Steve Miller combines tools from computer science and economics to study 1) the effective management of shared natural resources (e.g. fisheries) 2) how environmental policies stimulate the development and deployment of new technologies and processes that reduce environmental impact, and 3) the impacts of changing temperatures on natural resource use and economies. Methodologically, he is primarily interested in the ways that machine learning and applied statistics can be combined to answer causal questions of interest that fall within the environmental realm. Trying to answer these questions naturally involves collaboration with plenty of smart people from a range of disciplines. Before moving to CU Boulder, Steve was an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota’s Applied Economics department, and also spent five years as a Product Manager at Google, helping launch the ocean features within Google Earth.
ENVS 1001 - Introduction to Human Dimensions of Environmental Studies
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Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Examines the human dimensions of sustainability and environmental justice. Students examine a core set of human factors linked to the environment, including the production and use of knowledge, behavior, values, social movements, policy, market forces, and systems of power, exploitation, oppression, and inequality. Through hands-on activities, students learn how these factors impact and result from the human-environment interface. Students will build quantitative and writing skills to empirically study human dimensions of the environment.
ENVS 3525 - Intermediate Environmental Problem Analysis: Topical Cornerstones
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023
Engages students in in-depth study of a topic such as climate change, energy, natural resources or sustainability. Through lectures, discussions, readings and activities, students will become conversant with how science, policy and values are integrated in environmental problem solving, and develop their own sense of how to critically engage with proposed solutions. Fulfills cornerstone requirement for Environmental Studies Major. Recommended prerequisite: ENVS 1000. Recommended corequisite: ENVS 3020. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours, provided the topics vary.
ENVS 4850 - ENVS Honors Thesis Research
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
To be taken in final academic year prior to graduation. Consists of honors research and thesis preparation under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Department enforced restriction: Requires a minimum 3.3 GPA and a declared ENVS major and approval by departmental honors committee.
ENVS 5100 - Special Topics in Environmental Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2022
A variety of topics not currently offered in curriculum; offered depending on instructor availability and student demand. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours, provided the topics vary.
