Sebastian Heilpern

Sebastian is an ecologist and sustainability scientist studying the causes of biodiversity change and its consequences for ecosystems and human well-being, with a particular emphasis on aquatic ecosystems. In linking causes to consequences, his research also seeks to identify opportunities to align biodiversity conservation with societal objectives around public health, food systems, and renewable energy. His research integrates field work, data science, and synthesis, and spans scales from local and regional studies in tropical river basins such as the Amazon to global analyses. He is an incoming Assistant Professor in Earth System Science, starting in January 2026. Prior to joining Stanford, he was an Eric & Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University.