The Sustainability Institute (SI) is excited to welcome Brian Cultice as the Institute’s new Sustainability Science Researcher. In this role, Cultice will help advance SI’s interdisciplinary sustainability research and innovation programming, including collaborative work with SI’s 350+ affiliates.
Cultice’s initial research support efforts will focus on sustainable agriculture systems, Great Lakes water use and clean energy transitions, among other topics. That portfolio will continue to grow as Cultice helps build transdisciplinary research teams, cultivates research funding proposals and explores new research opportunities that address community needs and sustainability challenges.
Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Cultice has deep Buckeye roots, including recently achieving his PhD through the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) in January 2026.
“I enjoy the culture of collaboration at Ohio State and the Sustainability Institute,” Cultice said. “I am looking forward to doing more through additional research collaborations and helping translate research findings into social impact.”
Cultice joins SI with a background in sustainability, research and community-driven impacts. After completing his undergraduate studies at Ohio State, Cultice worked for the United States Energy Information Association (EIA) coordinating Project BlueSky, the EIA initiative to develop open source, next-generation modeling systems. There, he gained project planning experience and worked to bridge gaps between modeling teams. This entailed the continual translation of complex data and modeling tasks both within EIA, but also to the broader public in order to facilitate a community of developers and users around the new BlueSky modeling platforms.
Additionally, Cultice worked in sustainable transportation while with Clean Fuels Ohio, identifying pathways to diversify fuel sources to improve air quality. Working with a variety of clients and organizational partners, Cultice simplified raw datasets to build models demonstrating optimal and economically achievable paths towards cleaner fuel use.
Drawing on these experiences, Cultice is looking forward to several aspects of working at SI. Helping to develop new research ideas into long-term projects and communicating the related findings with diverse audiences appeals to his intellectual curiosity and passion for impactful research. Further, identifying opportunities to integrate research and community partner needs would fulfill Cultice’s desire to help improve the quality of life for residents across Ohio and beyond.
Cultice's position is shared with AEDE, where he is engaged in research on food, energy, water systems in the Great Lakes and farmer land management of carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services.
SI extends a warm welcome to Cultice as he joins the team and continues his career in sustainability and economic research.
By Sydney Beiting, SI Student Communications Assistant