College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

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Dr. Erik Nordman currently serves as the Director of the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University. He also has an academic appointment as an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. His work spans environmental policy and economics including applications in energy, nature-based solutions, and the management of common-pool resources.

After obtaining a Ph.D. in natural resource economics and policy from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Nordman joined the faculty of Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He served as a tenured professor of natural resources management for 18 years focusing on environmental economics and policy. He led and collaborated on renewable energy projects with partners at the university’s renewable energy center, the engineering and statistics departments, and other institutions such as the University of Michigan, Michigan Technological University, Michigan Sea Grant, Consumers Energy, and the US Department of Energy. Projects included an interdisciplinary analysis of wind energy in West Michigan’s coastal counties, evaluating a buoy-mounted laser wind sensor for offshore wind energy, and establishing a willow biomass energy clone-site trial. Nordman obtained and managed more than $2 million in external research funds for renewable energy projects, supervised research teams including faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate research assistants, and engaged with community members. Nordman began his career in energy as a master’s student at SUNY-ESF where he analyzed the insect resistance properties of 25 willow and poplar biomass production clones as part of the university’s willow biomass research project.

Nordman also applied his renewable energy knowledge and skills to international projects. In 2012, Nordman was awarded a Fulbright Scholar position at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. He led research projects evaluating the potential for wind energy in Kenya’s tea growing regions and the visual impact of the Ngong Hills Wind Farm on visitors to Nairobi National Park. As a State Department Virtual Fellow, Nordman led a research team analyzing Cape Verde’s options for meeting its Paris Agreement renewable energy goals. In 2021, after a sabbatical as a Visiting Scholar at Indiana University’s Ostrom Workshop, Nordman published The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom: Essential Lessons for Collective Action (Island Press). The book chronicles Ostrom’s inspiring life and groundbreaking research on how communities can overcome the “tragedy of the commons.” Ostrom was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. The book includes chapters on the 2030 District energy collaborative and climate policy From 2023 to 2025, Nordman led a consulting team developing a climate resilience strategy involving nature-based solutions for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.