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Ryan Emanuel

Associate Professor of Hydrology
Environmental Social Systems
9 Circuit Dr., Durham, NC 27708

Selected Presentations & Appearances


Heritage Voices Podcast · November 2023 Broadcast Appearance Archaeology Podcast Network

Ryan joins Seth Grooms (Appalachian State) for a conversation with host Jessica Yaquinto about community-engaged research.

Environmental Professionals Radio · September 2022 Interview National Association of Environmental Professionals, Podcast

Podcast interview.

Odum Environmental Ethics Lecture - Willson Center for Humanities and Arts · April 18, 2022 Keynote/Named Lecture University of Georgia, Virtual

Ryan Emanuel, associate professor of hydrology in Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, will give the 2022 Odum Environmental Ethics Lecture, “On the Swamp: Indigenous Erasure, Environmental Justice, and the Transformation of North Carolina’s Coastal Plain," sponsored by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program. The event is also presented as part of the Willson Center’s 2022 Global Georgia Initiative public events series.

Plenary Address - Freshwater Science 2021 · May 26, 2021 Keynote/Named Lecture Society for Freshwater Science, Virtual
It's a Greens Thing - Somewhere South · 2020 Broadcast Appearance PBS

At the Lumbee tribe’s annual homecoming, Vivian samples their famous collard sandwich and learns the roots of Southern hospitality.

The Seeds of Ghost Forests - Science Friday · 2019 Broadcast Appearance NPR

Lining the coasts of North Carolina are wooden tombstones. These naked, gray stalks are what’s left of the trees that once stood there. As salt water from the sea seeps through the soils, the woodland areas turn into “ghost forests.”

Where Rivers Are Born - Exploring North Carolina · 2014 Broadcast Appearance UNC-TV

Blackwater rivers are generally short, slow-moving rivers that emerge from pocossins in our eastern-most counties, and transport carry acidic, tea-colored water.

Outreach & Engaged Scholarship


Bass Connections Team Leader - Assessing Climate Change Risk of Rural Coastal Plain Communities · 2023 - 2024 Projects & Field Work

Service to the Profession


Editorial Board and Associate Editor · September 2022 Editorial Activities Environmental Justice

Ryan served as associate editor for a special issue on community engagement.

Member - Science Advisory Board · September 2021 Committee Service United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Member - Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering · 2020 - 2023 Committee Service National Science Foundation
Member - Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee · 2019 - 2021 Committee Service American Geophysical Union
Member - Academic Advisory Council · 2016 Committee Service American Indian Science and Engineering Society
Member and University of North Carolina System Representative - State Advisory Council on Indian Education · 2015 - 2016 Committee Service North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Member - Ecohydrology Technical Committee · 2011 - 2014 Committee Service American Geophysical Union

Service to Duke


Keohane Visiting Professor Nominating Committee (University) · 2025 Committee Service Duke and UNC
Academic Council · 2025 Other Duke
Nicholas School Dean Search Committee (School) · 2024 Committee Service Nicholas School of the Environment
John Hope Franklin Chair Faculty Search Committee (Division) · 2023 - 2024 Committee Service Nicholas School of the Environment
Faculty Council · 2022 - 2024 Other Nicholas School of the Environment