Yen-Chu Weng is a lecturer in the College’s Program on the Environment. As a geographer, she has always been interested in exploring the connections between human societies and the environment. She received broad training in both the biophysical sciences and the social sciences, and has integrated quantitative, qualitative and GIS methods into her research projects. Her research focuses on the politics of participation in environmental volunteering programs. By comparing perspectives of multiple stakeholders, she examines the role of science, nature and participation in ecological restoration.

Weng enjoys teaching and experimenting with innovative pedagogy in her courses. Through the UW’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, she has been contributing to evidence-based teaching strategies and case study pedagogy. As an affiliate faculty at the UW’s Taiwan Studies Program, Weng also teaches a course on Environmental Issues in East Asia and leads a study abroad program in Taiwan. Weng advises students on various capstone projects on the topics of environmental education, sustainability design, community outreach, and many others.