The University of California, Davis, Office of Research is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephanie Hampton as the director of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy.

Hampton, an accomplished aquatic ecologist and administrator who currently serves as the deputy division director at Carnegie Science Biosphere Science and Engineering, will join TERC in the spring of 2025.

In this role, Hampton will apply her leadership and strategic skills to expand the range of scientific contributions of TERC research and outreach activities. She will work closely with the center’s staff and campus stakeholders to explore the many opportunities the center brings to advance the study of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that occur beyond the Lake Tahoe region and has impacts around the world. Hampton will play an active role in fostering responsible actions and stewardship in the center’s operations, including facilities and equipment, educational and interdisciplinary research efforts, and creating a larger community of financial supporters for TERC.

“I am honored to join TERC and build on an enduring record of excellence in research, education and stakeholder engagement for both regional and international impact,” said Hampton. “This is a rare opportunity to align my research interests with a collaborative team of world-class scientists in a setting that is an absolute treasure.”

“Hampton brings a strong record of scholarly achievement in aquatic and interdisciplinary environmental research, innovative approaches to education, understanding of the federal landscape of policy and funding and a record of success in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis.

For the past two decades, Hampton has been advancing research in freshwater ecology, focusing on the dynamic factors that shape aquatic ecosystems. With long-term ecological data collected from lakes as globally diverse as Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Washington in Seattle, she has helped inform environmental conservation efforts and policymaking. Much of her work involves understanding the implications of climate change on water quality, human safety, biodiversity and global nutrient cycles.

Throughout her career, Hampton served in leadership roles in academia including: an assistant professor at the University of Idaho; deputy director for the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UC Santa Barbara; and director of the Center for Environmental Research, Education and Outreach at Washington State University, where she also served as a professor in the School of the Environment.

She also served as director for the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation for four years.

Hampton received her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas, a master’s in biology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a doctorate in ecology and evolution from Dartmouth College.

Hampton is the President of the Ecological Society of America. She is a Fellow of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography and was honored with its Ramón Margalef Award for Excellence in Education in 2020. Hampton previously served as Chair of the Advisory Committee for NSF’s Biological Sciences from 2017 to 2018 and as member from 2016 to 2017.

Alex Forrest, interim TERC director will facilitate the transition over the next several months. Forrest served as the interim director following the retirement of Geoff Schladow.

“On behalf of the Office of Research and our colleagues at TERC, I would like to thank Alex for his invaluable leadership as interim director,” said Atkinson. “Alex has been and will continue to be a leading contributor to the success of TERC and its ultimate impact.”