershed. Science of the Total Environment, 947, 174266.
  • Rossi, M. L., Kremer, P., Cravotta, C. A., Scheirer, K. E., & Goldsmith, S. T. (2022). Long-term impacts of impervious surface cover change and roadway deicing agent application on chloride concentrations in exurban and suburban watersheds. Science of the Total Environment, 851, 157933.

Kelly Good

Kelly Good

Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems
College of Engineering

Kelly’s work in water and environmental systems spans engineering, health and policy. She is particularly interested in evaluating the interactions of water systems with other infrastructure systems, such as energy systems. Conventional, disconnected approaches in managing infrastructure systems can lead to unintended consequences for the environment and public health, often in ways that are inequitable. With environmental and public health protection as motivation, Kelly’s research program has three core thrusts: watershed management and decision-making, contaminants and water quality, and resilient infrastructure systems.

Recent publications:

  • Good, K.D., Robert, E., Kremer, P., Wang, Y., & Wilson, J. (2025). Subbasin-level discharge-intake flow index to assess potential iodine point source discharges upstream of surface drinking water sources. Discover Water, 5(1), 34.
  • Cook, L. M., Good, K. D., Moretti, M., Kremer, P., Wadzuk, B., Traver, R., & Smith, V. (2024). Towards the intentional multifunctionality of urban green infrastructure: a paradox of choice? Nature: Urban Sustainability, 4(1), 12.
  • Good, K.D. & Smith, V. (2024). Community engagement enhances undergraduate civil engineering capstone design projects. Environmental Research Letters, 19(11), 111004.

Suzanne Gray holding two birds

Suzanne Gray

Assistant Professor
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Suzanne’s teaching and research explores the depths of attention, reasoning and communication in human and nonhuman animals, especially birds. This research advances theories regarding the biological underpinnings of cognition and behavior by integrating ecological and evolutionary differences across many species. By linking cognitive science with real-world applications, this work supports animal welfare, conservation and sustainability by clarifying species-specific cognitive and behavioral needs, informing more responsible care, management and environmental practices.

Recent publications:

Rev. Christy Lang Hearlson

Rev. Christy Lang Hearlson

Associate Professor of Religious & Theological Education
Co-Director of The Children, Liturgy, Ecology and Renewal (CLEAR) Project

Christy’s research focuses on the idea of “ecological conversion,” in which people come to understand care for the Earth and its creatures as a central feature of faith. Cross-trained in pedagogy and theology, Christy teaches an introductory theology course around the theme of water, as well as a graduate course on ecological conversion. With her colleague Dr. Tim Brunk, she co-directs The Children, Liturgy, Ecology and Renewal (CLEAR) Project, funded with a $1.25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. The CLEAR Project gathers scholars, church leaders, educators, and musicians to create child-inclusive, ecologically sensitive resources for churches and schools.

Recent publications:

Chris Jeffords

Chris Jeffords

Associate Teaching Professor
Department of Economics
Villanova School of Business

Chris is an environmental economist whose scholarship bridges sustainability, human well-being and the design of equitable environmental policy. His research highlights how constitutional environmental rights, governance structures and economic incentives shape real-world environmental outcomes, especially for vulnerable communities. Through empirical analysis, policy evaluation and interdisciplinary collaboration, he advances frameworks that integrate justice, resilience and sustainable resource management. Jeffords’ work informs decision-makers, strengthens public understanding of environmental rights and deepens the connection between sustainability and social welfare. His commitment to rigorous, accessible scholarship helps chart pathways toward more resilient, equitable and environmentally responsible societies.

Recent publications:

  • Catanzaro, B., & Jeffords, C. (2025). The weight of words: how constitutional environmental human rights shape emissions. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 1-19.
  • Barrett, M., Santoro, J., & Jeffords, C. (2024). Science on tap: pouring knowledge into the local community. Frontiers in Communication, 9, 1436234.
  • Jeffords, C. (2022). Fostering Pluralism in an Environmental Economics Course. Sustainability and Climate Change, 15(2), 98-103.
     
Peleg Kremer

Peleg Kremer

Associate Professor
Department of Geography and the Environment
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Peleg's research focuses on urban social-ecological systems and sustainable cities, with three interconnected themes: mapping and modeling ecosystem services, understanding urban landscape structure and ecological functions, and examining urban foodscapes and vacant land as public resources. Her work integrates geospatial analysis, environmental science, and community engagement to address environmental justice and equitable access to green infrastructure. Current projects investigate green stormwater infrastructure distribution and performance, urban air pollution disparities, community garden land security in Philadelphia, and the relationship between urban green spaces and public health outcomes. Through partnerships with municipalities and community organizations, Peleg works to ensure research findings support more equitable and sustainable urban planning and policy decisions.

