About Us
The Environmental Research Group is the University of Chicago’s undergraduate science and policy think tank devoted to interfacing science and social good to create sustainable change in Chicago through applicable, data-driven modeling. Every year, we devote ourselves to one environmental problem facing the city. We are divided into three teams with different focuses that each research the problem from a different angle. Throughout the year, students learn the skills they need to tackle the research question using analytic lens of their team. At the end of the year, we distill our research into a comprehensive report.
Our Teams
Policy
Policy leads Matilda Spadoni and Nicholas McNamara
The Policy Group creates timelines for Chicago’s actions over history, writes and publishes policy recommendation reports, contacts and meets with law and policy professionals to discuss results and potential next steps, and recommends directions for further research.
Data
Data leads Abhishek Mukherjee and Jay Li
The Data Analysis Group finds interesting trends with water quality data, creates relevant graphics and maps, holds Environmental Data Science workshops, and uses python/basic programming to work with real data from the City of Chicago to develop dynamic models and use machine learning to forecast changes
Economics
Econ lead Rudi Patel
The Economic Modeling group allows ERG to test the implications of analyzed policies in a quantitative lense. By creating a variation of data-driven and toy models, Economic Modeling is able to examine the problem’s ERG faces from a theoretical and impact centered approach.
Leadership
Sadie Foer
Sadie is a third-year student at the University of Chicago, majoring in Comparative Literature and Mathematics. As a kid, she fell in love with the natural world while helping her grandma with her garden. Once she learned about the existential threats to our collective home, she began working within her community to make a difference. She joined ERG’s policy team her first year and has been involved ever since. In her free time, she loves to run, cook, and explore.
Sanju Patel
Sanju is a third-year student studying Biology and Economics. He has conducted environmental economics research and has extended that experience to start the economics research group at ERG. He also runs on the varsity cross-country and track teams at UChicago.