Arizona State University expert directory

Nancy Grimm studies the interaction of climate variation and change, human activities, and ecosystems.

Grimm’s lab studies how disturbances, such as flooding or drying, affect desert streams; how chemicals move through and cycle within both desert streams and cities; the effects of storm water infrastructure on water and material movement across an urban landscape; and the effect of extreme events on urban areas and their infrastructure.

Grimm has had an international impact in the environmental sciences and is a pioneer in desert stream ecosystems. Her collaborations across the disciplines of earth, life and social sciences, as well as engineering, helped create the subdiscipline of urban ecology. She currently co-directs a Sustainability Research Network focused on urban resilience to weather-related extreme events.