The Emmett Institute is celebrating the achievement of its former fellow, Holly Jean Buck, who has been awarded a 2026 MacArthur Fellowship. The MacArthur Fellowships, also known as the “genius awards,” recognize exceptionally creative individuals and provide them with the freedom to pursue their work without restrictions.

Holly Jean Buck is a sociologist and energy policy researcher who investigates the social, ethical, and political dimensions of emerging climate policies. She is currently an Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Buffalo.

Buck’s work covers a broad range of topics related to climate disruptions and responses, including emissions cuts, adaptation, greenhouse-gas removal, and interventions/geoengineering. She is known for her independence, creativity, and original thinking, as well as her ability to build bridges across disciplines, professions, and cultural and social settings.

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One of Buck’s notable strengths is her commitment to conducting rigorous and honest research. She has a keen moral sense and a deep commitment to making people’s lives better through her work. Her intellectual honesty and clarity of thought have sometimes led to her being attacked, but she remains courteous, respectful, and soft-spoken.

At the Emmett Institute, we had the good fortune to work with Holly from 2017 through 2020, when she held a series of fellowships jointly between the Emmett Institute and UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IOES). While here, she led several important projects, made major contributions to building what is now the Earth System Intervention Law and Policy Project, and played a leading role in convening the International Summer Institute on Geoengineering Governance, which we are now preparing to re-launch in 2027 after an 8-year hiatus.

Congratulations to Holly, and thanks for your fabulous contributions to the Emmett Institute.