Elizabeth Hermann

Elizabeth Hermann is a Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), specializing in urban design, cultural history, and climate resilience with 25+ years of fieldwork in South Asia's Bay of Bengal region. Her research examines urbanization, environmental displacement, and climate justice through interdisciplinary lenses.

Education:

• BS, University of Vermont
• MLA, Cornell University
• PhD, Harvard University (focused on urban history and pandemic disease in pre-modern Muslim world)

Her research integrates cultural-environmental interconnectivity in cities, prioritizing economically disadvantaged populations, gender dynamics, coastal climate impacts, and ecosystem-based adaptation. Work in the Bay of Bengal region analyzes how rapid urbanization, conflict, and land disputes intensify climate-driven displacement, emphasizing community-led resilience strategies.

Scientific Awards and Fellowships:

• Social Innovator-in-Residence and Visiting Scholar at Babson College
• SPURS Fellow in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT
• Senior Fulbright Fellow in Sri Lanka
• Fellow of the American Academy in Rome
• Professional Fellow in Economic Empowerment with the US State Department

No specific current advisees or grant details are documented, but her leadership in TAASI East demonstrates active research management and mentorship in applied community projects. She has previously taught at MIT, Harvard, Brown, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Founder and co-director of TAASI East—an international nonprofit research lab partnering with Sri Lankan organizations—she advances social-environmental justice through community development and climate adaptation initiatives across coastal South Asia.

Currently finalizing two book projects: "Cities of Silt and Sand: The Bay of Bengal and its Narrative of Urbanization, Displacement and Struggle" and "Widening Waters: Landscape, Identity and Narrative in Sri Lanka".