Yu selected for OSU’s TERA Academy
Yu joins the 2026–27 cohort to develop transdisciplinary research partnerships and research leadership.
Welcome to the Resilience, Institutions, Society, and Ecosystems (RISE) lab at Oregon State University! We are interdisciplinary agricultural and environmental social scientists studying how people, institutions, and ecosystems interact under climate and market risks and emerging technologies, and how policy and governance can better support resilient livelihoods and landscapes.
Led by Dr. Yu Lu, the RISE Lab's mission is to inform individual and institutional decision-making, agricultural and environmental policy, and governance, while supporting agricultural and natural resource communities, livelihoods, and ecosystems facing climate and market risks. Our work combines surveys, interviews, social network analysis, and policy analysis across the U.S. and internationally.
Led by Dr. Yu Lu, the RISE Lab's mission is to inform individual and institutional decision-making, agricultural and environmental policy, and governance, while supporting agricultural and natural resource communities, livelihoods, and ecosystems facing climate and market risks. Our work combines surveys, interviews, social network analysis, and policy analysis across the U.S. and internationally.
Lab News
2026
New grant: RAPID drought research in Oregon
Yu (PI) leads RAPID: Real-Time Drought Impacts, Risk Management, and Decision Support in Oregon Agricultural Communities, funded by USDA NIFA.
New grant: Irrigation, policy, and Extension networks
Yu (co-lead) contributes to a project assessing irrigation support networks across Oregon and producer needs in Umatilla County to inform Extension programming and collaboration, funded by OSU Extension.
New grant: Western water resilience
Yu (OSU sub-awardee) contributes to Resilient Agriculture-Water-Community Systems, a USDA NIFA-funded collaboration on community-based and networked water management solutions in the western United States, and serves as Oregon Water Delegate.
New grant: GROW With Us
Yu (key personnel) contributes to GROW With Us: Cultivating Future Careers in Digital Agriculture Across Oregon’s Working Landscapes, funded by USDA NIFA.
New grant: Irrigation and water-allocation decision support
Yu (co-PI) contributes to Constraint-Aware Decision Support for Irrigation and Water Allocation under Scarcity, funded through the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences Big Idea/Big Solution program.
New grant: Crop insurance education in Oregon
Yu (PI) leads a project funded by Western Extension Risk Management Education to strengthen crop insurance knowledge and risk-management capacity among Oregon tree fruit producers and agricultural professionals.
Welcome, Heather!
Heather Mahoney joins the lab as a master’s student in Water Resources Engineering.
Welcome, Melody!
Melody Rice joins the lab as a post-graduate research assistant following her master’s degree in Applied Anthropology at OSU. Her research explores how Oregon farmers, ranchers, and agricultural professionals experience and manage risk.
RISE Lab at IASNR conference in Corvallis
Sarah Willis and Clara Zaccari presented their research on water policy and conservation, and agricultural networks. Yu presented on farm financial programs and farmer identity.
Welcome, Summer!
Summer Tillman joins the lab as an undergraduate student assistant studying ecological engineering and sustainability.
Welcome, Clara!
Clara Zaccari joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher and conducts undergraduate thesis research on social network analysis in climate adaptation and mitigation in agriculture and natural resources.
Financial assistance tool for Oregon producers
Developed by Yu and John Bolte, the Oregon Farm Financial Assistance Programs Database helps farmers and ranchers explore crop insurance, loans, conservation funding, and other assistance programs. Explore the database.
2025
New grant: Smart-TAP
Yu (co-PI) contributes to Smart-TAP: AI Enhanced Decision Platform for Agricultural and Water Resilience, funded through the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences Big Idea/Big Solution program.
Welcome, Sarah!
Sarah Deaconson Willis joins the lab as a master’s student in the Water Resources Policy and Management Graduate Program.
Welcome, Meem!
Hasne Jahan Meem joins the lab as a graduate research assistant whose interests include small-scale farming, agricultural policy, and rural development in Oregon.
Yu joins Oregon State University
Yu joins the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University, focusing on the human dimensions of agricultural water management.
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Dr. Yu Lu
Assistant Professor, Practice, Human Dimensions of Agricultural Water Management RISE Lab (Resilience, Institutions, Society, and Ecosystems) Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering (BEE) College of Agricultural Sciences Oregon State University |
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