In today’s academic landscape, it’s increasingly common for researchers to take on a postdoctoral position (postdoc) after earning their PhD. This phase, often viewed as a stepping stone in an early-career researcher’s journey, is a crucial time for honing independent research and career skills. At emLab, postdocs aren’t just transitioning between academic milestones, they’re helping shape the solutions of tomorrow.
Over the past eight years, emLab (and previously as the Sustainable Fishing Group) has supported nearly 30 postdocs. These early-career researchers bring fresh perspectives, technical expertise, and creative ideas that drive our research in new and exciting directions. From exploring socio-economic impacts of climate to studying the clean energy transition in India, emLab postdocs play a crucial role in ensuring that our science remains timely, relevant, and at the cutting edge of innovation.
What truly differentiates a postdoc at emLab is the intentional design of our research environment. We provide more than just a space for research; we foster a vibrant community of interdisciplinary collaboration. Under the mentorship of experienced UCSB faculty and through close collaboration with our partner organizations, our postdocs tackle critical environmental issues and develop actionable solutions that extend beyond the publication of research papers. This hands-on experience broadens the skills they gained during their graduate studies and prepares them to be leaders in both academia and policy.
Our postdocs benefit from a robust support system that includes project managers, staff scientists, and experts in communications and fundraising. Through the “emLab approach,” we equip postdocs not only with the tools they need to bridge academia and policy but also with practical skills for running their own labs, managing grants, and building successful collaborations. Whether continuing in academia, moving into policy, or entering other sectors, our postdocs leave emLab ready to make a lasting, meaningful impact.
Hear from members of our 2024 postdoc cohort as they share their experiences at emLab below!
Guillermo Terrén-Serrano, current emLab postdoc
At emLab, Guillermo works on projects focused on the clean energy transition in India in collaboration with emLab PI Ranjit Deshmukh, aiming to ensure a reliable energy supply while reducing economic and environmental impacts. Given India's rapid economic growth and increasing electrification due to air conditioning and electric vehicle adoption, there is significant uncertainty around technology costs and future electricity demand. His main contribution is developing a capacity expansion model for the electricity sector.
Currently, Guillermo is working on two projects related to the clean energy transition in India. The first project examines policy-relevant scenarios to quantify uncertainties in technology costs and electricity demand. The second project assesses the contribution of weather-dependent renewable energy assets to the resilience of India’s electricity system, ensuring a reliable supply under future uncertain weather conditions.
What’s one thing you learned during your time at emLab that you are implementing in your new position?
“A challenge for the transition toward clean energy resources is to produce research that incentivizes adoption. Governments and operators are conservative in adopting renewable energy due to the uncertainty in the available resources. I see research aimed at quantifying uncertainty and ensuring reliability to reduce the investment risk associated with the decarbonization of the electricity sector and have a real-world impact.”
Kaiwen Wang, current emLab postdoc
Kaiwen's research at emLab focuses on marine resource economics and effective management strategies in collaboration with emLab Research Director Christopher Costello. One of his key projects explores the global distribution of foreign fishing efforts under a hypothetical high seas closure, examining how this would impact the global fishing access market.
Currently, Kaiwen is working on several exciting projects. In one, he is studying how climate change affects the jumbo squid fishery in the Humboldt Current. In another, he is collaborating with emLab colleagues to assess how shark finning regulations influence the trade of shark products. Additionally, he is conducting impact evaluations of fisheries and ocean conservation policies in China.
What are the most valuable connections or collaborations you’ve built during your time here, and how do you see them influencing your future work?
"During my time here, I’ve gained valuable experience working with Global Fishing Watch to conduct in-depth fisheries policy research. I also feel very fortunate to work with great fisheries scientists here at emLab, including Chris, Gavin, and Echelle, as well as build meaningful connections with former emLab scholars."
Guglielmo Zappalà, emLab postdoc from 2023 to 2024, now at UC Berkeley
During Guglielmo’s time at emLab, he worked in collaboration with emLab Climate and Energy Director, Tamma Carleton, on a variety of projects studying the socio-economic impacts of climate and how human society can adapt to them. As an example, he is working on a project investigating the impacts of climate change on human migration at global scale, assembling large historical datasets to empirically quantify how population movements respond to short and long-run shifts in the climate, both within and across country borders.
Guglielmo is currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, affiliated with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA). Here, he will continue the research begun at emLab and start new projects in the same areas. With two emLab PIs, he is currently finalizing a chapter on adaptation to climate change for the handbook of climate economics, bringing the environmental and development economics communities together.
What are the most valuable connections or collaborations you’ve built during your time here, and how do you see them influencing your future work?
“emLab is a unique environment, both because of the people who work there and the high-quality, high-impact interdisciplinary research. The integration of PIs, scientists, postdocs, and project and grant coordinators into a seamlessly running machine fosters an exceptional collaborative atmosphere. Every interaction I was lucky to have at emLab has forged my critical thinking as a researcher and, most importantly, enriched me on a personal level (I even had the opportunity to camp for my first time!). These connections will continue to guide and inspire my future work, and I look forward to collaborating on new projects as they emerge.”
