Dr. Williams performed a state-of-the-science assessment of what is known or anticipated about environmental and sustainability factors associated with next-generation biofuels relative to conventional biofuels (e.g., corn-grain ethanol) during feedstock production and conversion processes in the United States.  Factors considered included greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, soil health and quality, water use and water quality, wastewater and solid waste streams, and biodiversity and land-use changes.  This work was published in 2009 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).

Dr. von Stackelberg was a participant in a Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Pellston workshop on Valuation of Ecological Resources and was the lead author for a chapter on addressing ecological complexity when assessing ecosystem services. Available from SETAC, the book provides a primer and discussion on effective integration of ecological socioeconomics to support environmental decision making.

Dr. von Stackelberg has helped to develop the approach for several net environmental benefits analyses (NEBA). Quantifying net environmental benefits is the process of evaluating management alternatives by identifying the range of possible impacts associated with the alternatives in terms of ecosystem services. It is a process for moving beyond strict numerical comparisons and instead evaluating a site in the context of the services it provides, such as habitat, nutrient removal in wetlands, flood control, and others.

Dr. von Stackelberg conducted a contingent valuation survey based on a national sample of respondents to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) for risk reductions associated with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment. The survey asked about both potential developmental effects in children associated with exposures in the womb, and reproductive effects to birds. She integrated the results into a risk assessment model to quantify the benefits of predicted risk reductions for both human and ecological receptors.