Land and Water Studies
Ocean and Climate Initiatives at Scale
Scholarship in water justice and soil dynamics moves toward regional initiatives for
restoration and enhancement. For decades, the NOAA-funded Marine Optical BuoY has
provided the key data needed for satellite color calibration. Impactful transportation
and urban planning solutions, as well as initiatives for revitalization water bodies
and land formations are assessed and approved for global adoption. Below is a rotating
selection of our standout investigators in these areas.
○ Recent News and Highlights
○ Related Strength: Public Policy
○ Related Strength: Transportation and Urban Planning
Selected Publications
Beresford, M. (2024). "Justice and moral economies in 'Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized' (MAD) water systems." Water Security 21.
Blisniuk, K., et al. (2021). A revised position for the primary strand of the Pleistocene-Holocene San Andreas Fault in Southern California, Science Advances 7(13).
Connolly, T. (2025). Nonlinear dynamics over the inner shelf and in the surface boundary layer during coastal upwelling. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 55.
Gabet, E. (2022). Evaluating the role of topographic inversion in the formation of the Stanislaus Table Mountains, Sierra Nevada (CA). Geological Society of America Bulletin, 134(3-4).
Godara, A., Kao, K. C. (2021). Adaptive laboratory evolution of β-caryophyllene producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Microbial Cell Factories 20(1).
Mehran, A., et al. (2017). Compounding impacts of human-induced water stress and climate change on water availability. Scientific reports 7(1).
Award Highlights
Beresford, "CAREER: Moral Economies in Water Markets: Implications for Understanding Human Responses to Water Insecurity." — NSF, 2022
Feinholz, Yarbrough, Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) Calibration and Operations — University of Miami, continued
Kao, “Adaptive Evolution of Candida Biofilms” — National Institutes of Health, 2022
Madden, Blisniuk, "Enhancing Research and Education in High Resolution Active Remote Sensing Technology and Landscape Modeling" — DoD, 2025
Featured Faculty
Melissa Beresford
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Water Insecurity, Social Infrastructure, Climate Change Adaptation, Research Methods
ORCID: 0000-0002-5707-3943
Kim Blisniuk
Professor of Geology
Earthquake Geology and Quaternary Landscape Evolution
ORCID: 0000-0002-0021-0062
Nathaniel Bogie
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Hydrology, Soil Science, Agroecology, Biogeochemistry
ORCID: 0000-0001-6069-4065
Tom Connolly
Associate Professor, Moss Landing Marine Labs
Physical Oceanography, Coastal Dynamics, Ocean Currents, Field Observations, Modeling,
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
ORCID: 0000-0002-2159-5918
Manny Gabet
Professor of Geology
Sierra Nevada, Landscape Evolution, Coastal Erosion, Nepal, Rivers, Dams, Landslides,
Debris Flows, Fires
ORCID: 0000-0002-7206-6821
Katy Kao
Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering
Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, Metabolic Engineering, Biomanufacturing, Microbial
Strain Development, Human Health, Human Fungal Pathogens
ORCID: 0000-0002-1184-276X
Elizabeth (Betsy) Madden
Assistant Professor of Geology
Earthquake, Seismic Hazard, Bay Area Tectonics, Fault Mechanics
ORCID: 0000-0002-6753-6788
Ali Mehran
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Environmental Remote Sensing, Hydrology, Drought, Climate Change, Machine Learning
ORCID: 0000-0002-4187-5669
Mark Yarbrough
Principal Investigator, Marine Optical BuoY (MOBY)
Oceanographic Instrumentation: Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic Design, Construction
and Operation
Potential collaborators and members of the media may contact us at officeofresearch@sjsu.edu.
