Dr. Elizabeth Doran is an environmental engineer and scientist focused on using interdisciplinary approaches to help better understand and address complex environmental problems. Her recent research has focused on modeling and mitigating extreme heat exposure in the urban and built environment, energy efficiency and equity; the role of agriculture, forest and floodplain land use and natural resource management on water quality; and, the potential impact of mega-urban region governance on production and consumption system sustainability.

Utilizing her broad base of knowledge and experience, a theoretical grounding in experimental techniques and coupled system modeling and analysis, as well as an increasing interest in social-psychological theories of behavior change and mixed methods approaches, Dr. Doran’s research employs geospatial, agent based and integrated assessment modeling techniques to advance the science of sustainability and resilience in social-ecological systems.

Dr. Doran is currently an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Vermont. She joined the UVM Transportation Research Center in 2020 where her research builds on her experience conducting urban field experiments to benchmark land use and urban climate impacts from light rail infrastructure in the southeast US. Dr Doran is also an Affiliated Faculty of the Gund Institute for Environment, where, since 2017, she has collaborated with a global network of researchers to advance the science of sustainability. Dr. Doran holds a Ph.D. from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in the Division of Earth and Ocean Science, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences (focus of aeroelasticity) from the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, and a B. S. in Environmental Engineering from Tufts University’s School of Engineering.