Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies

Meet Our Team

LENS combines imaginative research and narrative experimentation with data analysis and visualization. The diversity and cross-disciplinary character of our community is central to this mission. In step with UCLA's location in the multiethnic and multilingual Los Angeles basin, our faculty, students, and collaborators view the future of conservation and the environment as interconnected with issues of equity and justice.

Leadership

Ursula K. Heise

Professor | Chair of the English Department | Interim Director, Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS)

Department of English

Faculty

Aaron Burke

Professor of the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and the Levant

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Jon Christensen

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies, Luskin Center for Innovation, Center for Digital Humanities

Robin Derby

Associate Professor

Department of History, International Institute

Susanna Hecht

Professor

Department of Urban Planning, School of Public Affairs

Ursula K. Heise

Professor | Chair of the English Department | Interim Director, Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS)

Department of English

David Kim

Associate Professor

Germanic Languages

Rachel Lee

Professor

Department of English, Gender Studies, Center for the Study of Women, Institute of Society & Genetics

Li Min

Associate Professor

Anthropology

Paul Ong

Professor Emeritus

Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Asian American Studies

Eric Sheppard

Distinguished Professor and Alexander von Humboldt Chair

Department of Geography

Students

Jenny Aleman-Zometa

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Designing urban nature parks for people and birds

Alexandria Herr

Ph.D. student

Institute for the Environment and Sustainability

Chase Niesner

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Multispecies anthropology, ecology, environmental justice

Past Students

Samantha Ong

BA student

Philosophy, Center for Digital Humanities

Cailey Hall

Assistant Professor

English | Oklahoma State University

Visiting Researchers

M. Sanjayan

Visiting Researcher

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability