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

I am a physical oceanographer studying the sea ice and ocean around Antarctica.

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Oceanography at University of Washington in Seattle, WA, advised by Stephen Riser.

The focus of my research is using ocean measurements within the ice-covered Southern Ocean to develop a better understanding of processes involving sea ice and snow around Antarctica, as well as their role in global climate.

Recent news

  • 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 study, we make a case for the importance of project-based instruction and an accessible classroom environment focused on active learning when teaching introductory scientific programming. We hope this paper and our course resources are useful for those teaching or developing similar classes. Let us know what you think!

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

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

  • February 2022: At the AGU Fall Meeting in December, Katy Christensen and I virtually presented a retrospective study of our redesign of OCEAN 215, our department’s introductory Python course (see our poster here). We just learned that we received an Outstanding Student Presentation Award!

  • January 2021: I was selected for a three-year term as the APECS representative to the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) Weddell Sea–Dronning Maud Land Regional Working Group. The RWG is a multinational body that aims to coordinate observations and science in this interesting region of the Southern Ocean.

  • December 2020: Katy Christensen and I finished co-teaching OCEAN 215, an introductory Python data analysis course. We adopted a flipped, virtual format and redesigned the course to incorporate a variety of evidence-based teaching practices. Our course website can be accessed at this link. All recorded lessons and other materials are available for reuse.

  • May 2020: A new paper led by Lauren von Berg at Princeton and Channing Prend at SIO, titled “Weddell Sea phytoplankton blooms modulated by sea ice variability and polynya formation,” is now out in Geophysical Research Letters. For more details on our study, see Research.

  • February 2020: I’ll be presenting new work on Antarctic sea ice growth and melt reconstructions using under-ice ocean observations at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Diego on February 21.

  • September 2019: I discussed Weddell Sea polynyas with Dan Jones from BAS on his podcast, “Climate Scientists.” Listen here.

  • August 2019: I’ll be speaking about Weddell Sea polynyas at the IGS Sea Ice Symposium in Winnipeg on August 23 and at the NYU Courant AOS Colloquium in New York on September 4.

  • June 2019: My first paper as lead author, titled “Antarctic offshore polynyas linked to Southern Hemisphere climate anomalies,” is out in Nature. See Research for a summary of this study and Publications for links to media coverage.

  • April 2019: The third annual UW Program on Climate Change (PCC) Spring Symposium was organized by myself and other members of the PCC Graduate Student Steering Committee. Read my PCC blog post about the event here.

  • February 2019: A new paper led by Earle Wilson at UW, titled “Winter upper-ocean stability and ice–ocean feedbacks in the sea ice–covered Southern Ocean,” is out in Journal of Physical Oceanography. For more details on our study, see Research.

  • January 2019: Throughout the next year, I will be presenting live shows on polar oceanography in the Willard Smith Planetarium at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. This opportunity is thanks to PacSci’s Science Communication Fellowship.