Dr. Leichenko is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and co-Director of the Rutgers Climate Institute. Her research intersects the fields of economic geography and human dimensions of global environmental change. Robin’s work examines how and why processes of global economic and environmental change differentially affect cities, regions and sectors, and the implications of these processes for questions of vulnerability, equity, and sustainability. Her forthcoming book, Climate and Society: Transforming the Future (with Karen O’Brien, Polity Press, 2019), explores social causes, consequences, and responses to climate change, and identifies openings and opportunities to create a more equitable and sustainable future. Her last book, Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures (with Karen O’Brien, Oxford University Press, 2008), was awarded the 2009 Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography from the American Association of Geographers.

Current and recent projects investigate three inter-related issues: economic vulnerability and resilience to climate change; economic and social equity implications of climate change impacts and adaptation; and the interplay between global change processes, housing markets, and urban spatial development. These projects are largely focused on urbanized coastal zones in New Jersey and New York, and she also has research interests in rural regions of the United States, South Asia, and southern Africa. Dr. Leichenko served as Review Editor for Working Group II of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, and serves on the editorial boards of Economic Geography, Growth and Change, Journal of Extreme Events, and Anthropocene.