Recent publications:

Joseph Lennon

Joseph Lennon

Associate Dean, International and Interdisciplinary Initiatives 
Emily C. Riley Director of Irish Studies 
Co-Chair, Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice and Sustainability 
Professor, Department of English
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Joseph researches the literatures, cultures and histories of Ireland and Irish America, focusing on issues of famine, hunger and sustainability. At present, he co-edits an open-access issue of the American Journal of Irish Studies on “Sustainability in Irish Culture.”  The special issue includes essays on Irish theatre, literature and tourism. He studies Irish governmental cultural policy and writes on audience commitment and engagement on sustainability. He has published histories on famines and fasting protests in Ireland and India, and his forthcoming book traces the prehistory of the first hunger-strike of the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1909. His scholarship crosses over into his community work with local Irish-American community groups across the Philadelphia region.

Recent publications:

  • Marion Wallace-Dunlop and the Origins of the Hunger Strike (forthcoming SUNY UP, 2026)
  • “Sustainability in Irish Culture,” American Journal of Irish Studies (forthcoming Spring 2026)
  • “Afterword: Rabindranath Tagore and W.B. Yeats,” Tagore and Yeats: A Postcolonial Re-envisioning, eds. Elizabeth Brewer Redwine and Amrita Ghosh, Brill, 2022.

Al Ortega

Al Ortega

James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director, Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems
Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

Al is the Director of the National Science Foundation Center for Energy Smart Electronic Systems (ES2), an industry-university research consortium. His current research interests are in advanced data center power and cooling technologies, data center sustainability, waste heat recovery, and community and environmental impacts of data centers and other advanced technologies. Al is actively involved in the search for environmentally safe refrigerants and other coolants. He is developing Digital Twins (computer models) of massive data center power and cooling systems to examine designs that maximize performance while minimizing energy and water consumption and the data center carbon footprint.

Recent publications:

  • Nayar, A. and Ortega, A., “Co-generative Exergy Matched Waste Heat Recovery for On-Site Powered AI-Factories to Produce Power and Cooling,” Procs. 20th International Conf. on Energy Sustainability, Paper ES2026-183706, July 26-29, 2026.
  • Khalid, R., Schon, S., Amalfi, R. L., Ortega, A., Wemhoff, A. P. (2024). Characterization of a Rack-Level Thermosyphon-Based Cooling System. ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging, 146(3), 031007.
  • Silva-Llanca, L., Ortega, A., Fouladi, K., del Valle, M. and Sundaralingam, V., “Determining Wasted Energy in the Airside of a Perimeter-Cooled Data Center via Direct Computation of the Exergy Destruction,” Applied Energy, 213C, pp. 235-246, 2018.

Manuela Priesemuth

Manuela Priesemuth

Professor
Faculty Director of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Department of Management & Operations
Villanova School of Business

Manuela is the Faculty Director of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility at the Villanova School of Business. Her research examines social issues in management, including workplace injustice, toxic work cultures, abusive leadership and (un)ethical behavior. Through this work, Manuela seeks to promote ethical and sustainable business practices. Manuela’s research has been nationally recognized and published in leading academic journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management. It has also been featured in prominent media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, BBC, CNBC, The Conversation, The Huffington Post and Psychology Today.

Recent publications:

Kabindra Shakya

Kabindra Shakya

Associate Professor
Department of Geography and the Environment
Colllege of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Kabin’s research focuses on outdoor and indoor air pollution, specifically particulate matter. He also studies heavy metal contamination such as lead in soils from community gardens, residences, parks and residences. His work addresses environmental justice and sustainability challenges in both developed and developing countries. He serves as an Associate Editor for Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences and the Journal of Environmental Science and Health. He serves on the Upper Merion Environmental Advisory Council and the board of Centro de Cultura, Arts, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE), and actively collaborates with the Overbrook Environmental Education Center and Camden for Clean Air.

Recent publications:

  • McDonough, R., Shakya, K.M. (2025). Trace Metal Contamination in Community Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Environments, 12(5), 159.
  • Rai, P., Gauchan, E., Pradhan, R., Shakya, K.M. (2025). Survey of Nepali doctors on the perception of climate change and health effects. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 23, 100449.
  • Terry, B., Shakya, K.M. (2024). Monitoring gaseous pollutants using passive sampling in Philadelphia region. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 74 (1), 52-69.
     
