ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE & LIVELIHOODS LAB
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Brian E. Robinson, PhD

​Associate Professor
Brian E. Robinson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography. His research looks at how people meet their needs through use of ecosystems and natural resources, and the role this plays in development in poorer regions of the world. His methods draw from environmental and development economics, development geography, ecology, and land systems science. He holds an interdisciplinary environmental PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, masters degrees in Environmental Policy and Water Resource Engineering from MIT, and an undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences from Georgia Tech. When not on campus, he can be found doing fieldwork, hanging with his family, or running on a trail somewhere.

Current Members

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Holly Cronin

PhD Student
Holly’s research focuses on understanding the dynamics of institutional innovation in emerging seaweed aquaculture industries and involves fieldwork in the United States and Central America. She is interested in how relationships between human communities and marine environments can create opportunities for sustainable development in coastal regions. Prior to McGill, Holly received a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, worked at a sustainable seafood startup, and conducted ethnographic research in Atlantic Canada. At McGill, she is a member of the interdisciplinary Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services & Sustainability (BESS) Program and the Neotropical Environment Option (NEO) offered in collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

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Luci Lu

PhD Student
Luci’s research looks at the changes in grasslands and pastoral livelihoods. Currently she is focusing on the temporal-spatial vegetation dynamics of the Mongolian Plateau and examining the influence of shocks on livestock and agricultural production. She obtained her Master of Arts degree in geography from Miami University with her thesis on herders’ vulnerability and coping strategies in Western China. Luci previously worked for an environmental NGO in the Gobi Desert on resource conservation and semi-arid region agriculture. Her hobbies outside of research include badminton and biking.
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Yiyi Zhang

PhD Student
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Xiang Zhang

PhD Student 

Hugo Thierry

Postdoctoral fellow

Alicia Cavanaugh

Postdoctoral fellow

Marie Dade

Postdoctoral fellow

Jesse Rieb

Postdoctoral fellow

Ethan Bird

Undergraduate Honours Student

Graduates

Lingyu Zhou, MA 2020

Thesis: How do households depend on grassland ecosystem services? An analysis of household and spatial factors in Inner Mongolia, China

Rachel Maynard, MSc 2017

Thesis: Ecosystem Service Change in the Miyun Watershed, China Through Stakeholder-driven Visions of the Future

David Crook, MA 2017

Thesis: Stocking Rates and Varying Social-Ecological Conditions on the Rangelands of Inner Mongolia, China

Other alumni

Zoey Richards, BA & BSc Honours 2021

Shuming Ma, visiting postdoc 2017-2019

Wenjia Peng, visiting PhD student 2018-2019

Sai Ma, visting PhD student 2015-2017

Marina Smailes, Research Assistant

Juliette Cook, Research Assistant

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  • home
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