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Ryan Emanuel

Associate Professor of Hydrology
Environmental Sciences and Policy
9 Circuit Dr., Durham, NC 27708

Awards & Honors


Finalist, 2025 Phill Reed Environmental Writing Award

National Southern Environmental Law Center · December 2024 Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) presents the award annually in memory of Phillip D. Reed, a founding trustee of SELC who helped guide our organization through the early years before his untimely death in 1993. A talented attorney committed environmental activist, and editor of the widely read Environmental Law Reporter, Phil was known for his ebullient spirit and inquiring intellect. More about this award

Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professorship

University North Carolina State University · 2020 More about this award

William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations

Other Wildacres Leadership Initiative · 2020 More about this award

Nominee, Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service

University University of North Carolina Board of Governors · 2020

Benjamin N. Duke Fellowship of the Research Triangle Foundation and Donnelley Family Fellowship

Other National Humanities Center · 2020 More about this award

Distinguished Service to Indian Education

Other United Tribes of North Carolina · 2019

Steve Wing International Environmental Justice Award

Other North Carolina Environmental Justice Network · 2019

Nominee, Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service

University University of North Carolina Board of Governors · 2019

University Sustainability Award (The Green Brick)

University North Carolina State University · 2018

In the News


Published March 13, 2025
In North Carolina, Trump administration’s anti-climate deregulation agenda comes to a head
Published February 24, 2025
Can the Lumbee gain tribal recognition? Trump actions provide hope, but hurdles remain
Published February 12, 2025
‘Words matter’: Accepted ‘pocosin’ definition unsupported
Published January 28, 2025
A Partnership to Build Climate Resilience Along the Great Coharie River
Published January 14, 2025
Ryan Emanuel talks intersection of environmental justice, Indigenous communities in new book
Published December 30, 2024
On the Swamp: The Fight to Protect Lumbee Lands
Published December 11, 2024
A conversation with Ryan Emanuel, author of 'On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice'
Published December 3, 2024
Duke professor with Charlotte roots shares his new book 'On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice'
Published November 15, 2024
Blackwater Swamps
Published August 22, 2024
Dr. Ryan Emanuel to kick off Native American Speakers Series
Published August 13, 2024
Duke 100 Trailblazer: Ryan Emanuel
Published August 4, 2024
Waterways, Wetlands, and Indigenous Justice
Published August 2, 2024
Dozens testify against large liquified natural gas facility in Person County
Published July 30, 2024
Eroding Indigenous Sovereignty: How climate change complicates the fight for Tribal Nations to prove who they are
Published July 16, 2024
Lumbee tribe member on the fight for indigenous environmental justice
Published June 13, 2024
On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice
Published June 10, 2024
Mark Robinson says climate change isn’t real. He could be NC’s next governor
Published May 22, 2024
Lumbee author Ryan Emanuel shares stories of Indigenous survival in fight for environmental justice
Published May 17, 2024
In a debut book, a love letter to eastern North Carolina — and an indictment of colonialism as a driver of climate change
Published April 18, 2024
On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice
Published April 11, 2024
Spring Books by Duke Authors: Meditations, Baseball, Rebels and Stomach Pains
Published September 15, 2023
Lumbee climate scientist on global warming and Mark Robinson's false climate claims
Published May 19, 2023
Bombs in a swamp: Robeson County residents battling proposal for private military training site
Published April 18, 2023
With Disaster Tours, Eastern N.C. Locals Share Stories, Propose Flooding Solutions
Published February 14, 2023
Why a pipeline project in Houston is raising concerns over environmental racism
Published October 28, 2022
Learning to live with water, again: Lumbee face hard decisions about nature and NC storms
Published May 27, 2022
Poultry waste plant that has polluted in the past gets new approval in Robeson County
Published April 21, 2022
What’s Up with President Obama Narrating a Netflix Nature Series?
Published February 14, 2022
Chicken Frenzy: A State Awash in Hog Farms Faces a Poultry Boom
Published December 17, 2021
A Gas Pipeline Investigation Built on Community-Centered Ideas
Published November 22, 2021
Water Wisdom: The Indigenous Scientists Walking In Two Worlds
Published October 27, 2021
Homelands in peril
Published October 21, 2021
Ryan Emanuel: What Indigenous Perspectives Can Teach Us About Climate Change
Published June 4, 2021
Where are the U.S.’s natural gas pipelines? Often in vulnerable communities.