“Through EnviroLab Asia, I hope to shape the national and regional conversations of Singapore and Southeast Asia respectively by elevating the environmental aspect while nurturing an environmental consciousness in the minds of the people through the arts and humanities.”
– Johann Lim, CMC ’18
On Friday, October 23, 2015, EnviroLab Asia Fellows met for the first time. Twelve faculty and ten students were selected by EnviroLab Asia’s Steering Committee. The students and faculty formed two Research Clusters. One cluster focuses on policy and the other cluster on arts and communication. The Fellows represent a range of disciplines from across all five of the Claremont Colleges. Sixty-six students and fifteen faculty applied, which demonstrated the wide interest by students and faculty at the Claremont Colleges about environmental issues in Asia. The Research Clusters will work to create new grounds in scholarship on environmental and cultural issues in Asia. Below is a list of the Fellows:
Research Cluster I – Policy Members:
Research Cluster I – Policy members discuss exploring connections between deforestation, oil palm plantations, and marine aquatic life.
- Albert Park, CMC, Associate Professor of History and Co-Principal Investigator of EnviroLab Asia
- Katie Purvis-Roberts, Keck (CMC, Pitzer and Scripps), Associate Dean of Faculty at Pitzer College and Associate Professor of Chemistry & Environmental Science
- Stephen Marks, Pomona, Elden Smith Professor of Economics
- Wallace “Marty” Meyer, Pomona, Director of the Bernard Field Station and Assistant Professor of Biology
- Zayn Kassam, Pomona, John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies
- Elizabeth Weinlein, Pitzer College, Environmental Policy and Asian Studies Major
- Fernando Salud, Harvey Mudd College, Engineering Major
- Isabelle Ng, Pitzer College, Organismal Biology & Environmental Analysis (Policy Track) Major
- Justin Lauw, Harvey Mudd College, Engineering Major
- Shivang Mehta, Pomona, Economics and Mathematics Major
Research Cluster II – Arts & Communication members listen to Marc Los Huertos, who went on the exploratory trip to Singapore in May 2015.
Research Cluster II – Arts & Communication Members:
- Adam R. Pearson, Pomona, Assistant Professor of Psychology
- Anne Harley, Scripps, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department
- Arash Khazeni, Pomona, Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of Middle Eastern Studies
- Branwen Williams, Keck (CMC, Pitzer and Scripps), Assistant Professor of Environmental Science
- James Taylor, Pomona, Professor of Theatre
- Marc Los Huertos, Pomona,
Stephen M. Pauley M.D. ’62 Associate Professor of Environmental Analysis; Coordinator of Environmental Analysis
- Rachel Mayeri, Harvey Mudd College, Professor of Media Studies
- Grace Stewart, CMC, Environmental Analysis and Music (Voice Performance) Major
- Jahnavi Kocha, CMC, Science and Management Major
- Ki’Amber Thompson, Pomona, Environmental Analysis and English Major
- Johann Lim, CMC, History Major
- Stephanie Steinbrecher, Scripps College, English Major, Environmental Analysis Minor
Johann, a Singapore national, continued, “Besides the yearly haze season, the environment is not something frequently discussed in Singapore. The arts and humanities, too, seem to take a back seat to the more ‘prestigious’ STEM fields. This is where an initiative like EnviroLab Asia plays a crucial role in connecting these two fields to foster discussion of environmental issues that are less prominent yet just as important as the haze and demonstrate the practical and transcendental nature of the arts and humanities.”