"The thing I want to say is collaborate. Collaborating with talented people is not easy, but it's the way to really shine. You shine brighter if you are working with really great people. The important thing in the end is not that you are proved right every time; the important thing is that the music is the best that it can be. I want to wish you all that you would find your own voice. But if you are so disposed that you would find collaborators to work with, that you would shine as you could never shine on your own."
- U2's The Edge
Researchers in the lab have undertaken a variety of studies across a host of different risk and decision contexts. Some of these studies have been theoretical in nature while many others have been applied. Below are just a few examples of the kinds of research undertaken in the lab.

Decision Aiding for Deliberative Risk Management
deliberation
Environmental policy debates are increasingly focusing on ways to incorporate the concerns and ideas of different stakeholders into policy decisions. To this end, a significant amount of research in the lab has been devoted to developing and testing decision aiding tools that are aimed at improving the quality of these participatory risk management decisions. [MORE]

Affect and Analysis in Environmental and Risk Management Decisions
contamination
Affect is an instinctive feeling that people experience such as “dread” or “optimism” or a quality that they associate with a stimulus such as its “goodness” or “badness.” These experienced feelings or qualities, in turn, influence judgments, sometimes working in parallel with cognitive processes and sometimes pre-empting them. [MORE]

Wildfire Management
fire
Fire is a natural disturbance that plays a vital role in many ecosystems; it can also damage sensitive ecosystems and may lead to the loss of commercially and socially valuable forest stands. Wildland fire may also pose a threat to people’s lives, property, and security. Resource mangers must weigh these risks and benefits when making decisions regarding wildland fire management. [MORE]

Chronic Loss and Decision Making in Minority and Marginalized Communities
loss
Decision making by individuals and communities that are marginalized, or those that have suffered chronic losses, brings its own unique challenges. In order to help people address these challenges, researchers must first develop a better understanding of how people perceive risks (and benefits) and instinctively make difficult choices under these circumstances. [MORE]

Space Exploration
shuttle
Space exploration is changing. While ambitious exploration goals remain, NASA is coming under increasing scrutiny with respect to the risks and benefits of the agency's work. Thoughtful decisions about space exploration must begin with an understanding of these risks and benefits, as well as a framework for addressing complex tradeoffs. [MORE]