Dr. Stokolas' research focuses on the study of people’s transactions with their social and physical environments—especially how they influence personal and public health. His research, classroom teaching, and graduate mentorship at UCI span the fields of social ecology, environmental psychology, urban planning, epidemiology, and public health. Some of his current work is in the ‘Science of Team Science’ and investigates factors that affect the collaborative success of transdisciplinary research and training programs. Other research focuses on the health and behavioral impacts of environmental stressors like traffic congestion, crowding, and information overload; applications of environmental design research to urban planning; and the environmental psychology of the Internet, especially the ways that qualities of virtual life affect people’s behavior and well-being.

In addition to his research and teaching roles, Dr. Stokolas has served as Director of the Social Ecology Program in 1988-92 and as Founding Dean of the School of Social Ecology at UCI from 1992-98. His faculty appointments in Social Ecology are in the Departments of Psychological Science and Urban Planning and Public Policy. Dr. Stokolas has a courtesy appointment in the Program in Public Health and is a member of UCI’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science in the College of Health Sciences. He is the author of Social Ecology in the Digital Age: Solving Complex Problems in a Globalized World published by Academic Press in 2018. He has co-authored Behavior, Health, and Environmental Stress, edited Perspectives on Environment and Behavior, and co-edited the Handbook of Environmental Psychology; Environmental Simulation; and Promoting Human Wellness. Academic honors include the Career Award from the Environmental Design Research Association, UCI’s Lauds & Laurels Faculty Achievement Award, the Newman-Proshansky Career Award from the American Psychological Association’s Division of Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology, the International Network for the Science of Team Science Career Recognition Award, and the School of Social Ecology Founders Award. He has served as scientific consultant to the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences as a member of NCI’s SciTS team between 2005-2011; and as a team science evaluation consultant for the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) during 2011-2017. He is a co-author of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report (2015) on Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science.