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by Sue Kropp
Biographical
Information:
• B.A.,
Brown University (English Literature and Engineering)
•
M.S., UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group
•
Ph.D., UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group
Related Links:
The
Environmental Studies Program
DECEMBER 10, 2002--Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Kathryn Janda started her undergraduate career majoring in English literature and engineering.
"I thought it was a nice balance," she says. "Being in both disciplines at the same time taught me to be creative in my approach to framing problems and rigorous in my efforts to solve them."
After college, Janda worked at a nonprofit educational organization for two years. During the course of this work, Janda realized that many of the most interesting and important problems in society have to do with energy use and the environment. She enrolled in UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group, an interdisciplinary graduate program started in the 1970s as a response to America's growing energy crisis.
"I've become very interested in looking at why society is reluctant to accept new technology, or even to use current technology to deal with environmental problems," says Janda. "What are the incentives that encourage people to adopt environmental technologies and behaviors? What holds them back?"
Her interest in technology adoption and social influences led Janda to look closely at issues in the built environment.
"How do we change the way we design and use our homes and offices? Humans have been building shelters of various sorts for thousands of years, and we have yet to succeed in making them widely affordable, comfortable, and sustainable."
A Q&A with Katy Janda:
Please send comments, questions, and suggestions about Oberlin Online news and feature articles to online.news@oberlin.edu.
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