Environmental China
Launching a groundbreaking research project on the environmental humanities and social sciences in China.
Current Research
With the launch of the Harvard Global Institute to support research on environmental challenges in China, the Fairbank Center is primed to be at the forefront of environmental humanities and social sciences research.
This year, Professor Karen Thornber’s project, “Humanistic Ecologies and China: New Perspectives on Environmental Health and Climate Change” received seed grant funding from Harvard President Drew Faust to lay the groundwork for a three-year project under the Harvard Global Initiative. The project will bring a new perspective to Harvard’s existing interdisciplinary approach to climate change.
Expertise

Ali Malkawi 马加维
Professor of Architectural Technology, Founding Director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities
Malkawi is an international scholar and expert in building simulation, energy conservation, and sustainability in buildings. He teaches architectural technology and computation and conducts research in the areas of computational simulation, building performance evaluation, and advanced visualization at the HarvardRead More

Michael McElroy 迈克尔•迈克艾罗伊
Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies
Michael McElroy studies changes in the composition of the atmosphere with an emphasis on the impact of human activity. His research includes investigations of processes affecting the abundance of ozone in the stratosphere and factors influencing the chemical composition ofRead More

Karen Thornber 唐丽园
Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature and Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Karen Thornber’s primary areas of research and teaching are world literature and the literatures and cultures of East Asia, particularly Japan, as well as the Indian Ocean Rim.
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Victor Seow 萧建业
Assistant Professor of the History of Science
Victor Seow is a historian of technology, industry, and the environment who specializes in China and Japan in the long twentieth century. His work is primarily concerned with the social and economic dimensions of technological development and environmental management inRead More
Research Projects
Artful Retreat: Garden Culture of the Qing Dynasty
China 2035
Harvard China Fund, Landscape and Ecological Urbanism
Latest News
2018-2019: A Year in Review of China Studies at Harvard
Read and download our 2018-2019 Annual Report here. The 2018–19 academic year was a challenging time for all of us at the Fairbank Center who devote ourselves to the study of China. The U.S.-China bilateral relationship continues to deteriorate and there are few...
October 2018 Newsletter
View our October 2018 Newsletter in your browser Welcome to our New Affiliates Welcome to our new affiliates for the 2018-2019 academic year! This year we are pleased to welcome four Postdoctoral Fellows, fourteen Visiting Scholars, ten Graduate Student Associates,...
Resources at Harvard
- Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Asia Energy and Sustainability Initiative
- Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Executive Education Programs on China
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Energy Technology Innovation Policy
- Critical Issues Confronting China Lecture Series
- Harvard China Project
- Arnold Arboretum (South Central China and Tibet Expedition)
- Harvard University Herbaria (Flora of China Project)