Faculty Expertise

Joe Árvai

Joe Árvai is jointly appointed between the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Ross School of Business. Joe is an internationally recognized expert in the risk and decision sciences; his research has two main areas of emphasis: First, Joe and his research group conduct experiments focused on advancing our understanding of how people process information and make decisions, with a specific emphasis on how people make trade-offs.

Second, Joe and his team conduct research focused on developing and testing decision-aiding tools and approaches that people can use to improve decision quality across a wide range of environmental, social and economic contexts. Joe’s research is applied, and it accounts for decision-making by a broad spectrum of public and stakeholder groups, as well as by technical experts, business leaders and policy makers.

Andy Hoffman

Andrew (Andy) Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, a position that holds joint appointments at the Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability. Andy also serves as Education Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute. Andy’s research uses a sociological perspective to understand the cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues for organizations.

Tom Lyon

Thomas P. Lyon holds the Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, with appointments in both the Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability. Professor Lyon is a leader in using economic analysis to understand corporate environmental strategy and how it is shaped by emerging government regulations, nongovernmental organizations and consumer demands. His current research focuses on corporate environmental information disclosure, greenwash, the causes and consequences of renewable energy policy, and voluntary programs for environmental improvement.

Sara Soderstrom

Sara Soderstrom is an Assistant Professor in Organizational Studies and Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan and has recently joined the Erb Institute as one of our core faculty. In her work, Sara develops an organizational politics approach to corporate sustainability. Thus, she studies how individuals within organizations mobilize others, develop coalitions, and access key decision makers when they are trying to implement sustainability initiatives. Further, she studies individual and organizational responses to the ambiguity and uncertainty that surrounds sustainability, such as making sense of emergent issues, prioritizing and agenda setting, and balancing multiple goals.