Energy and Environmental Law Faculty
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Professor Colburn is a leading scholar of environmental and natural resources law. He has published over thirty articles and book chapters focusing on the law of environmental assessment, habitat and at-risk species protections, and the jurisdiction of water disputes. His published work routinely considers the legal system’s use (and misuse) of science and scientific information. Prior to teaching, he served as Assistant Regional Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as Trustee of the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
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Clinical Professor Jeffrey Erickson is director of the International Sustainable Development Projects Law Clinic. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before several state and federal administrative agencies.
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Professor Lara Fowler is an attorney and mediator who focuses on environmental, energy, and natural resource law, with a specific focus on water related issues. She has a joint appointment between Penn State Law and the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment where she is working on questions related to water, the Chesapeake Bay, and energy. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an attorney at Gordon Thomas Honeywell LLP in Seattle, Washington, where she focused on mediation and dispute resolution of complex natural resource issues, as well as representing clients facing regulatory hurdles in the environmental and energy fields.
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Professor Ross Pifer’s research focuses on shale gas development and the interface between agricultural and residential development. He has been an attorney with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of General Counsel, and he has advised military personnel and commands in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain, and Germany while on active duty with the U.S. Army JAG Corps at the Netherlands Law Center.
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Professor Hannah Wiseman is a Professor of Law, Professor and Wilson Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Institutes of Energy and the Environment Co-funded Faculty Member. Professor Wiseman teaches and writes in the areas of Energy Law, Oil & Gas Law, Land Use Regulation, Environmental Law, and Administrative Law. Her work focuses on the mechanics and design of regulation and governance in these areas, including the challenges of determining appropriate governance levels, fostering effective experimentation, and addressing expansions in the scale of regulated activities.
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Professor Sam Wiseman is a Professor of Law. He teaches and writes in the areas of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and Food Law, and he has published articles in the Yale Law Journal, Minnesota Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, George Washington Law Review, and Boston College Law Review, among other journals. He also served as a law clerk to Judge Fortunato Benavides of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas, and he was a Fellow in the Texas Solicitor General's Office. Professor Wiseman received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.