Diversity

Juliana Ruef is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

Gabe Allen — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Juliana Ruef is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship Gabe Allen Fri, 04/04/2025 - 06:00

Gabe Allen

INSTAAR is excited to announce that incoming PhD student Juliana Ruef is the 2025 recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. Ruef will use the award for snow science research on the Juneau Ice Field in Alaska this summer.

The Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship was designed by Sarah Crump, a beloved INSTAAR alum who passed away in November 2022. Each year, the fellowship provides funding for one graduate student studying earth or environmental science in high-latitude or high-altitude regions.

Juliana Ruef, the recipient of the 2025 Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, poses for a portrait.

Though Ruef hasn’t started her PhD yet, she is already at INSTAAR working on a MS degree with INSTAAR faculty Robert Anderson and Bradley Markle. Her PhD research will focus on the evolution and dynamics of rock glaciers and firn—granular snow that forms on glacial surfaces.

Ruef will use the fellowship funds to pay herself and an undergraduate research assistant to gather data for firn evolution research project this summer. The funding will also help pay for travel to and from the Juneau Ice Field as well as essential supplies for data collection in the field.

Ruef’s advisors cited her focus on community-building and her high research standards in a recommendation letter.

“We can think of few students who so closely embody Sarah’s passion for scientific understanding of the alpine world as well as her commitment to making science a better community,” Markle and Anderson wrote.

You can visit this link to learn more about the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship or donate to the fund.

Juliana Ruef gathering samples at the Juneau Ice Field in Alaska.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact INSTAAR Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

Ruef is the third recipient of the summer fellowship created in honor of a now-passed INSTAAR alum. She will use the funding for snow science research on the Juneau Ice Field in Alaska this summer.

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Juliana Ruef on the Juneau Ice Field in Alaska.

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Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science

Gabe Allen — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:30:00 +0000

Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science Gabe Allen Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:30

Gabe Allen

The ‘Dream Team’ checks out increment borers, used to gather tree core samples in the field, in the Ecohydrology lab at INSTAAR. All photos by Gabe Allen.

Since October, students at Westview Middle School in Longmont have met with INSTAAR scientists nearly every month through the Earth Explorers program. The goal of the program is to connect local kids with scientists doing impactful work. Holly Barnard, an INSTAAR faculty fellow and Earth Explorers participant, looks forward to the visits for months ahead.

“When I was in middle school, I didn’t even know that earth science was a career path that I could take,” she said. “I really like sharing my research and the story of how I became a scientist.”

INSTAAR faculty fellow Holly Barnard takes Earth Explorers participants on a tour of the Ecohydrology Lab.

This year, Barnard is sharing her science with the self-described “Dream Team” — Adriel, Everett, Noah and Ben. Each member of the quartet took part in conducting interviews, filming lab spaces and script writing for a video that they are now editing.

The Dream Team met with Barnard for the first time over Zoom back in October. A couple of weeks later they brainstormed video ideas over lunch with Barnard at the CU �鶹ӰԺ Center for Community. Then, in November, they toured her lab and filmed an interview.

Noah was apprehensive about the program at first, but ended up appreciating his time at INSTAAR.

“Originally I didn’t want to do Earth Explorers, but then I found out it was about science. I was like ‘yeah, I could try that,” he said. “All the stuff we’ve done, like walking around campus and learning about trees, has been fun.”

Before leaving for the day, the Dream Team toured INSTAAR’s Stable Isotope Lab, where lab manager Bruce Vaughn showed them an ice core that traveled all the way from Greenland to Colorado. For Ben, it was a highlight.

“I thought it was really cool getting to go in the walk-in freezer and getting to see the different ice chunks and learning about how they read those,” Ben said. “It was just really cool getting to see all of the different tools.”

Now that the laboratory tours and field trips are in the rearview, it's time to get to work. This spring, 10 Earth Explorers groups, including the Dream Team, are busy cutting together mini-documentaries for a film screening in May. At the end of it all, scientists, parents, teachers and students will gather at Westview Middle School to learn about INSTAAR’s work through the lens of young minds. With any luck, some of the students might one day look back on this year as the catalyst that began a career in scientific research.

Bruce Vaughn explains how the Stable Isotope Lab processes ice cores from around the world to glean insights into the Earth’s history.

Barnard shows the Dream Team a rain gauge in the Ecohydrology Lab.

Barnard is interviewed by Dream Team member Adriel in her office.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

The Earth Explorers program gives local kids a first-hand look at a career in scientific research. After months of lab tours and interviews, participants are editing mini documentaries for a film screening in May.

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INSTAAR’s 2024 Sarah Crump Fellow reflects on an adventurous season in the Rockies

David J Lubinski — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:58:49 +0000

INSTAAR’s 2024 Sarah Crump Fellow reflects on an adventurous season in the Rockies David J Lubinski Mon, 02/03/2025 - 14:58

INSTAAR’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship is now accepting applications from CU �鶹ӰԺ graduate students. Last year’s recipient, Katie Gannon, recalls an eventful summer of field science.

