Dr. Theodore Lim

FACULTY AFFILIATE   |   Global Change Center

School of Public and International Affairs

Lab Website  •  Google Scholar  •  Dept Page

(540) 232-8710 •  tclim@vt.edu

Dr. Lim’s research focuses on the environmental planning of linked land, water, infrastructure, and social systems. He has over ten years of experience in environmental planning-related fields, including academic and industry positions in environmental data science and planning in agricultural technology, civil engineering design and sustainable masterplanning, and urban public health. Dr. Lim’s research on urban hydrology, distributed stormwater management practices, and green infrastructure program implementation in cities has been published in top-ranked, peer-reviewed journals. His research interests also include community green infrastructure and energy planning in agricultural and rural settings, land development impacts on the hydrological cycle, and applications of data science in urban and environmental planning.

Dr. Lim’s research program addresses global change through examining connections between the social needs and values of a growing, and increasingly urban population and limited global resources, including water and land. Underlying Dr. Lim’s research and professional activities is the belief in the interconnectedness of natural, engineered, and social systems. Therefore, while his research has been highly quantitative, involving both data science and numerical simulation tools, the systems perspective motivates engagement with stakeholders for the incorporation and co-production of local knowledge for the successful implementation of more sustainable systems.