Scott D. Odell

About

Scott is a Program Scientist in the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, where he leads the Program on Mining and the Circular Economy. He is also an Assistant Research Professor of Geography at George Washington University. He investigates environmental justice concerns of critical mineral mining for the clean energy transition, and how these affect and are affected by broader global trends of climate change and development. He has active research projects in Latin America, the continental United States, and the Arctic, and teaches courses on sustainability, environmental justice, and climate change. 

Scott's work has been funded by the Sloan Foundation, Inter-American Foundation, MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), National Science Foundation, and MIT Sloan Latin America Office (MSLAO). Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT's ESI, a resident tutor at Harvard University, and a Program Associate at the Inter-American Dialogue. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University and a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He is based in Washington, DC, and enjoys playing and listening to music, traveling, cross-country skiing, backpacking, biking, and cooking.