Education

Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz (2012)

B.A. in Sociology, University of California, Davis (2002)

Academic Publications and Books

Nik Janos. (2027, forthcoming). Damming Debates: Navigating the Waters of Northwest Hydropower. University of Washington Press.

Markus Fischer and Nik Janos. (2024). Hydropower Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of Hydropower Development and Its Societal Impact in Norway and the Northwest United States (1945–1990), with Implications for Contemporary Energy Transitions. Technische Universität Berlin.

Nik Janos and Corina McKendry (Eds.). (2021). Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. University of Washington Press.

Nik Janos. (2021). “The Making of Urban Cascadia: Extending Urbanization Through Airplanes, Software, and Infrastructure.” In Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice, edited by Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. University of Washington Press.

Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. (2021). “Drawing the Thin Green Line: Throwing a Wrench in Carbon Commodity Chains.” In Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice, edited by Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. University of Washington Press.

Nik Janos. (2020). “Urbanising Territory: The Contradictions of Eco-Cityism at the Industrial Margins, Duwamish River, Seattle.” Urban Studies, 57(11), 2282–2299.

Corina McKendry and Nik Janos. (2015). “Greening the Industrial City: Equity, Environment, and Economic Growth in Seattle and Chicago.” International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 15(1), 45–60.

Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. (2014). “Globalization, Governance, and Renaturing the Industrial City: Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA.” In The Power of Cities in International Relations, edited by Simon Curtis, 89–106. Routledge.

Public Scholarship and Commentary

Nik Janos and Zach Justus. (2026). “Preparing Rural California Means Investing in People, Not Just Tech.” EdSource.

Nik Janos and Zach Justus. (2026). “Canceling that Cal State ChatGPT Contract Does Not Solve the AI Problem; It Might Make It Worse.” EdSource.

Zach Justus and Nik Janos. (2026). “5 AI Myths and Why We Must Move Past Them.” Inside Higher Ed.

Zach Justus and Nik Janos. (2025). “AI’s Gone MAGA.” Inside Higher Ed.

Zach Justus and Nik Janos. (2024). “Your AI Policy Is Already Obsolete.” Inside Higher Ed.

Zach Justus and Nik Janos. (2024). “Assessment of Student Learning Is Broken.” Inside Higher Ed.

Nik Janos. (2012). “Blinded by Science: The Allure of the Technological Fix After Hurricane Sandy.” Grist.

Media Appearances

Linda Kinsstler. (2026) “A University System Went All In on A.I. Now It’s Tearing Itself Apart,” New York Times Magazine.

Teach Smarter Podcast. (2025). AI Won’t Fix Higher Ed but It Might Force Us To with Dr. Nik Janos

New Day Northwest, Seattle’s only daily morning show. Corina and I discuss Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. Watch here.

Sociology Ruins podcast. (2022). Sociology Ruins Don’t Look UP.

Courses taught

Environmental Sociology

Wealth and Inequality

Global Problems

Classical Social Theory

Public Sociology

Food Justice

Sport and Society

The Politics of Sustainability