I am researching Alaskan skates, a disk-shaped fish that looks similar to stingrays and lives on the seafloor. In 2021, NOAA researchers conducted a genetic analysis on skate embryos from a Bering Sea nursery (a place where skates lay their eggs) and discovered a new species of skate, closely related to the well-known Alaska skate. The embryos showed no visible differences from Alaska skate embryos; however, the appearance of the adults remains unknown. Without this information, we cannot distinguish it from the Alaska skate for management purposes. The objective of my thesis is to describe the adults of this species. To do this, I am using molecular techniques to analyze adult Alaska skate specimens housed at the UW Fish Collection. If we find the species of interest, then we will describe its physical characteristics so that fishermen, researchers, and at-sea fisheries observers can successfully identify and manage it.

The tropical atmosphere is churned relentlessly by deep convection, in which air from Earth’s surface rises upwards through the atmosphere like bubbles in a boiling pot of water. Through its impact on clouds and water vapor, deep convection has an enormous effect on the global energy budget, yet it remains a major source of uncertainty in our understanding of future climate change. I use satellite observations and high-resolution atmospheric models to investigate how tropical convection is affected by anthropogenic warming. Specifically, I seek to understand the large-scale interactions between convection and sea surface temperature patterns as well as the effects of warming on the spectrum of convectively generated clouds.

My research highlights the benefits and importance of integrating local ecological knowledge into fisheries management. I am currently working to better understand how small-scale fishers’ observations of historical changes in target species abundance near Islas Marías, Mexico compare to Government of Mexico landing reports. I also hope to understand the social and environmental factors to which fishers attribute these changes as they are key narrative elements to the Islas Marias ecosystem.

My research looks at the effects of environmental stressors (such as changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH) on zooplankton populations. Zooplankton are a critical link in the marine food web that support higher trophic levels, including economically important fisheries. I use a combination of field work, laboratory experiments, and video analyses to understand how environmental stressors drive changes in zooplankton behaviors and population distributions. The driving goal of my research is to develop new understandings and monitoring tools that allow us to predict and adapt to changing coastal systems.

My research focuses on the host-parasite complex of Alaskan snow and Tanner crab and the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium. Over the past decade, rates of the infection – which is eventually fatal – have climbed rapidly. My work seeks to understand both the internal dynamics of the infections and the environmental and population variables associated with infection. I’m accomplishing the former through analysis of gene expression over time in infected and uninfected crabs at various temperatures. For the latter, I’m using Alaska Department of Fish and Game survey data to model factors associated with visual presence of Hematodinium infections.

I use computational and agent-based models alongside traditional applied math approaches to understand a diversity of complex systems. I’m especially interested in disease dynamics, collective animal movement, and urban traffic and mobility.

I analyze the carbon footprints of sustainably-sourced wood products and buildings. Wood products can serve as an excellent climate change mitigation strategy when they are used instead of materials like concrete and steel, since wood products typically have much lower carbon footprints, and have carbon stored inside them.

My research focuses on Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow (Sidalcea oregana var. calva, “SIORCA”), an endangered plant taxon found in central Washington. SIORCA is a narrowly distributed species that occurs in meadows and forest edges with high levels of moisture availability from spring into early summer. I am studying SIORCA’s microsite conditions to understand its habitat and growth requirements, particularly with respect to light availability and soil moisture. My research will assess soil conditions (moisture and texture), light availability, microtopography, and species associations, along with SIORCA abundance, size, and reproductive stages. Relating SIORCA variables to the suite of microsite characteristics will clarify why SIORCA grows where it does, allowing us to better protect existing populations and to identify sites where new populations could be established.

I develop mathematical models to understand how bacteria survive in cold, saline, and isolated environments in Arctic permafrost. I model the energetics of the microbial community; I try to figure out how much food is available to the microbes and how much they need to consume to survive. My work is relevant to understanding the limits of life and is therefore relevant to the wider field of Astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life.

The goal of my research is to use decision analysis to help inform species reintroduction and conservation management decisions using structured decision making for 3 case studies: vertebrate restoration to the island of Guam, management of a reintroduced population of hihi (Stichbird; Notiomystis cincta) in New Zealand, and Streaked Horned Lark (SHLA; Eremophila alpestris strigata) reintroductions in Washington State. Each case study has unique aspects but share common characteristics of difficult conservation decisions, including multiple management objectives, complex alternative structures, limited available information, and uncertainty in species responses to management actions. Together, these case studies will demonstrate how values-based decisions can be made by utilizing all available scientific information to improve the likelihood of successful outcomes. My work is directly applicable to management of the species considered and each case study’s framework was formulated based on collaborative input from managers, stakeholders, and scientific experts.

