At the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, you’ll deepen your understanding of the living world and your place within it.
The work that happens here is rooted in our land- and sea-grant mission, and connected to the needs of the local, regional, and global communities. Our faculty researchers work collaboratively across disciplines, drawing from a broad, inclusive field of human knowledge to make critical discoveries within their fields. URI’s core research facilities and specialized labs offer the latest technologies that will enable you to gather field data, synthesize vast amounts of information, and develop solutions to real world challenges. Whether you are interested in urban food systems; protecting marine wildlife; understanding what makes an organism adapt and an ecosystem thrive; or assisting policy makers in the shift towards renewable energy and sustainable natural resource management, you’ll find your place here.
URI Cooperative Extension
Education and engagement with Rhode Island communities is at the core of what we do. As a land-grant and sea-grant university, our mission is to ensure URI provides education and applied research that helps communities and improves the lives of Rhode Islanders.
learn moreNews and Stories
The leopard seal in focus June 27, 2025 - While leopard seals might be easily recognized for their ominous portrayals as villains in movies, they largely remain a mystery to humans. Professor Sarah Kienle and postdoctoral researcher Emily Sperou are working to fix that by contributing to our scientific understanding of these marine apex predators.
Applications of GIS: Meagan Shanaghan on the Development of URI Botanical Collections Database June 25, 2025 - At URI, GIS is used to manage the impressive botanical collections on the Kingston Campus. What started as a need for better organization of the accessions database – a spreadsheet that tracked the inventory of plants housed on campus – grew into an interactive tool used by both staff and visitors alike: URI Botanical Collections Database. The leading developer for the database was GIS and spatial services specialist Meagan Shanaghan ‘20 M.E.S.M. ‘23.
Leave no trace: Careful social media sharing can help protect local reptiles and amphibians June 24, 2025 - Compared to other New England states, there is less turtle density in Rhode Island due to the state’s urbanization. However, careful driving, and media use, are still recommended to help protect turtles and other vulnerable reptile and amphibian species.
Taking curiosity to new heights: URI Ph.D. students awarded NASA fellowship June 24, 2025 -
Two Ph.D. students in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences’ interdisciplinary biological and environmental sciences graduate program have been awarded graduate research fellowships from the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium. Michelle Marder and Kate Remy ’24 are specializing in cell and molecular biology and aim to help scientists better understand antibiotic resistance.
