ISEE is an integrative collective of scholars, educators and students with a common goal of combating threats to biodiversity and ecosystem health in the face of extreme degradation. 

Based in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences on ASU’s West Valley campus, we study the reciprocal relationship between ecosystem threats and their impacts on human well-being. Drawing from our diverse expertise, we use extreme and imperiled environments to explore how human and ecosystem health affect organisms, communities, and Earth systems. Our contributing research labs approach these questions through a wide range of methods and disciplines, including studies of environmental justice, planetary health, biodiversity, pest and endangered species, soil biogeochemistry, mathematical modeling, explainable AI, network analysis, and technological innovations such as remote sensing, data science, machine learning, and genomics. Our shared focus is on extreme environments—oceans, deserts, urban areas, and other ecosystems that push the limits of life—particularly where temperature, water availability, and human influence create unique challenges. We:

1. Develop innovative approaches to assembling datasets characterizing threats to conservation in extreme environments

2. Inform sustainable solutions to conservation challenges based on their nature and magnitude

3. Share insights with scientists and the public to inspire conservation that benefits both people and the planet