Virginia Smith

Virginia Smith

Associate Professor 
Civil and Environmental Engineering 
Director, Graduate Studies 
Associate Director, Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems 
Director, Sustainable Engineering Minor 
College of Engineering

Virginia is an Associate Professor of Water Resources in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, whose projects have focused on urban sediment transport dynamics, sustainable stormwater management, and applying data management and artificial intelligence to water resource engineering challenges. Virginia has overseen and worked on a diverse collection of water and natural resource projects across the US and around the world, including projects in Asia, Africa, the South Pacific and Afghanistan. She has leveraged her experiences in her research focusing on rivers, floodplains, stormwater, and flooding dynamics, particularly in urban settings. 

Recent publications:

  • Scolio, M., Kremer, P., Smith, V., Amur, A., Wadzuk, B., Homet, K., Devin, E., Al Mehedi, A. & Moore, L. (2025). Delineating urban flooding when incorporating community stormwater knowledge. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 5(1), 015008.
  • Cook, L. M., Good, K. D., Moretti, M., Kremer, P., Wadzuk, B., Traver, R., & Smith, V. (2024). Towards the intentional multifunctionality of urban green infrastructure: a paradox of choice?. Nature: Urban Sustainability, 4(1), 12.
  • Hosseiny, H., Nazari, F., Smith, V., & Nataraj, C. (2020). A framework for modeling flood depth using a hybrid of hydraulics and machine learning. Nature: Scientific Reports, 10(1), 8222.

Pete Watkins

Pete Watkins

Director of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
College of Professional Studies

Pete is Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Villanova University. An educational psychologist by training, he is a former tenured faculty member who has worked in higher education since 2000. He has extensive teaching experience, both face-to-face and online, as well as expertise in course design, curriculum development and accreditation. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a master's degree in social work and a PhD in educational psychology from Temple University. Pete believes that excellent teachers continually grow, develop and learn from one another.

Recent publications:

Aaron Wemhoff

Aaron Wemhoff

Professor 
Assistant Chair 
Administrative Director, Centralized Research Computing Facility
Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

The data center industry has expanded significantly in recent years, driven largely by advances in artificial intelligence. Because these facilities consume vast amounts of resources, predicting and mitigating their environmental impacts is critical. Aaron's research focuses on developing methods to assess greenhouse gas emissions, water footprints, and water scarcity impacts from data centers, while also evaluating strategies to reduce these burdens. He specifically examines the effectiveness of equipment cooling approaches, waste heat recovery and on-site power generation.

Recent publications:

  • Khalid R., McMullen M., Amalfi R.L., Ortega A., Wemhoff A.P. (2025). Performance Analysis of a Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger during Condensation of R1233zd(E),  Journal of Electronic Packaging, 147 (2), 021005.
  • McMullen M., Wemhoff A.P. (2024). Data Center Environmental Burden Reduction Through On-Site Renewable Power Generation, Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities, 5 (2), 021001.
  • Chen, L., Wemhoff, A. P. (2023). The Sustainability Benefits of Economization in Data Centers Containing Chilled Water Systems Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 196, 107053.

Jiafeng "Harvest" Xie

Jiafeng "Harvest" Xie

Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

The rapid progress in quantum computing has sparked a new wave of cryptographic innovation, namely post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Along with this line of effort, Harvest's research focuses on developing efficient PQC accelerators for hardware platforms with minimal resource usage, fast operation and sustainability (long-term considerations).

Recent publications:

  • Y. Tu and Jiafeng Xie, “EMINEM: Efficient FPGA Implementation of Mixed-RadIx NTT Hardware AccElerators for NIST Post-QuantuM Cryptography Falcon, Dilithium, and HAWK”, ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems, pp. 1-25, 2025.
  • P. He, T. Bao, and Jiafeng Xie, “High-performance instruction-set hardware accelerator for Ring-Binary-LWE-based lightweight PQC,” IEEE Trans. VLSI Systems, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1417-1421, 2025.
  • S. Coulon, J. Xiong, and Jiafeng Xie, “LEAF: Lightweight and Efficient Hardware Accelerator for Signature Verification of FALCON,” 2025 International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD), pp. 1-9, 2025
     
Wenqing (Vicky) Xu

Wenqing (Vicky) Xu, PhD

Professor
Director, Center for Human-Environmental Systems (CHES)
Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

With diminishing water resources and global water use skyrocketing, the provision of clean water has been identified as one of the grand challenges of the 21st century by the National Academy of Engineering. Vicky's research interest lies in addressing critical urban water challenges—from protecting drinking water supplies against wildfire-derived contaminants to enabling stormwater reuse as a sustainable water source through innovative treatment technologies for emerging contaminant removal—while fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge fundamental research with practical solutions for water-scarce communities. The core of her research program builds on aquatic chemistry, analytical chemistry and material engineering, which extends to address key challenges in three main areas: (1) novel approaches to control emerging contaminants, (2) environmental monitoring and sensing, and (3) toxicity studies to understand the toxicity drivers in engineering processes.

Recent publications:

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