Rate My Professor Colin Polsky

Colin Polsky is a Professor of Geosciences in the Geoscience faculty at Florida Atlantic University, currently serving as Associate Vice President for the Broward Campuses. He joined FAU in August 2014 as Professor of Geosciences and Director of the Center for Environmental Studies, a position he held until 2024. From 2023 to 2024, he was Founding Director of the School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability. Prior to FAU, Polsky was Associate Professor (2009–2014) and Assistant Professor (2003–2009) in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. He completed a NOAA/UCAR postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (2001–2003) and served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research at Harvard (2011–2012). His academic background includes a Ph.D. (2002) and M.S. (1998) in Geography from Pennsylvania State University, a B.S. in Mathematics (1994), and a B.A. in Plan II Honors (Humanities, French) from the University of Texas at Austin (1994).

Trained as a geographer, Polsky specializes in the human dimensions of global environmental change, with a focus on advancing knowledge of U.S. climate vulnerabilities through interdisciplinary research. His studies explore how societies create, perceive, and respond to climate challenges, including urban homogenization, residential lawn management, water system vulnerabilities, and coastal flood resilience. Polsky has published 26 peer-reviewed articles, two co-authored books, 17 book chapters, and 11 reports. Key works include “Ecological homogenization of residential macrosystems” (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017), “Assessing the Homogenization of Urban Land Management with an Application to US Residential Lawncare” (PNAS, 2014), and “The Florida Wildlife Corridor and Climate Change: Managing Florida’s Natural and Human Landscapes for Prosperity and Resilience” (2024). He served as Co-Convening Lead Author for the Midwest chapter of the 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment, contributed to National Research Council and U.S. Global Change Research Program committees, and reviewed several IPCC reports. His efforts have secured nearly $18 million in NSF grants. Awards include the Hodgkins Award for Research Excellence (Clark University, 2008), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (1997), and Penn State’s 125th Anniversary Fellows class (2022).