Steve Grodsky
Assistant Professor Courtesy, Natural Resources and the Environment

Dr. Grodsky is a broadly trained, applied ecologist and sustainability scientist. He specializes in the emerging field of energy ecology—the study of interactions among energy development, ecosystems, and people. He collaborates with graduate students, colleagues, and stakeholders to conduct solutions-oriented wildlife research that tackles pressing conservation concerns. In addition to his appointment with the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Dr. Grodsky is an Assistant Unit Leader of the U.S. Geological Survey’s New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the Co-founder and Co-director of the Wild Energy Initiative. The Wild Energy Initiative facilitates impartial research and education on interactions between energy development and Earth, including its systems and species, to address urgent sustainability issues.
Education
- PhD: North Carolina State University - 2016
- MSc: University of Wisconsin-Madison - 2010
- BSc: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - 2008
Recent Research
Dr. Grodsky’s research program informs sustainable renewable energy development in a diversity of anthropogenic biomes to bolster conservation and management of natural resources and maintain ecosystem services during an unprecedented energy transition and period of global change.
Selected Publications
- Grodsky, S. M. & R. R. Hernandez. 2020. Reduced ecosystem services of desert plants from ground-mounted solar energy development. Nature Sustainability. 3:1036–1043.
- Hernandez R. R., A. Armstrong, J. Burney, G. Ryan, K. Moore-O'Leary, I. Diédhiou, S. M. Grodsky, L. Saul-Gershenz, R. Davis, J. Macknick, D. Mulvaney, G. A. Heath, S. B. Easter, M. K. Hoffacker, M. F. Allen, and D. M. Kammen. 2019. Techno-ecological synergies of solar energy produce beneficial outcomes that mitigate global environmental change. Nature Sustainability. 2:560–568.
- Moorman, C. E., S. M. Grodsky, and S. P. Rupp (eds.). 2019. Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 10 September 2019.
- Grodsky, S. M., C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, J. W. Campbell, M. A. Bertone, C. E. Sorenson, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2018. Invertebrate community response to coarse woody debris removal for bioenergy production from intensively managed forests. Ecological Applications. 28:135–148.
- Grodsky, S. M., J. W. Campbell, S. R. Fritts, T. B. Wigley, and C. E. Moorman. 2018.Variable responses of non-native and native ants to coarse woody debris removal following forest bioenergy harvests. Forest Ecology and Management. 427:414–422.
- Grodsky, S. M., C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2016. Breeding, early-successional bird response to forest harvests for bioenergy. PLOS One. 11(10): e0165070.
- Grodsky, S. M., R. B. Iglay, C. E. Sorenson, and C. E. Moorman. 2015. Should invertebrates receive greater inclusion in wildlife research journals? Journal of Wildlife Management. 79:529–536.
- Grodsky, S. M., M. J. Behr, A. Gendler, D. Drake, B. D. Dieterle, R. J. Rudd, and N. L. Walrath. 2011. Investigating the causes of death for wind turbine-associated bat fatalities. Journal of Mammalogy. 92:917–925.
Awards & Honors
Department of Land, Air & Water Resources Distinguished Postdoctoral Scholar Award (2019)
Courses Taught
NTRES 6940: Energy Ecology
Contact Information
221E Fernow Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
grodsky [at] cornell.edu
Additional Links
Steve in the news

News
Cornell Atkinson has awarded seed funding to nine interdisciplinary projects that address a range of sustainability topics.
- Animal Science
- Biological and Environmental Engineering
- Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

News
- Natural Resources and the Environment