Social Sciences

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Kathleen E. Halvorsen Professor of Natural Resource Policy Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996 Department of Social Sciences and School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Office Location: 225 Academic Office Bldg Office Phone: 906.487.2824 Fax: 906.487.2468 Skype: kehalvor Email: kehalvor@mtu.edu Halvorsen 2011 CV Environmental and Energy Policy Graduate Program

I have a joint appointment with the Department of Social Sciences and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. As part of the Environmental and Energy Policy Graduate Program, I teach the Sociology of the Environment, which presents the societal dimensions of environmental concerns and natural resource management and Advanced Natural Resource Policy, which focuses on international forest policy comparisons.

I currently have two main research foci, both of which relate to mitigating climate change in an international context.  One relates to the development of woody bioenergy in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  This includes identification of barriers and opportunities related to this development. I view bioenergy as one important tool in our climate change mitigation toolbox. This work also links to public understandings of climate change causes and solutions. During 2010 I am serving on the National Academy of Science's Committee on the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Increasing Biofuels.  I am also collaborating with Chinese and Swedish scientists to compare U.S., Chinese, and Swedish bioenergy policies. During 2011 I will return to China and travel to Sweden to work with these collaborators.

My other main research focus is aimed at understanding human relationships to water resources in the U.S. and Mexico. This work incorporates water quality and quantity in the face of a variety of climate change scenarios in the Great Lakes, USA and in the State of Sonora, Mexico.  This includes participatory modeling, risk perceptions of water-borne disease and ecosystem services protection.  Over the years, I have also studied public participation and organizational change within the USDA Forest Service.

My research projects and supervision of graduate students are very interdisciplinary.  I have the pleasure of working with a wide variety of social, natural, and applied (engineering) scientists across the U.S., Mexico, Europe, and China.  I have advised and supervised graduate students pursuing projects and theses related to bioenergy, wetland regulation, watershed groups, community forestry, risk perceptions, citizen participation in local land use planning, and Forest Service forest plan revision (and many other topics) across five continents.  Most have been in the Environmental Policy or School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences programs.  However, I have also worked intensively with and/or co-advised students in Biological Sciences and Environmental, Geological, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering.  I have have co-authored numerous research articles, posters, and presentations with graduate and undergraduate students from many different fields.

I greatly enjoy advising and is always looking for enthusiastic students interested in combining policy, sociology, and environment.

On a more personal level, I love to spend time hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and training my dogs.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Great Lakes Onsite Sewage System Regulatory Programs
Kathleen E. Halvorsen, Hugh S. Gorman, and Kristine Bradof August 2004. PDF Format