Colin Polsky

Dr. Colin Polsky is a Professor of Geosciences and Founding Director of the Florida Atlantic University School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (FAU ECOS). He leads the Center for Environmental Studies (CES), focusing on sustainability through research, education, and community engagement in coastal resilience, wetlands ecology, and energy innovations. His academic training spans mathematics, humanities, French, geography, and science & international affairs from the University of Texas, Penn State, and Harvard. He has directed CES since 2014, expanding its mission to address climate challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Research interests center on climate vulnerability, human dimensions of environmental change, and socio-ecological systems. Key themes include urban/suburban land management, flood risk modeling, and policy impacts on residential practices. He has secured $18M in NSF funding, with $1.7M directly managed, and authored 26 peer-reviewed articles, two books, and numerous reports. Leadership roles include 10 years as a Center Director, 8 years leading undergraduate research programs, and 1.5 years as an associate dean.

Notable contributions include frameworks for flood risk screening tools, analysis of neighborhood peer effects on environmental behavior, and interdisciplinary studies of residential ecosystems. He has served on NRC, NSF, and IPCC committees, emphasizing stakeholder-driven climate communication. The ECOS School, launched in 2023, aims to unify FAU’s environmental efforts across disciplines.