John Petersen ’88

  • Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology
  • Director of Environmental Studies and Sciences Program

Areas of Study

Education

  • BA, Oberlin College, 1988
  • MS, Yale University, 1992
  • PhD, University Maryland Baltimore County, 1998

Biography

I am a “systems ecologist” by training, which means I study flows of energy, cycles of matter, and control mechanisms operating in complex systems.

At Oberlin, much of my research has focused on understanding the role that communication and feedback control play in both ecological and social systems. From a practical perspective, our group of faculty and student collaborators have been developing real-time feedback display technology for buildings, organizations, and whole cities with the goal of engaging, educating, motivating and empowering resource conservation and pro-environmental and pro-community thought and action.

Our work currently centers on the Environmental Dashboard (www.environmentaldashboard.org) , a technology and approach for promoting systems thinking, sustainability, and resilience within communities. The project team collaborates closely with k-college educators, businesses leaders, government and non-profit organizations.

The city of Oberlin serves as a pilot of this technology. Several of our student collaborators have gone on to careers that build on this work. Together with three former students, I cofounded the company Lucid Design Group. Lucid’s software is now used to track energy and water use in thousands of buildings, across the United States and Canada.

More recently the Oberlin team started CommunityHub, which is developing a suite of communications and feedback technology to expand this work to other communities.

  • Systems Ecology
  • Wetland Restoration
  • Energy Monitoring

Spring 2025

Systems Modeling: Systems Thinking — ENVS 340

Fall 2025

Ecosystem Ecology — EVSS 316

Notes

John Petersen and Community Hub Awarded 2024 Civic Collaborator Award

November 20, 2024

Environmental Studies and Biology professor John Petersen and his company, Community Hub, were honored with the 2024 Civic Collaborator Award by MidTown Cleveland Inc., a community-development organization on the city’s near east side. Based on Petersen's Community Dashboard model of digital screens piloted in the city of Oberlin, the MidTown Community Dashboard promotes social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability, and includes a newly developed job board and community calendar. Community Hub content is created and maintained by Oberlin students.

Cindy Frantz and John Petersen Receive Award from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

August 6, 2024

Environmental studies professors Cindy Frantz and John Petersen were honored with an Outstanding Project Award by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for their ongoing work on two grant-funded projects related to the “Environmental Dashboard,” a digital tool used to promote environmental sustainability among schoolchildren. The projects, which incorporate real-time resource usage feedback and community voices, have involved numerous Oberlin students over the past decade.

 

John Petersen Coauthored Paper to Appear in "Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems"

April 10, 2024

Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology John Petersen recently published the paper "Biochar has positive but distinct impacts on root, shoot, and fruit production in beans, tomatoes, and willows" in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems with undergraduate collaborators and coauthors Sunniva Sheffield and Taylor Hoeffer. Additional Oberlin College students acknowledged for their research contributions include: Grace Gao, Aidan Kirchgraber, Stephanie Macedo, Elise Steenburgh, Qiao Hui Zhang, and Sophia Cartsonis.

News

Marketing For Good

March 21, 2025

Advertising signs are used to sell everything from legal services to razor blades. But are there ways to leverage advertising psychology for the good of the planet? And could digital signs be used to encourage pro-environmental thoughts and action?

Explore Related Departments