Michael T Schmeltz

Dr. Michael T Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at California State University, East Bay. He specializes in occupational and environmental health, focusing on geospatial and epidemiological methods to assess community vulnerabilities to environmental hazards and climate change. His work emphasizes climate governance, extreme heat mitigation, and equitable transitions to decarbonized systems. Dr. Schmeltz has served in local, state, and federal government roles addressing public health challenges.

His research spans climate change impacts on human health, including heat vulnerability mapping, GHG emission reduction strategies in transportation, and food security interventions for marginalized populations. He developed the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities Map, a community-driven tool for cumulative impacts assessment. Current projects include electrification equity frameworks and just transition policies.

Dr. Schmeltz has published extensively on heat-related hospitalization costs, mental health comorbidities, and disaster responses to events like Hurricane Sandy. His research bridges academia and policy, aiming to inform actionable solutions for environmental justice and climate resilience.