About Nilmini
Nilmini Silva-Send mixes scientific training and legal study in a career that crosses borders and disciplines. She studied chemistry as an undergraduate and later added graduate study in science and law. The result is a professional profile that moves between laboratory, consulting desk and classroom.
Her formal education spans several institutions. She earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Sussex and completed an M.S. at the University of California, Davis. She also studied law at the University of London, receiving an LL.B., and pursued doctoral work in international law and policy at Kiel University.
Silva-Send began working in environmental consulting in 1987. Her early years were spent as a project scientist on projects in the United States and abroad. That period included research and consulting assignments connected to the University of Kiel and the University of San Diego. The work combined scientific analysis with regulatory and policy questions.
In 2004 she took a post at the Energy Policy Initiatives Center at the University of San Diego as Assistant Director and Adjunct Professor. There she taught, managed projects and helped bridge legal scholarship with practical policy concerns. Course work and program efforts addressed energy regulation, environmental law and international policy issues.
Her professional affiliations reflect those interests. She is a member of the Energy Bar Association and has been involved with the International Bar Association since 2009. Those memberships have kept her engaged in conversations about cross-border energy issues, regulatory frameworks and the interaction of law and science.
Silva-Send’s background in chemistry and environmental consulting informs her approach to legal questions. She has experience translating scientific findings into policy advice and legal analysis. That combination has made her a resource for academic programs and consulting teams working on energy and environmental matters.
She is based at the University of San Diego School of Law, where she continues to teach and oversee projects linked to energy policy and environmental regulation. Her current practice and academic work concentrate on energy policy, environmental law and the intersection of international law and science.
