Student James Larson honored as 2026-27 Vice President for Research Graduate Fellow

The Vice President for Research Graduate Fellows Program at Colorado State University supports excellence in graduate student research and promotes interdisciplinary work by engaging the best and brightest students from graduate programs across the institution. These VPR Graduate Fellows receive research funding, professional development, networking opportunities and travel funding aimed at preparing them to become thought leaders. 

James Larson was selected for the 2026-2027 fellows cohort with the project, “Modeling Climate Risk Across Environmental and Social Systems.” His research explores the interactions of society and climate under future emissions scenarios. Larson studies how climate variability and future climate scenarios shape societal risk. His research integrates physical climate science with social and economic dynamics, including the development of modeling frameworks to assess impacts on western U.S. snowpack, water resources, and agriculture. He has led large-ensemble simulations of coupled social–climate systems to examine feedbacks among climate variability, public perception, and emissions trajectories. His interdisciplinary work aims to inform climate risk management and policy. Outside of research, he leads Growing Food Security, a community-based initiative that addresses local food insecurity. 

Ivy Glade was part of the 2025-2026 cohort, with the project “Quantifying the Impact of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on Hazardous Convective Weather Over the U.S.”