About Joe

I am the Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology, Biological Sciences, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. I’m also the Director of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability.

I began my career as an environmental scientist and oceanographer, but it didn’t take long before I became just as interested in social systems as I was in ecosystems. And what really caught my interest was the complicated business that is people’s choices and behaviors when it comes to the environment. So, at the heart of my work is a question: why do people say they care about something and then not act accordingly? And my research in response to this question is based on the theory that how and what people think—alongside what information they rely on or ignore—might predict how they behave. 

It’s important to me that I do science in service of society. So, in addition to my day job at USC, I have served as a science advisor to the Office of the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and a consultant to a diverse array of government agencies, companies, and NGOs. I’m also a former member of two National Academy of Science’s Boards: the Board on Environmental Change and Society, and the Board on Atmospheric Science and Climate.

But that’s only half the story. Actually, probably less than half. I’m inspired by wayfarers, artists, and storytellers like Robert Capa, Lee Miller, Vivian Maier, Marie Colvin, Raymond Depardon, and Anthony Bourdain. So, away from the office and lab, I play the role of student and observer of the world, not to mention the people and other living things that occupy it. And the more places I visit, and the more people I meet, the more I believe—or, at least try to believe—that we’re connected more strongly by our similarities than we are by our differences.