Myself in the Riser Argo float lab at the University of Washington (credit: Dennis Wise)

I am an oceanographer studying Antarctic ocean, sea ice, and snow physics.

I am currently an NSF Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Polar Science Center at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Seattle, WA, working with Melinda Webster and Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth. I received my Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography.

My research uses autonomous ocean measurements and modeling to develop a better understanding of processes involving sea ice and snow around Antarctica. The focus of my postdoctoral work is how storms and snowfall affect heat and freshwater fluxes in the ice-covered Southern Ocean as well as the future trajectory of Antarctic sea ice.

Recent news

  • January 2025: I am excited to be joining the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, supported by fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs (2025–2026) and the Washington Research Foundation (starting in October 2025).

  • December 2024: I defended my dissertation, titled “Constraining Antarctic polynya formation and sea ice and snow evolution using autonomous observations and modeling.” Thank you to all those who supported me throughout graduate school—especially my Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Stephen Riser.

  • August 2024: Our paper titled “Cracking the code: An evidence-based approach to teaching Python in an undergraduate earth science setting” is now published in Journal of Geoscience Education. In this mixed-methods study, co-led with Katy Christensen, we make a case for the importance of project-based instruction and an accessible classroom environment focused on active learning. We hope the paper and our class resources are useful for those teaching or developing introductory scientific programming courses. Recorded lessons and other materials are all available for reuse.

  • August 2023: I gave a plenary talk at the SOOS Symposium in Hobart on “Sailing towards a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Southern Ocean Observing System: Challenges and opportunities.” Slides are available here. I am also proud to have received an Honorable Mention award (2nd place among early career researcher talks) for my presentation on “Antarctic sea ice formation and melt rates estimated from under-ice Argo observations.”

  • September 2022: At the UW Program on Climate Change’s Summer Institute on “Pathways to Net Zero” in Friday Harbor, WA, I presented a poster on “Pushing Seattle towards net zero: Opportunities for local advocacy and engagement.”