António Ferraz is a remote sensing scientist interested in the spatial variability of forest structure, diversity degradation and carbon density with focus on Tropical ecosystems. He has been using physically-based models and machine learning frameworks to map forest biophysical metrics by integrating satellite, airborne and in-situ measurements. He develops methods and software to model large-scale airborne lidar 3D point clouds and infer tree-size frequency distributions, tree structural diversity, forest vertical stratification and habitat quality. António Ferraz is a Principal Investigator for the NASA GEDI Science Team with focus on mapping the forest structural diversity from GEDI measurements and modeling the diversity-carbon relationship across biomes and forest degradation gradients in order to support policy-making on the conservation and restoration of ecosystems.

 

Education

Ph.D., Geophysics, Paris Institute of Earth Physics, France (2012)

M.Sc., Geospatial Engineering, University of Coimbra, Portugal (2007)

Elease Lui Stemp is a research administrator at the UCLA Center for Climate Science, working closely with the scientists at the Center and in Alex Hall’s research group. She plays a key support role in overseeing administrative operations, financial and program management, as well research development.

Elease is also an experienced documentary filmmaker, having produced feature films, television series and various projects that have focused on nature, environmental and social justice. She currently serves in leadership roles for several climate non-profits. Elease earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Film and Television from Boston University and has always been an enthusiastic and outspoken advocate for climate and environmental issues.

Lorena is a Peruvian sociologist and Latin-Americanist with expertise in mining governance, particularly mining conflicts, participatory governance, and gender-differentiated impacts in Peru and the Andean Region.

Today, her research focuses on lithium extraction, comparing the cases of Imperial County (California) and Puno (Peru) to inform mining policies for a fair and inclusive energy transition.

Before starting her Ph.D. at IoES, Lorena worked as a Latin American officer for the Natural Resource Governance Institute (2017-2020), and as a part-time professor of Social Science at Universidad del Pacífico (2017-2020).

She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2013) and her Master’s at Oxford University’s Latin American Centre (2016).

Lorena’s research is supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) – Mellon Dissertation Innovation Fellowship (2024-2025) and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Dissertation Fellowship (2024-2025). During her time at IoES Lorena has worked as a Climate and Community Project Research Fellow (2023-2024), and was a Fulbright Grantee (2020-2022).

Tyson is a PhD student at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. He is interested in corporate sustainability governance, measurement, and accountability. Tyson holds a MS degree in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of Michigan, where he studied sustainable systems and industrial ecology at the School of the Environment and Sustainability, and a BS degree in Industrial Technology from Western Washington University, where he studied hybrid vehicle design at the Vehicle Research Institute. Tyson’s previous professional experience includes craft chocolate sales, financial services operations, oilfield environmental compliance, and aerospace manufacturing engineering. 

Rachel Sheinberg is a Ph.D. candidate studying the implementation of an equitable clean energy transition in Los Angeles (and beyond).

At UCLA, Rachel is a graduate student researcher at the California Center for Sustainable Communities (CCSC) and member of the Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC). Her work focuses on electricity pricing, affordability, and energy burden. It includes collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) on the LA100 Equity Strategies project, econometrics research into the impact of prices on household energy consumption, and research on strategies for effective electric vehicle integration.

Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Brown University. Prior to joining UCLA’s Environment and Sustainability PhD program, Rachel worked at Sunwealth, an impact-driven solar financing company based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Outside of campus, Rachel can be found reading on public transit or running by the beach. 

Aeden Keffelew is a writer, filmmaker and musician focused on the intersection of media and policy on black, brown and indigenous communities. She is currently earning a Master’s in Public Policy at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Leaders in Sustainability certificate offered by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Her first book, Harvard to Homeless: A College Graduate/Drop-Out’s Personal Guide to Surviving Potential Homelessness was published in 2012 and led to a personal finance initiative at her alma mater Duke University. Her writing has been featured on USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

She was a 2017 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow and has directed three films which focus on creative solutions to shape policies and narratives in black, brown and indigenous communities.

Her recent album, Black Natives and Lost Tribes, which highlights the themes of indigenous rights and environmental justice has been featured on KPCC’s Unheard LA and Take Two. Check out the story about her family’s Ethiopian ancestry and role in protecting the land from colonization.

Musibau Francis Jimoh is a Ph.D. student in the Materials Science and Engineering department at UCLA. His research interest is focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of materials for energy and the environment. This includes photovoltaics for energy generation, microsupercapacitors for energy storage, and membranes for gas separation.

He obtained a master’s degree in Environmental and Energy Engineering from the University of Sheffield United Kingdom and a master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria. He received his B.Sc. Chemistry degree from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria.

When not in the lab, Francis enjoys hiking and volunteering for science and social community projects that seek to reach the underserved and underrepresented populations.

Dr. Zoe Amie Pierrat is a postdoctoral scholar at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Starting November 1st, she will be an Assistant Professor in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She studies plants’ role in carbon and water cycles in a changing climate using remote sensing from leaf to globe. She is building partnerships with local government agencies and nonprofits to develop remote sensing products for meeting sustainability goals.