Research

A number of faculty are engaged in sustainability research (based on STARS v3.0).

Sustainability research is research and scholarship that explicitly addresses the concept of sustainability, furthers our understanding of the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems, or has a primary and explicit focus on a major sustainability challenge.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals illustrate the breadth of sustainability and major sustainability challenges.

This list is meant to serve as a guide for students interested in doing sustainability research while at Elon. It is organized by academic department, based on data collected in spring 2025 through an online form completed by faculty and previous sustainability research inventories, and considers research in the following academic years: 2024-2025, 2023-2024 and 2022-2023. This may not be an all inclusive list. Please let us know if someone should be added to the list.

Accounting

Catherine Chiang ‡
Hani Tadros
Ifeoma Udeh

Art

Samantha DiRosa

Biology

David Vandermast
Jessica Merricks
Linda Niedziela
Brant Touchette
Mike Kingston

Chemistry

Anthony Rizzuto
Justin Clar

Cinema & Television Arts

Douglas Kass

Communication Design

Brian Walsh

Computer Science

Elizabeth von Briesen
Ryan Mattfeld

Economics

Brooks Depro ‡
Steve DeLoach

Education & Wellness

Evan Small ‡
Katie Baker
Scott Morrison ‡

Engineering

Bethany Brinkman
Jonathan Su
Will Pluer

English

Catherine Bowlin

Environmental Studies

Amanda Chunco
Kelsey Bitting

Finance

Adam Aiken ‡
Drew Peabody
Raj Gupta ‡

History & Geography

Honglin Xiao

Law

Caroleen Dineen
Sara Ochs

Management & Entrepreneurship

Brittany Mercado ‡
Christy Benson
Elena Kennedy ‡

Marketing & International Business

Chris Nelson
Xin Liu

Mathematics & Statistics

Mark Weaver
Nicholas Bussberg

Psychology

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler

Religious Studies

Geoffrey Claussen
Rebecca Todd Peters

Sociology & Anthropology

Rissa Trachman

Sport Management

Young Do Kim

Strategic Communications

Barbara Gaither

‡ Indicates a faculty member who teaches in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Learn more about the research of the faculty listed above.

The above linked resource identifies the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal(s) related to each faculty member’s research.

Sustainability Research Grants are available on a competitive basis for students who are or will be engaged in independent, faculty-mentored undergraduate research related to sustainability.