The Columbia Climate School continues to expand its faculty as part of its growth plan and strategic commitment to advancing core priorities in research, education and impact at the intersection of climate, Earth and society.
This expansion reflects the school’s sustained efforts to strengthen climate research and cross-disciplinary collaboration, while preparing future leaders with the skills to tackle the global climate crisis.
“We are pleased to welcome these accomplished scholars, whose expertise will enhance the academic excellence of the Climate School,” said Alexis Abramson, dean of the Columbia Climate School. “These new faculty will play a vital role in advancing our research priorities and in educating students to lead effectively in a rapidly changing world.”
The following faculty will join the Climate School at the start of the academic year.
Austin Chadwick is appointed as the inaugural Paros Assistant Professor of Geohazards and Climate Mitigation, to begin on September 1, 2025. Chadwick has served as a postdoctoral research scientist since 2023 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where his research will continue to be based. His research centers on understanding how river systems develop, influence landscapes, and react to the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. With over a decade of experience, he studies fluvial processes through a combination of theoretical modeling, remote sensing, controlled lab flume experiments and geological fieldwork. He has also played a key role in interdisciplinary field projects on the Mississippi River (LA, USA), the Koyukuk River (AK, USA), the Yellow River (China) and the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system (Bangladesh).
Greeshma Gadikota, Lenfest Earth Institute Professor of Climate Change and professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering, is jointly appointed in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Columbia Climate School. Prior to her appointment at Columbia University, Professor Gadikota served on the faculty at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research mainly focuses on two areas: 1) sustainable energy and metal recovery—developing new technologies to extract sustainable energy and critical metals from various waste streams, and 2) sustainable subsurface energy—creating sustainable energy solutions for underground use.
Marcia Macedo, assistant professor, is jointly appointed in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Environmental Biology (E3B) and Columbia Climate School. Prior to her appointment at Columbia University, she was an associate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Macedo is an ecosystem ecologist studying the causes of tropical deforestation and forest degradation, along with their impacts on forests, rivers and the climate. Her research, which is based at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, focuses on how land use and climate change are transforming tropical landscapes, especially in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado. Her goal is to develop science-based solutions to manage these ecosystems and enhance social and ecological resilience.
V. Faye McNeill, professor and vice chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, is jointly appointed as professor of Climate, with tenure. McNeill will retain her current appointments at Columbia Engineering and Arts and Sciences. McNeill’s research interests are in atmospheric chemistry, aerosols, air quality, climate, sustainability and environmental policy. More specifically, her research is focused on the chemistry and physics of atmospheric aerosol particles and ice in the environment, and their roles in atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate. She is also the principal investigator of the Climate School seed-funded project Clean Air Toolbox for Cities project.
Zoey Yiyuan Zhou is appointed as Assistant Professor of Climate. Professor Zhou has served as an Assistant Professor of Sustainable and Green Finance at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, School of Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies from 2023 to 2025. Her research connects finance, climate science, and biodiversity, focusing on how financial systems—particularly corporate finance and banking—can drive nature-positive, climate-resilient, and equitable outcomes. She is a member of the Consultation Group for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and serves on the committee for the Connectivity of Asian Voluntary Carbon Markets, helping to develop frameworks that incorporate environmental risks and opportunities into financial decisions.
