Spotlight on emLab’s visitors

Patrick Baylis

Assistant professor and environmental economist at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia (UBC)

What inspired you to visit emLab?

Great people, great work, great location. I knew a small number of the faculty members here before coming, but many others were unfamiliar to me except by reputation. I had also heard a bit about emLab itself and was keen to see how it all worked firsthand. Not to mention that Santa Barbara’s “winter” compares pretty favorably to Vancouver’s…

What did you work on during your time here?

With the backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains as inspiration, I spent most of my time in Santa Barbara working on projects related to the economics of housing policy and wildfire in the western United States. 

What were your key takeaways from your experience at emLab and UCSB?

emLab is a powerhouse of an organization. Having a team of skilled project managers, grant writers, and research scientists working alongside renowned academic faculty allows emLab to tackle ambitious and important research questions that might otherwise be too challenging for a more traditional academic approach. 

What became evident to me during my time there, though, is that emLab’s “secret sauce” is actually the culture. The emLab community values genuine collegiality, supports the growth of its people, and embraces fun. How could you not do great work in that environment?

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your time with us?

Thanks again for having me! I feel lucky to have spent so many winter hours working from the Bren deck while watching the waves roll in at Campus Point.

Vincent Martinet

Senior research scientist (Directeur de Recherche) at Paris-Saclay Applied Economics (PSAE), within the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE)

What inspired you to visit emLab?

emLab provides an inspiring environment where major global challenges in environmental and resource protection are tackled through original economic insights. It offers a unique opportunity to engage and collaborate with leading scientists dedicated to combining cutting-edge research with solutions-oriented approaches to real-world problems.

What did you work on during your time here?

During my time at emLab, I focused on the role of social interactions among agents in “public goods” problems, such as biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. This work explores strategic interactions, peer effects, social norms, and collective learning in uncertain environments.

What were your key takeaways from your experience at emLab and UCSB?

I've learned two key lessons during my time here. The first is the importance of being ambitious when setting research objectives and defining meaningful research questions. The second, more practical takeaway, is time management. I was impressed by how every meeting was efficiently structured to achieve its goals within a set time frame, and I hope to apply this skill in my future work.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your time with us?

I occasionally missed the informal coffee-time chats that are an institution in France, where casual conversations flow freely on topics ranging from institutional and scientific matters to personal reflections. That said, the Tuesday Team Time meetings have been a fantastic opportunity to connect and collaborate, offering a structured yet engaging space for meaningful discussions.

Claudia Kelsall

PhD candidate, Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier (CEE-M )

What inspired you to visit emLab?

I was inspired to visit emLab largely because of how much my own research is heavily influenced by the work done here. I was also invited to attend a lab meeting before my visit and saw firsthand the dynamic environment and level of engagement within Chris Costello’s group. This made me confident that emLab would help me develop as a researcher.

What did you work on during your time here?

During my time at emLab I made significant progress on my PhD thesis focusing on risk in renewable resource use. 

I came to emLab to work on my third thesis chapter, a case study analyzing the potential for income sharing mechanisms to manage small-scale fisheries in Baja California. However, an unintended consequence of the incredible feedback at emLab is that you might leave a presentation wanting to revise your paper significantly. This was the case when I presented my second thesis chapter. The comments and resulting discussion pushed me to reconsider the main contributions to literature, simplifying my analysis and providing much clearer insights. As a result, I spent most of my time developing an analytical model describing how income sharing can increase collective good contributions. 

Luckily, I still made progress on my third chapter. Conversations with colleagues provided valuable insights into potential case study areas and put me in contact with my future co-authors. In addition to my own research, I was fortunate to work on an emLab project in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy which explored the drivers of risk-averse behavior in conservation decision-making. 

What were your key takeaways from your experience at emLab and UCSB?

It’s difficult to summarize my experience at emLab which does justice to how much I enjoyed my time there. A main takeaway is that the interdisciplinary environment and collaboration with external organizations provide an interesting bridge between academic research and real-world problems. On a personal level, emLab is a large community and, as visitors, you are part of that community beyond the research stay. The dynamic environment gave me the confidence to explore new ideas under the guidance and mentorship of both researchers and faculty members. People are genuinely interested in what you have to offer and go above and beyond to provide opportunities, give feedback, and collaborate.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your time with us?

I initially planned on a 3 month visit, ended up staying for 5, and then found myself back in Santa Barbara for a holiday later in the year. emLab is a really special community. I left feeling motivated, inspired, and with friends for life, so I’m incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to visit.

Roman Sieler

Ph.D candidate, Environmental Economics at the University of Basel

What inspired you to visit emLab?

While the main reason for my visit was the faculty’s expertise in the area of remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and oceans, the main appeal of emLab was the amazingly collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of emLab’s work.  

What did you work on during your time here?

During my time at emLab, I mostly worked on a way to assess large-scale coral bleaching based on satellite imagery, which is the first part of a project in which I try to understand the impacts of coral bleaching on the wellbeing of people living in coastal communities across various East African countries. I furthermore used the opportunity to discuss the approach as a whole with many people at emLab, as well as UCSB’s Marine Science Institute and Economics Department, to refine the overall model and ensure accuracy of the marine ecology foundations.  

What were your key takeaways from your experience at emLab and UCSB?

My main takeaway was that I learned how important collaboration and simply talking to people is. While that might be something that does not come easy to German and Swiss people, the collaborative and supportive nature within emLab was truly inspiring and has already resulted in many additional connections crucial to my work. At the same time, it inspired me how close emLab’s work is to real world problems and how hands-on and proactive research projects are designed and implemented, which is something I want to learn from and implement in my own work going forward. 

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your time with us?

I am incredibly grateful for the time I had with emLab, it was both a great opportunity and a lot of fun to work there for 6 months. I also enjoyed the social aspect of it, the more informal Tuesday mornings and the team lunches. And I already miss the Bren deck, wishing I would have worked from there more often - so make sure you enjoy the great environment as much as you can! 

Sofia Badini

PhD candidate, Environmental and Natural Resources Economics Group of Wageningen University

What inspired you to visit emLab?

I realized that much of the research that was inspiring my PhD dissertation was coming from emLab! This was my main motivation to take a chance and reach out to the faculty to propose a research visit. On top of that, Santa Barbara offers a strikingly beautiful natural landscape, so it felt like the ideal setting for my first-ever long stay in the US.

What did you work on during your time here?

The projects I worked on at emLab focused on climate adaptation and the impacts of water extremes, for example, how droughts affect irrigation and land use changes in Brazil.

What were your key takeaways from your experience at emLab and UCSB?

Visiting emLab made me reflect on what I value most in a working environment: being part of a vibrant team that produces rigorous, innovative, policy-relevant research, where everyone's role is valued and essential to the organization's success. The Tuesday Team Time was a great way to stay in the loop about everyone’s work and see how great contributions are acknowledged and celebrated.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your time with us?

Thank you for making me feel so welcome! I'm really grateful for the professional and personal connections I’ve made during my stay, as well as for the time I've spent by the ocean and in nature.