Dr. Jesse Thornburg is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, He has taught numerous courses in geology and environmental science that cover topics of sustainability and climate change. His research also touches on aspects of landscape and climate change, driven in part by his passion for these topics. Dr. Thornburg has a personal connection to understanding human-environment interactions from growing up in a coal mining community that is today confronting the environmental damage to the landscape and waterways scarred by a legacy of unsustainable resource extraction.