Erica
Smithwick
Distinguished Professor of Geography,
Director of the Center for Landscape Dynamics,
Associate Director of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Expertise:
- Sustainability & Environment
- Earth Science
Focus Areas:
- Ecology
- Climate Change
- Wildfires
In The Media:
About
- Smithwick can speak to the uptick in tempo and severity of wildfires, how it connects to climate change, and the impact on landscapes and ecosystems.
- Her research focuses on understanding the social and ecological factors that govern landscape resilience and helps to inform landscape decision-making.
- As a member of ScienceMoms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers, Smithwick, a mother of three, can speak about the importance of assisting parents who are concerned about their children’s planet understand the science of climate change and how they can help.
Erica Smithwick is a Distinguished Professor of Geography in the Geography Department and a faculty associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State. She serves as the director of the Center for Landscape Dynamics and associate director of the Institutes of Energy and Environment.
Through her laboratory group, LEAPS: Landscape Ecology at Penn State, Smithwick is actively involved in understanding how a wide rage of disturbances, particularly fire, affect ecosystem function at landscape scales. Her research focuses on how those disturbances influence landscape resilience and sustainability, with special attention to protected area management in Africa and the U.S.
Smithwick recently served as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa at Rhodes University and has received numerous research awards. She is involved in several transdisciplinary projects, including Visualizing Forest Futures, which seeks to address how indigenous and Western knowledge systems can be used to address forest sustainability under climate variability, and LandscapeU, which is focused on graduate training at the food-energy-water nexus.
In The Media
What’s actually in all that smoke you’re breathing
from Washington Post June 8, 2023
“We’re experiencing effects of climate change right now.”
'This is on our doorstep now': Wildfire smoke a reminder that climate change impacts human health
from Milwakee Journal Sentinel June 9, 2023
"I've studied wildfires for decades, and I'm quite alarmed by the changes that we're seeing to the wildfire systems."
Air quality in Pa. reaches historically bad levels from wildfire smoke
from PennLive June 9, 2023
“I do worry about this happening again and again.”
Opinion: Climate change is a parenting issue
from Philadelphia Inquirer September 15, 2022
"I used to look forward to the changing seasons. Now, my mind is occupied by the new threats each one brings."
Why Big, Intense Wildfires Are the New Normal
from National Geophraphic August 30, 2013
All wildfires need three things to burn: ignition, fuel, and the right climate, says Erica Smithwick, the director of Landscape Ecology at Penn State University and an expert on fire patterns. “But if you play with any of these things, you’re going to manipulate the fire,” she says.
from The Conversation March 1, 2022
"We also need to talk about climate change with each other. If people don’t talk about it, they don’t act."
The People’s Forest: How the Menominee are facing climate change
from Orion December 30, 2018
from Authority Magazine October 3, 2021
"It’s so hard to make ALL the right decisions, so people should try to be 'climate better,' not 'climate perfect.' Fighting climate change is like raising a teenager — it’s confusing, complex and 95% of the time you feel like the outcome is completely out of your control. Yet, as parents we engage anyway because it’s the right thing to do. Make the right decisions on an individual level when you can, but don’t let it consume you — that doesn’t help anyone."
Take Note: Project Drawdown Conference Focuses On Top 100 Actions To Reverse Climate Change
from WPSU September 6, 2019
In Penn State News
How land use affects the spread of disease
September 8, 2016
Related Topic
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Climate, Energy and the Environment
The effects of human-caused climate change continue to ripple around the world. Penn State experts are at the forefront of the science behind the effects and possible solutions.
Related Topic
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Topic
Extreme Weather
The recent arrival of El Nino could lead to new record temperatures and an increased risk for heavy rainfall and drought in certain locations around the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. On top of El Nino, data show that the past eight years have been the warmest in modern history, leading to an increase in extreme weather events. From hurricanes to catastrophic flooding, weather disasters cost the U.S. more than $165 billion in 2022, according to NOAA.