Nathan Phillips

About

Nathan Phillips is a physiological ecologist specializing in land-climate interactions within terrestrial ecosystems and human-dominated environments. His research focuses on the exchanges of energy, water, and greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide between the air and various surfaces including leaves, soil, buildings, humans, and pipelines. He collaborates with advocates, community members, and policymakers to apply his research findings toward advancing sustainable communities and fostering a habitable planet. Dr. Phillips holds a Ph.D. from Duke University obtained in 1997 and a B.S. in Physics from California State University – Sacramento earned in 1989. He teaches courses including Sustainability Science: Earth House Practicum and Plant Physiological Ecology at Boston University. His professional contact details include his office at STO 441A, email nathan@bu.edu, and phone number 617-353-2841.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Geography
• Engineering
• Ecology
• Sociology
• Waste management
• Organic chemistry
• Environmental engineering

Selected publications

• Fugitive methane emissions from leak-prone natural gas distribution infrastructure in urban environments

  Environmental Pollution · 2016-03-27 · 135 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Home is Where the Pipeline Ends: Characterization of Volatile Organic Compounds Present in Natural Gas at the Point of the Residential End User

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2022 · 64 citations

  and associated VOCs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Seeing the invisible: From imagined to virtual urban landscapes

  Cities · 2020 · 60 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Urban ecosystems consist of infrastructure features working together to provide services for inhabitants. Infrastructure functions akin to an ecosystem, having dynamic relationships and interdependencies. However, with age, urban infrastructure can deteriorate and stop functioning. Additional pressures on infrastructure include urbanizing populations and a changing climate that exposes vulnerabilities. To manage the urban infrastructure ecosystem in a modernizing world, urban planners need to in…

  PublisherDOI

• Evapotranspiration and water yield of a pine‐broadleaf forest are not altered by long‐term atmospheric [CO₂] enrichment under native or enhanced soil fertility

  Global Change Biology · 2018-06-27 · 41 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Changes in evapotranspiration ( ET ) from terrestrial ecosystems affect their water yield ( WY ), with considerable ecological and economic consequences. Increases in surface runoff observed over the past century have been attributed to increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations resulting in reduced ET by terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we evaluate the water balance of a Pinus taeda (L.) forest with a broadleaf component that was exposed to atmospheric [CO 2 ] enrichment (ECO 2 ; +200 ppm…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An enhanced procedure for urban mobile methane leak detection

  Heliyon · 2020 · 25 citations

  Leaked methane from natural gas distribution pipelines is a significant human and environmental health problem in urban areas. To assess this risk, urban mobile methane leak surveys were conducted, using innovative methodology, on the streets of Hartford, Danbury, and New London, Connecticut, in March 2019. The Hartford survey was done to determine if results from a 2016 survey (Keyes et al., 2019) were persistent, and surveys in additional towns were done to determine if similar findings could…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• CNH-S: Coupling of Physical Infrastructure, Green Infrastructure, and Communities

  NSF · $484k · 2016–2021

• Collaborative Research: ULTRA-Ex: Metabolism of Boston

  NSF · $254k · 2009–2013

• WCR: Vegetation Control of Ecohydrologic Processes

  NSF · $338k · 2003–2008

Frequent coauthors

• Ram Oren

  University of Helsinki

  29 shared

• James D. Lewis

  University of Pennsylvania

  27 shared

• Barry A. Logan

  Bowdoin College

  21 shared

• David T. Tissue

  20 shared

• Michael G. Ryan

  Colorado State University

  13 shared

• Michael Daley

  University of Rochester

  13 shared

• Robert B. Jackson

  Stanford University

  12 shared

• B. J. Bond

  11 shared

Similar researchers at Boston University

• Benjamin Sovacoolh-143
• Ranga Mynenih-130
• Curtis E. Woodcockh-112