Sarah Kimball

Biography

Sarah Kimball, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Director of the Center for Environmental Biology, and Director of Research and Partnerships for the Environmental Collaboratory at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on plant community ecology and ecological restoration in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, with particular emphasis on understanding how environmental variability, climate change, and species invasions shape plant communities in Southern California and the Sonoran Desert.

Kimball has published 47 peer-reviewed articles examining topics including plant functional traits, community assembly, restoration effectiveness, and the impacts of drought and climate change on vegetation dynamics. Her work has demonstrated how long-term drought can promote invasive species by reducing wildfire severity, how biotic resistance to invasion is shaped by slope aspect, and how contemporary climate change in the Sonoran Desert favors cold-adapted species. She has secured over $7 million in research funding from sources including the California Climate Action Initiative, the Natural Communities Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, and California State Parks.

Kimball co-designed the Masters in Conservation and Restoration Science program at UC Irvine and developed the Center for Environmental Biology Internship Program, which provides intensive research training to 15-20 undergraduate students annually. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in 2007, following postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona. She has received the Edward Steinhaus Teaching Award and the Great Partner Award from UCI Engage, and serves as a Sexual Harassment Advisor for the School of Biological Sciences.

Education

• Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 2007
• M.S., California State University, Northridge, 2001
• B.S., Willamette University, 1996

Distinctions

• Best Physiology Student Paper, 2006
• Dr. James D. Watson Scholar, ARCS Foundation Fellowship, 2006-2007
• Edward Steinhaus Teaching Award, 2007
• Most Promising Future Faculty Member, 2006
• Teaching Excellence and TA Mentoring Award, Instructional Resources Center, 2004-2005
• Donald E. Bianchi Graduate Student Research Award, 2002
• Outstanding Graduate Student Award, 2002
• Great Partner Award, UCI Engage, 2019