We are excited to welcome Dr. Shana Hirsch as the newest faculty member at SMEA. As a qualitative social scientist with a background in natural resource politics, policy, and management, Shana’s work explores how emerging technologies shape sustainability, environmental management, and climate resilience. Her research spans offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy, and the environmental monitoring and restoration

technologies, with a strong focus on how these innovations impact communities, policy, and equity. 

Learn more about Dr. Shana Hirsch below!

1. What drew you to the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington?

It is one of the rare spaces within the University that is truly interdisciplinary and where scholarship is being directly applied to solving real-world problems. I love the breadth of research and expertise within the department, and the fact that my job is going to be to support graduate students to use the tools of academia to become change-makers in the world. That is so exciting to me.

2. Your research explores how emerging technologies shape sustainability and environmental management. What first sparked your interest in this area?

Looking back at my academic path, most of my work has been about how people and societies adapt to changes, either in terms of climate change, land-use change, or technological change. We are really living in a time where new technologies are shaping the way that we interact with the environment on all levels, from our individual values to our societal responses. I think what first really sparked my interest in this was when I witnessed the shift to renewable energy in my home country of Scotland. A fairly rapid shift happened there starting in the early 2000’s, when the government decided to go 100% renewable, which is a big deal for a country which relied on oil for a large part of its economy. I saw how these new technologies–wind, wave, and tidal energy–were really changing the ways that people viewed the environment, and marine space particularly, which of course opened up a whole national debate about values, the environment, and the futures that people wanted to work toward.

3. What can students look forward to in your courses or in working with you as a faculty member at SMEA?

Mentoring is a passion of mine and I am excited to work with SMEA students and support them in their own goals. I’m going to be developing some new courses–one focused on social, technical, political, and environmental aspects of ocean energy, and another that will support students in developing community-engaged research skills.

4. Looking ahead, what do you see as the most exciting opportunities or pressing challenges in marine and environmental affairs, particularly in areas like offshore wind, marine energy, or environmental monitoring?

Anyone who cares about the natural world can see the challenges we face. We also witness the devastating impacts that humans are having not just on ecosystems, but on each other. I think our biggest challenge is to keep hope at the forefront of our work so that we can have the energy to move forward and toward the futures we want to live. SMEA is a place where this edge, of the reality of these challenges, and the possibilities for change, meet. I think that understanding how technologies are impacting the environment and our relationships is one piece of that larger picture.

5. As you prepare to join SMEA, is there anything you’re especially excited about, either in your research, teaching, or becoming part of the UW community?

I work closely with the Pacific Marine Energy Center, and I have some great opportunities for SMEA students to engage with the work we are doing there. I know that marine energy might not be on everyone’s radar, but it provides a fascinating area of research, from environmental impacts to energy sovereignty and everything in between.

Learn more about Shana and her work through her faculty page.