Sarah Crump was a beloved INSTAAR alum. After a hard-fought battle with an aggressive form of cancer, she passed peacefully in November 2022. Before she passed, Sarah designed a fellowship for CU �鶹ӰԺ graduate students studying earth or environmental science in high-latitude or high-altitude regions. The fellowship provides summer funding for one student each year. Women and other underrepresented groups in earth science are particularly encouraged to apply. Preference is given to applicants whose advisors are INSTAAR members. INSTAAR is accepting applications for the 2025 Sarah Crump fellowship now until February 28: Apply, donate or learn more.

Katie Gannon works on The Loch, a high altitude lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

As the applications start to roll in for 2025, INSTAAR sat down with Katie Gannon, the recipient of the 2025 Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, to hear about her experiences as a fellow. It turns out she had quite an adventurous summer. Sarah would have approved.

You worked on a lot of different projects this summer. Tell us about one that stood out?

At the start of the summer we worked on a research project in the Rawah Wilderness just west of Fort Collins. We were interested in how rock glaciers, which are underground ice formations in the mountains, impact lakes downstream.

We did two 4-day backpacking trips to get back there and both of them had their share of challenges. The first trip was freezing. We camped in the spring snow and had to post-hole for hours to get between study lakes

On the second trip, we were up high above the tree line when a thunderstorm blew in and it started hailing. We were at least 4 miles from camp, it was the middle of the day and we had at least one more lake to sample before we were done. So we hiked down off the ridge and huddled up in the trees to wait out the storm.

We were all cold and wet and mildly miserable. But then Bella (Gannon’s PhD advisor) started singing and dancing to Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” and we started singing and jumping up and down and dancing to stay warm. I was soaked through, shivering, and laughing hysterically, along with everyone else. It was a great reminder of how important it is to support each other and enjoy the ride.

In the end those trips were a great way to get to know my lab, and the glaciers were so wild to see. The water seeping out of the rock and into the lakes is barely above freezing even in the middle of the summer and it is laden with ions and trace minerals.

You also worked on lake monitoring efforts in Rocky Mountain National Park and in Green Lakes Valley. Tell us about that.

These long-term projects feel special to me because in addition to creating useful data, repeatedly visiting these sites allows us to get to know the lakes and develop a connection with them. Last season, I watched the Loch thaw bloom in the spring. Then, in the fall, I watched as the trees lost their leaves and the lake froze over again.

We deploy buoys in the lakes that measure temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration. In the winter, the ice freezes over the top and the buoy is pushed down about a meter below the surface. Even though we carefully map out where each one is in the fall, the ice inevitably pulls them around during the colder months.

On one of my first field days this summer we hiked our boats in four miles to the Loch and then spent two more hours paddling in circles looking for our buoy. Everyone cheered when we finally found it.

Gannon's field photos (click to zoom)

Your lab collaborated with the forest service this summer. Tell us about that.

We looked at two remote mountain lakes in the San Juan Mountains that are experiencing algal blooms. This, in and of itself, is strange. You don’t usually see algal blooms in watersheds that have been minimally impacted by people.

In order to get all our gear in to collect samples, our team brought in a team of six mules and horses. They were hilarious and adorable. We would just sit in camp in the evening and watch them play around in the pasture. Having help from the pack animals and forest service amplified the project. We were able to collect much more data than we would have on our own.

You were busy this summer. Did you have time to work on your own research?

Yes. I got the first project for my PhD off the ground. I’m investigating methane and carbon dioxide accumulation in two alpine lakes. One is above the treeline while the other is below.

The fellowship allowed me to scout out lakes, order materials and find collaborators here at CU to help me run my samples. Now I have two months of data. We’re also collecting samples through the winter to see if methane and carbon dioxide build up under winter ice.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

INSTAAR’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship is now accepting applications from CU �鶹ӰԺ graduate students whose research is centered on processes or climate history in high-latitude or high-altitude environments. Last year’s recipient, Katie Gannon, recalls an eventful summer of field science.

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INSTAAR’s summer scholarship is open (plus a Q&A with last-year’s cohort)

David J Lubinski — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 21:09:26 +0000

INSTAAR’s summer scholarship is open (plus a Q&A with last-year’s cohort) David J Lubinski Thu, 01/23/2025 - 14:09

Gabe Allen

INSTAAR is now accepting applications for the 2025 Summer Scholars cohort

Each year, the scholarship provides funding for two CU �鶹ӰԺ graduate students to continue their research over the summer. Priority is given to INSTAAR graduate students who enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the institute. Recipients receive a research stipend equivalent to a 50% RA position for three summer months.

Apply, donate, or learn more
Deadline March 5th, 2025

In 2024, the award went to two ambitious PhD students hard at work on research projects on opposite ends of the world. This week, INSTAAR sat down with Natalie Aranda and Jed Lenetsky to learn more about their experience as summer scholars.

Jed Lenetsky (ATOC)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on last summer?

I was able to advance my research on two different projects in Baffin Bay.

The first project looks at how future climate scenarios might affect sea ice, marine life and other oceanographic conditions. That one is focused on the North Water Polynya, which is one of the Arctic's most productive ecosystems. Previous funding from the NSF ran out before the summer, so the scholarship was critical. It allowed me to complete revisions on a manuscript, and the resulting article is now under review for publication in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate.

