Analyzing the Environment

The environmental computation major brings together computer science and environmental studies

Students majoring in environmental computation might use data sets on wind turbine surveys or environmental remediation budgets to give them real-world scenarios while they learn computer programming.
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By Kayla Voigt '14Photography by Getty Images, Ashley L. Conti
January 17, 2025

Every year, thousands of monarch butterflies migrate more than 3,000 miles from Maine to Mexico. Creating an interactive map of the migration paths of these butterflies—and predicting their next route—is exactly the kind of project that requires an understanding of both ecological and computational concepts.

That’s just one example of what Colby students do in environmental computation, the foundation of the major of the same name in the Environmental Studies Department. The major isn’t new—Colby began offering it in 2010—but it has become more relevant with the advent of artificial intelligence and the acceleration of climate change.

“This hybrid major allows you to have a foot in both worlds that few other schools offer,”

Philip Nyhus, the Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie Professor of Environmental Studies

“The environmental computation major is a terrific way for students to have content knowledge around environmental topics, but also the quantitative knowledge that enhances their ability to work with things like big data and artificial intelligence,” said Philip Nyhus, the Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie Professor of Environmental Studies. “This hybrid major allows you to have a foot in both worlds that few other schools offer.”

Philip Nyhus, the Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie Professor of Environmental Studies, poses in the snow for a portrait.
Philip Nyhus, the Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie Professor of Environmental Studies, helped create the environmental computation major in 2010.

He created the major along with Russ Cole, Oak Professor of Biological Sciences, Emeritus, and former computer science professor Bruce Maxwell, who now teaches at Northeastern University. 

Students take a mix of courses from both computer science and environmental studies to complete their major requirements, in addition to higher-level mathematics coursework. Like the rest of the students in the Environmental Studies Department, students also go outside of their major for at least one course. “It’s very flexible so that students can tailor it to their areas of interest,” said Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Alejandra Ortiz.

These computational classes look and feel like computer science classes but cover environmental topics. Ortiz’s Environmental Computation, for example, uses data sets on wind turbine surveys and environmental remediation budgets to give more real-world scenarios as students learn the programming language Python.

“The idea is that by the end of that course, students will have covered the same material as they would have in an introductory computer science course, but with a more applied focus. We’re using it to help us understand and visualize environmental problems,” said Ortiz. “It’s very much geared toward students who have never taken a coding class before, so they can see the value of it in their discipline.”

Alejandra Geiger-Ortiz, assistant professor of environmental studies.
Alejandra Geiger-Ortiz, assistant professor of environmental studies, might use data sets on wind turbine surveys to provide real-world learning scenarios as her students learn the programming language Python.

This spring, in partnership with the Davis Institute for AI, Ortiz will also offer a higher-level artificial intelligence-focused course. “The course will focus on remote sensing and AI to look at how you can use open source software and AI tools to automate analysis of these massive data sets from satellites and other databases,” said Ortiz. “Having a mechanism in which you are comfortable with processing, visualizing, and extracting the key points out of a large data set is a key research skill.” 

Today’s environmental scientists have access to an incredible wealth of data if they know where to look. “With remote sensing, for example, you can see a satellite picture of almost every place on Earth every 14 days, and that goes back to the 1980s,” said Ortiz. “If you want to know if a property is in a flood zone, you don’t have to go out and measure it. We have the data sets already for that. Giving students the logistical mechanics of how to figure that out, but how to understand and interpret that kind of data is what makes me excited about environmental computation.”

Patricia Tibesar ’25 credits the interdisciplinary nature of her studies with success in the field and in the lab. She spent a summer interning with the U.S. Forest Service in her home state of Idaho. “As part of the timber-marking crew, we were out in the forest for 10 hours a day, but we also used GPS to map out boundaries and work with satellite data. Even with fieldwork, you need these more computational skills,” she said. 

A hybrid major like this one gives students the chance to do more with their limited time on campus. “Instead of forcing myself to choose between one or the other, I get to take a huge variety of courses that combine what I’m interested in,” said Tibesar, who is also an English major. “I didn’t have much experience with computer science before coming to Colby, so it was a steep learning curve for me, but really rewarding. I’m so grateful to be able to combine my interests in such a welcoming community like Colby.”

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