Ruth DeFries

Ruth DeFries is a University Professor of Ecology and Sustainable Development at Columbia University, specializing in tropical land use dynamics and their global environmental impacts.

Her research integrates satellite imagery and field surveys to analyze how human resource demands alter tropical landscapes, quantifying consequences for climate systems, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human development. She pioneers methodologies linking land cover changes to ecological and socioeconomic outcomes, with emphasis on sustainable development pathways that reconcile conservation and human needs.

Her scientific leadership has been recognized through:

• Election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
• MacArthur Fellowship ("genius award")

DeFries actively bridges science and policy through engagements with Environmental Defense Fund, Science for Nature and People Partnership, and World Wildlife Fund. She has developed innovative sustainable development education frameworks and authored the acclaimed book "The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis," while conducting fieldwork on conservation-development tradeoffs in central India.