Anshuman Tiwari, emLab postdoc 2022-2024, now at University of Chicago
In partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, Anshuman worked with emLab Climate and Energy Director, Tamma Carleton, to examine how greenhouse gas mitigation reduces global inequity in climate impacts, focusing on changes in mortality at a high spatio-temporal resolution across the world (for US county-sized regions every year to 2100). In other work, he showed how the spatial targeting of pollution regulation could be improved by accounting for long-term economic productivity gains from migration to cleaner cities, over and above the health benefits of pollution reduction. Anshuman also made progress on various projects in his research portfolio that investigate the nexus of agriculture, groundwater, and environmental pollution in India.
Anshuman has taken up a postdoctoral fellowship with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, based out of India. He is very much looking forward to conducting cutting-edge research while engaging with Indian policymakers in this new role. At the same time, Anshuman will continue to collaborate with emLab PIs on other projects, such as understanding better how economic growth can reduce climate impacts in poor places, and the use of machine learning and AI tools to predict high-resolution crop yields in a developing world context.
In what ways has emLab helped shape your vision for your career beyond the postdoc stage?
“At emLab, I found a group of world-leading academics who work hard not only to conduct research but also to ensure that their research has a real-world impact. I learned how this can be achieved through partnerships with nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and other researchers, but most importantly through the cultivation of an ecosystem like emLab that allows these collaborations to flourish. I would like to apply these learnings in the next phase of my career to ensure that my academic research is responsive to and useful in the real world.”
Catharina Latka, emLab postdoc from 2022 to 2024, now at University of Bonn
Catharina’s research at emLab focused on the design of forest conservation policies to achieve impact, cost-effectiveness, and equity. Collaborating with emLab PIs Andrew Plantinga, Kathy Baylis, and Robert Heilmayr, she helped develop a theoretically-founded econometric model utilizing variation in agricultural prices, which her team applied to assess the potential of carbon price-based policies. Their analysis highlights the problems of non-participation and non-additionality if policy-makers do not have full information about deforestation in the absence of payments. They argue that carbon taxes could be a viable alternative to payments for avoided forest emissions.
Catharina has started a new position as a postdoctoral researcher and junior group leader at the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn in Germany. She will build upon her previous research and continue exploring the implications of agricultural price changes and policies for food system and environmental outcomes.
How do you see your research contributing to real-world solutions?
“During my research project at emLab, I learned how to draw strong connections between theory and empirics, which I aim to implement in my future research. Moreover, I have gained many valuable insights about project management practices that will guide me in my new position.”
Ellen Willis-Norton, emLab postdoc from 2022 to 2024, now at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
While at emLab, Ellen worked on the socioeconomic and sociocultural impacts of offshore wind development and climate change on US West Coast fisheries, supervised by emLab PI and Dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Steve Gaines. The study is a collaborative agreement between emLab and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Ellen has since transitioned to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific Region. She is working in their Environmental Consultation and Coordination division as a fisheries biologist.
What are the most valuable connections or collaborations you’ve built during your time here, and how do you see them influencing your future work?
“Some of the most meaningful connections I've made during my time here are with fishermen who have generously shared their time, challenges, and insights with me. I've gained so much knowledge about the industry through them, and I hope to maintain and expand these relationships throughout my career to keep learning from their experiences.”
Mook Bangalore, emLab postdoc 2023-2024, now at Penn State
While at emLab, Mook worked on the agriculture-food-water-energy nexus in India, with a focus on rice farming in collaboration with emLab PIs Robert Heilmayr and Kathy Baylis. This project is a collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund, and includes partners at UC San Diego, Indian School of Business, and Penn State. The aim of this work is threefold: to understand (1) how electrification impacts farmer decisions on how much water and inputs they use in agriculture, (2) how technologies which reduce water use in rice farming impact net greenhouse gas emissions, and (3) how effective policies to engage communities in water saving can be in stemming groundwater depletion. In addition to the India work, Mook also started various projects related to measuring flood impacts on households across sub-Saharan Africa.
Mook has since transitioned to Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at Penn State. He is excited to continue the projects from his postdoc and start new interdisciplinary collaborations related to international environmental challenges. Mook is teaching Environmental Policy and has been integrating the research he has been doing into the classroom.
What’s one thing you took away from your experience at emLab that you are implementing in your new position?
“I’m really impressed by the ability of emLab to conduct policy-relevant research on environmental issues, and do so in a joyful and collaborative atmosphere. It has been wonderful to interact with all of my colleagues at emLab, including scientists, research managers, policy-focused staff, and academics. I’ve learned much about how to ask questions, how to pitch projects, how to obtain funding, how to conduct research, and how to have an impact on decisions made in policy and industry. Given the multi-faceted and cross-cutting nature of environmental challenges that exist in the world today, this backdrop has taught me much on where I fit into this larger puzzle and how I can do my best to try to make a difference.”
Check out the rest of our team, including our other past postdocs here.