I use remote sensing, machine learning, and other data analysis tools to identify, estimate, and analyze timber plantations in Tropical countries. I also use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques to understand the environmental impact of various wood products. Through these different researches, I’m trying to improve the sustainability and legality of the international wood and wood products trade.

My graduate work explores the effects of disturbances (e.g., wildfire, insect outbreaks) on forests in the Pacific Northwest and U.S. Rocky Mountains, leveraging field studies, permanent plot networks, and landscape modeling to improve our ability to maintain resilient forest structure and function in a changing climate. My current PhD research is focused on anticipating future forest and fire dynamics in moist conifer forests west of the Cascade Mountain Crest in Washington and northern Oregon (‘northwestern Cascadia’). I am combining field data from recently burned areas across the region with a powerful landscape simulation model (iLand) to compare post-fire forest trajectories under future climate and management scenarios. This work will help land managers develop strategies for promoting climate adaptation and resource management goals in post-fire landscapes.

I am developing an empirical and agent-based simulation model that estimates encounters and impacts between Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) and arbitrary axial- and cross-flow tidal turbine devices in Admiralty Inlet, WA. Potential impacts include collision, blade strike, and collision and blade strike sequentially. As the world transitions from fossil fuels, marine renewable energy technologies offer a reliable and sustainable alternative. My overall research goal is to quantify these potential impacts to enhance marine renewable development in the United States to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change impacts.

I use distributed fiber optic sensing equipment to make high spatiotemporal resolution geophysical measurements of glaciers and ice sheets. The goal of this work is to elucidate small scale mechanics of basal and englacial motion often missed by conventional geophysical sensing equipment. I want to answer the questions: how does englacial shear impact preservation of old basal ice and how do glaciers or ice sheets respond to a changing climate? To answer these questions, I have deployed to Antarctica, high alpine glaciers in Canada, and to glaciers locally in the Pacific Northwest.

I am studying how the temperature of a forest canopy is related to long-term wildfire and tree mortality risk. We know that healthy plants are several degrees cooler than unhealthy plants, but there isn’t much research on how we can use that information to monitor the health of forests. I use drones, satellites, and really powerful computers to measure the temperature of forest canopies and determine if their current temperature is an indicator of future damage. In the long term, I want to develop long-term forecasts of forest health that will help forest managers anticipate wildfires and keep the public informed on the forests they love.

I am interested in ecological policy impacts on landscape scales. I am currently examining the effects of buffer laws on ecological function, specifically on landscape connectivity as measured from satellite imagery classification.

I have worked with the Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group, collecting local expert knowledge to create a conceptual model of the South Puget Sound Dungeness Crab fishery. With this conceptual model, I am working on the development of a qualitative network model that aims to identify vulnerabilities in the population and inform future management action to create a sustainable fishery.

I study earth’s climate sensitivity using global climate models, with a focus on simulating past warm climate states and understanding the role of ocean dynamics in setting the global temperature response to GHGs.

Lakes and reservoirs support critical ecosystem functions, provide numerous goods and services, and contribute to sustainable local and regional communities. Given lakes’ multidimensional role in bolstering human well-being, understanding human use of them over large scales of space and time is critical for lake valuation and conservation. My dissertation work leverages multiple streams of social media and cellular location data to quantify the distribution of human activity on waterbodies in western Washington. In addition, I also aim to classify the specific cultural ecosystem services associated with lake use through machine learning-based analysis of post text and images. By exploring applications of cellular data toward mapping human recreation across vast landscapes, I hope to demonstrate the utility of this underutilized data source for enhancing public resource management.

My research focuses on understanding the interaction between active tectonics (geologic faults) and surface processes (erosion and deposition). Currently, my study area is in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, a place that is extremely arid and deformed by faults. Some of the questions that I want to answer are: How do arid environments record changes in climate and tectonics? How fast are these faults moving? What indicators from the landscape are key to understanding these processes? I use techniques from geomorphology, geodesy and geochronology, combining numerical modeling and fieldwork observations.

The overall goal of my research is to advance our knowledge of monitoring earthquakes and near-surface structure by leveraging heterogeneous datasets from seismic stations and fiber-optic sensing. A core focus of my research is the development of cutting-edge tools that empower cloud computing for massive seismic data storing and processing. My recent study involves time-lapse imaging of shallow subsurface using a dark fiber in the northern Seattle region.