Future Earth Fellow Kate A. Brauman is an American scientist who uses an interdisciplinary tool set to examine the interactions between land use change and water resources.

She notes that it was her undergraduate mentor, Robert Pollack who helped her see the connections between her desire to be creative and affect things that people care about, with science.

[6] Brauman's interdisciplinary dissertation, under the direction of Gretchen Daily and David Freyberg, brought together elements of hydrology, ecohydrology, and economics to understand the impacts of water extraction on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

[12][13] Her research, at the intersection of society and science, provides critical information to resource managers (e.g. agricultural producers) that can improve water use efficiency.

She is part of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a group advocating for recognition of the value of nature to human populations.