David Kanter is an associate professor of environmental studies at New York University. His research examines the interconnected challenges of nitrogen pollution, food security and sustainable development, with a particular focus on: 1) the scientific, socioeconomic and legal dimensions of returning to a safe planetary boundary for nitrogen; and 2) balancing the multiple, and often competing objectives of sustainable agriculture — from environmental protection to human wellbeing. He uses an interdisciplinary set of research methods to investigate these issues, from Earth Systems and economic time series modeling, to expert elicitation and legal analysis. 

Prior to NYU, Kanter was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Earth Institute at Columbia University. He received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and Law (2009) from the University of Bristol in the UK and his M.A. (2012) and Ph.D. (2014) in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from Princeton University.