RCEI Leadership
Julie Lockwood
Director
A Rutgers faculty member since 2004, Julie Lockwood is a global leader in the study of invasive species and the negative economic, ecological, and social impacts they can impose. Julie has provided critical scientific evidence for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in the face of climate change. Her work on the rising rates of species invasions and extinctions has led to widespread recognition of global-scale shifts in biodiversity, which she and her colleagues have termed “biotic homogenization.” She is fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Ecological Society of America, and she contributes to the United Nations intergovernmental Science-Society Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Julie served as Interim Director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences from February, 2022 until September of 2023.
Marjorie Kaplan
Senior Associate Director
As Senior Associate Director, Dr. Kaplan assists the RCEI Director in administrative functions of RCEI as well as internal and external engagement. Dr. Kaplan led and managed the full portfolio of activities of the Rutgers Climate Institute for a decade, the precursor initiative to RCEI. She is Co-director of the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center, a statutorily created climate services center that creates and supports the development of applied research and tools, technical guidance, and delivery of that information to help policymakers, practitioners, communities, and citizens in New Jersey adapt to, and mitigate a changing climate. She also co-facilitates the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance (a network of diverse statewide leaders that share the goal of advancing evidence-based climate change strategies at the state and local levels in New Jersey). Dr. Kaplan develops applied research and analyses related to natural carbon sinks, climate and health/health equity, climate resilience, and climate and agriculture. Her 40+ year career has included more than 20 years in government and 10 years in the private sector. She was the first Director of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Climate and Energy where she oversaw regulatory programs under the Global Warming Response Act, the Global Warming Solutions Fund Law and regional initiatives to address climate change within various sectors, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Dr. Kaplan holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a Masters and Doctorate of Public Health from Columbia University.
Oliver Stringham
Research Analyst
Oliver Stringham is a data scientist and conservation biologist. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University. At the University of Adelaide, Australia, he developed methods to use online data to study the wildlife trade. Oliver specializes in creating data visualizations, conceptual graphics, and interactive web applications/dashboards. He has expertise in programming, data-driven analyses, and bioinformatics. Oliver focuses on converting complex data to clear and impactful formats for diverse audiences.
Joyce Ong
Research and Grants Facilitator
Joyce is a marine ecologist and climate change educator. She has a Ph.D. in Fish Ecology from the University of Western Australia, and subsequently landed a postdoctoral position at DEENR. Joyce then moved to Singapore to start a research group on fisheries in Southeast Asia and to teach climate change to undergraduates. She has since moved back NJ and will be facilitating inter-disciplinary research across RCEI affiliates and the broader Rutgers network. Joyce is passionate about the intersections between climate change, marine populations and human communities.
Matthew Drews
Digital Media Coordinator, Web Designer
Having begun his time at Rutgers as an undergraduate in 2007, Matt remained with the university upon graduating and now supports several divisions with his broad range of scientific and audio visual skills, including the Office of Climate Action, Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH), and the Coastal Climate Risk and Resilience Initiative (C2R2). He was the digital media coordinator and webmaster for the Rutgers Institute for Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) from 2016 to 2023, managing its a/v needs, website, and social media channels. He is also the Director of the Rutgers Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) in East Brunswick, NJ. His research interests include ground-based meteorological observation, air pollution meteorology, and atmospheric optics. Matt also has a Masters in Atmospheric Science from Rutgers University.
RCEI Area Leads
Atif Akin
Climate Change Communication and Environmental Humanities Lead
Atif Akin’s work is about technoscientific criticism in the context of contemporary art, science, and politics. Integrating technology as both subject and means of expression, Akin explores issues that are considered sensitive in the public discourse, unlocking them from the rigid political categories in which they reside.
Through his interdisciplinary approach, Akin contributes to the broader discourse on sustainability and the role of techno-science and culture in the dystopian futures. By looking at scientific and political phenomena, he extracts and creates meaning in a visual context, with broad political and scientific significance. His works appear as museum, gallery or public space installations, and in screen-based and printed publication formats, including online works.
Dunbar Birnie
Renewable Energy, Technology, and Energy Conservation Lead
Dr. Birnie's group concentrates on solar power technology and battery storage for enhancing renewable energy adoption. Recent work has emphasized the combination of photovoltaic arrays with large-scale agricultural production and land-use issues. This area of "Agrivoltaics" is of increasing importance as NJ aims to meet it's Energy Master Plan goals.
Anthony Broccoli
Earth Systems Science Lead
Dr. Broccoli studies changes in climate, both past and future, with a goal of better understanding the mechanisms responsible for such changes. He uses numerical models of the climate system in his research, carefully comparing their results with evidence from the climate record.
Kevon Rhiney
Human Dimensions of Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience Lead
Dr. Kevon Rhiney is a human-environment geographer whose research primarily explores the social and justice dimensions of climate change impacts in the Caribbean. This includes an examination of the threats posed by climate-induced changes to Caribbean agrifood systems and smallholder livelihoods as well as the opportunities and challenges for strengthening the science-policy interface driving climate adaptation efforts across the region. More recent research is exploring the biopolitical and justice implications of post-hurricane rebuilding efforts in the Caribbean, with a specific focus on how the ensuing recovery processes intersect with ongoing post/colonial struggles and predatory capitalism.