Meet the Team

John E. Petersen is Project Director and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College. A systems ecologist by training, Dr. Petersen's research focuses on understanding flows of energy, cycles of material, and feedback control mechanisms operating in environmental and social systems. He has been instrumental in developing the real-time feedback display technologies that power Environmental Dashboard.

Cindy Frantz is a social and personality psychologist with a strong interest in statistics. Much of her research focuses on humans’ relationship with nature. Her findings suggest that both individuals and the environment benefit when people feel connected to the natural world. She is passionate about the environment and simple living and enjoys gardening, hiking, and practicing yoga.

Md Rumi Shammin is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College and has an interdisciplinary background that combines environmental engineering, natural resources policy and management, and environmental science. His research encompasses topics related to energy-use, climate change policy, life cycle analysis of energy use and carbon emissions in the US, solar home systems in Bangladesh, urban agriculture, energy and behavior, and Genuine Progress Indicator as an alternative indicator for regional planning.

Augustus Arthur is the Project Manager of the Environmental Dashboard. He graduated in 2012 with a major in Computer Science from Ashesi University College in Ghana. He briefly worked for Petra Trust private pensions company as an operations analyst. He then went on to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth after which he moved to Ohio to work full time on developing and implementing the Dashboard in Oberlin and in other communities. Augustus grew up in Ghana, West Africa.