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.