Patrick (Pat) Keys, PhD

Patrick (Pat) Keys will be joining Boston University in fall 2025 as a Professor of Earth and Environment at the College of Arts & Sciences. He is currently an Assistant Professor for the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. His research is focused on a broad range of global sustainability challenges, including climate change impacts, cross-scale risks, and social-ecological tele-connections. His doctoral work sought to understand the dynamics between sources and sinks of atmospheric moisture, particularly how socially-driven changes in evaporation could be related to downwind, terrestrial precipitation. He has also worked on other topics ranging from the role of science fiction in developing more realistic scenarios for the future of Earth’s oceans, to the importance of recognizing the Anthropocene as a new baseline for global risk analysis.

Before CSU, Pat founded an environmental consultancy that worked with local and international partners. In collaboration with different partners, he explored food security in the UAE, the link between drought and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa, and climate change adaptation and mitigation in Fort Collins. He has also conducted fieldwork in Alaska (fish biology), Wyoming (burrowing owl behavioral ecology), American Samoa (indigenous perspectives on conservation), Morocco (agricultural water policy), Suriname (small-scale water supply), and Vietnam (climate change impacts).

Pat has a Ph.D. in Sustainability Science from Stockholm University, an M.Sc. focused on Water Resources from University of Washington, and a BA in Biology from Willamette University.

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