Alexander Metzger is currently an Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) coasts and communities fellow in the Environmental Science PhD Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His interests lie in modeling human-environment interactions and feedbacks present in socio-ecological systems; comparing values, beliefs, and attitudes among common resource pool stakeholders; and analyzing the social networks involved in land conservation and management. He plans to use analytical and predictive models of socio-ecological systems to create customized tools that will guide effective, collaborative decision-making and adaptive management.
Metzger is currently working on a variety of projects with Steven Gray at UMass Boston. These projects include modeling the influence of risk perception in mitigating the effects of extreme flood and fire events, socio-economic factors driving land cover change in the Great Plains, and patterns of values, beliefs, and outcomes within land conservation and management organizational networks. As an IGERT coasts and communities fellow, Metzger hopes to collaborate with researchers in the Horn of Africa to develop unique approaches to pervasive issues facing the region.