We are excited to share that the Social Dynamics and Environmental Change Lab has joined the School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SOLES) in the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. For a team working at the interface of people and ecosystems, this feels like coming home. We are now part of aContinue reading “The SDEC Lab Joins the School of Life and Environmental Sciences”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Michele Barnes at Raising the Bar: The Hidden Connections Behind Climate Resilience
On May 7, 2026, Associate Professor Michele Barnes took the stage at the Bank Hotel in Newtown for a Raising the Bar public talk, exploring one of the most overlooked dimensions of climate resilience: our connections with people and the natural world. Drawing on her research with coastal and resource-dependent communities across Australia and internationally,Continue reading “Michele Barnes at Raising the Bar: The Hidden Connections Behind Climate Resilience”
Safer Beaches, Healthier Oceans: Carmen Dobszewicz on Electric Shark Deterrents
At the 2026 National Water Safety Summit, PhD candidate Carmen Dobszewicz served as a panel speaker on shark bite mitigation, sharing insights from her PhD research on electric shark deterrents. Carmen discussed how non-lethal technologies, such as personal electric deterrents, can contribute to beach safety as part of a multi-layered risk management approach, complementing otherContinue reading “Safer Beaches, Healthier Oceans: Carmen Dobszewicz on Electric Shark Deterrents”
PhD Scholarship: Social Networks for Disaster Preparedness and Climate Resilience
Applications for this PhD position are now closed. Thank you for your interest. Come join us! We are recruiting a fully funded PhD student at the University of Sydney to join an ARC Discovery Project examining how personal networks shape disaster preparedness and climate resilience. The project combines large-scale survey data, fieldwork across Australia, andContinue reading “PhD Scholarship: Social Networks for Disaster Preparedness and Climate Resilience”
Field Research in Colombia’s Caribbean coast
SDEC Lab PhD candidate Luisa Fernanda Bedoya Taborda recently conducted fieldwork in a coastal marsh ecosystem along Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Her research, endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Action, examines how justice and collaborative networks shape the impacts of climate adaptation responses—including Nature-based Solutions—on social stability and conflict, and how these social dynamics, in turn,Continue reading “Field Research in Colombia’s Caribbean coast”
Who benefits from climate adaptation? Preliminary findings shared in workshops in Leyte Province, the Philippines
SDEC Lab Postdoctoral Research Fellow Henry Bartelet conducted workshops in Leyte Province, the Philippines, to report and discuss preliminary findings from the Sydney Environment Institute funded research project on “Mapping Social Networks to Understand Disparities in Who Benefits (and Who Loses) from Climate Adaptation Projects.” This research project developed and applied a novel social networkContinue reading “Who benefits from climate adaptation? Preliminary findings shared in workshops in Leyte Province, the Philippines”
SDEC Director steps into new leadership role @ the Sydney Environment Institute
A/Prof Michele Barnes, Director of the SDEC Lab, has stepped into a Theme Lead role at the Sydney Environment Institute focused on Climate Disaster and Adaptation. Barnes’ research brings a social–ecological systems perspective to understanding how communities and institutions respond to climate risk. Climate disasters emerge from complex interactions between ecosystems, infrastructure, governance, and socialContinue reading “SDEC Director steps into new leadership role @ the Sydney Environment Institute”
SDEC Lab hosts Alejandro Espinosa-Rada
Recently we had the pleasure of hosting Alejandro Espinosa-Rada in the SDEC Lab during his visit to Sydney. Alejandro is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a Visiting Professor at KU Leuven. During his visit, we exchanged ideas on multilayer network modeling, group dynamics, and multidisciplinary collaboration –Continue reading “SDEC Lab hosts Alejandro Espinosa-Rada”
ANSNA Garry Robins Early Career Research Award
November 2025 Congratulations to Associate Professor Michele Barnes, Director of the Social Dynamics & Environmental Change Lab, on receiving the 2025 Garry Robins Early Career Research Award from the Australian Network for Social Network Analysis. Presented at ASNAC 2025 in Byron Bay, the award recognises an early- to mid-career scholar for outstanding contributions to theContinue reading “ANSNA Garry Robins Early Career Research Award”
On the road: SDEC attends the Australian Social Network Analysis Conference in Byron Bay
November 2025 Members of the Social Dynamics & Environmental Change Lab attended the Australian Social Network Analysis Conference (ASNAC 2025) in Byron Bay. Congratulations to lab members Walter Galdames Opazo (PhD candidate) and Henry Bartelet (postdoctoral researcher), who both presented early-stage work from their projects and received thoughtful, constructive feedback from the ANSNA community —Continue reading “On the road: SDEC attends the Australian Social Network Analysis Conference in Byron Bay”
Social Dynamics and Environmental Change 