The second research project examines oceanic changes in the Davis Strait in southern Baffin Bay. The Summer Scholars funding allowed me to spend time processing and analyzing data. I also used some of the funds to participate in a research cruise through the Davis Strait this fall (and gather more data).

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

It’s really difficult to process and gain meaningful insights from imperfect observational data — which is what I’m attempting to do with the Davis Strait project. I’m still working it out, but I am learning a lot through the process. I’m confident it will make me a stronger scientist once I get to the other side.

What was your proudest moment?

Definitely submitting my revised paper on the North Water Polynya for publication. We substantially improved the study by working on an assessment of relevant model processes over the summer. The assessment showed that the physical processes driving the formation of the North Water Polynya in the model were similar to the real world. The findings added rigor and boosted our confidence in the research.

Natalie Aranda (CEAE)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on?

The funding gave me time to work through an important and difficult step in my dissertation research.

I was able to devote my time and focus toward processing biological samples that I collected in Antarctica back in early 2023. The samples didn't arrive back in the U.S. until around March of that year and, up until last summer, I ran into a bunch of road blocks processing them into usable data. This scholarship allowed me to dedicate myself full time to the task, and I ended up completing the work before the start of the semester.

This fall, I was finally able to move on and begin interpreting my data. Basically, I’m looking at chloroplasts in diatoms under a microscope and counting how many of them were alive when they were collected. I’m looking for a trend that tells us where in the stream there is more likely to be live or dead cells.

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

Ha! Staring at a microscope for the entire day makes your eyes blur and your head spin, especially when you’re not finding what you are looking for. The scholarship gave me the space to come back the next day (and the next day) to try again.

What was your proudest moment?

Certainly, it was when I finished processing my last sample. It was a long time coming, and it felt great. I actually finished at the end of July, which gave me enough time to put together a poster for the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Science conference, which was held in Pucón, Chile at the end of August. I got some feedback at the conference that has been critical in my approach to data analysis this year.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

INSTAAR is accepting applications for a summer graduate research scholarship. The 2024 recipients used the extra time and money to process and collect data, publish work and attend conferences.

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Working high up on Niwot Ridge, Colorado

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In search of pika (Rocky Mountain PBS)

David J Lubinski — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 19:05:11 +0000

In search of pika (Rocky Mountain PBS) David J Lubinski Thu, 08/15/2024 - 13:05

Graduate student Airy Gonzalez Peralta grew up far from pika habitat. Now she strives to understand how climate change could affect these adorable mountain mammals. Join her on a multimedia journey to her pika research site on Niwot Ridge, Colorado and the backstory on how she ended up there.

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Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity 2024 (RIO)

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity 2024 (RIO) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/23/2024 - 00:00

Peyton Thomas (INSTAAR & ENVS) is one of three awardees of the 2024-25 Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity. She will study fish ecology along the Yukon River in Alaska, improving physiological and behavioral understanding. Additionally, she will use her platform as an elite athlete to advocate for environmental and social change across academia, industry and government.

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2024 INSTAAR Summer Scholars

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:32:34 +0000

2024 INSTAAR Summer Scholars Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/17/2024 - 12:32

INSTAAR has announced its Summer Scholars for 2024: Natalie Aranda and Jed Lenetsky. The scholars will each be awarded a stipend for the summer months to continue their research projects.

These diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) scholarships are designed to increase support for students from communities that are historically marginalized in the Earth sciences, and to be concrete commitments toward INSTAAR’s mission of becoming an inclusive and anti-racist institute.

Natalie and Jed shared some key themes of their research and summer plans below.

See also: a followup Q&A.

Natalie Aranda (CEAE) is evaluating the role of tardigrades as grazers in ephemeral Antarctic streams

What will you be working on this summer?

My research is looking into the trophic interactions between diatoms, which are siliceous based brown algae, and tardigrades. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, where my research focus is, there are ephemeral streams in which microbial mats grow. We know that diatoms live in these mats. And we know that there are invertebrates such as tardigrades, nematodes, and rotifers all coexisting in these mats. However, much of the research that has come out of the McMurdo LTER has stated that there is no grazing being done to the diatom population.

But there likely at least some grazing going on, because these invertebrates live in the steams. And elsewhere in the world where there are diatoms and tardigrades, we know that they feed on diatoms. But no one’s quite looked at it yet.

I had the very fortunate opportunity to participate in McMurdo LTER for two field seasons. I got to collect the samples that I’m analyzing now.

What will the scholarship enable you to do?

It’s giving me the opportunity to focus strictly on my research, which is so amazing. I was supported on a teaching assistantship this past semester, and it was incredibly hard, between classes and TA responsibilities, to try to find time to do my research. So this summer, I’m excited to just focus on my research. It’s very microscope intensive, so it’s not the type of thing I can do in between classes or in my down time. I have to come into lab.

I’m looking at these slides that I’ve made from the samples I collected in the Dry Valleys, and I’m counting to see how many diatoms are in the slides. I’m also checking to see if they have chloroplasts present, which would indicate if they were alive when they were collected. And if we’re seeing there’s a high proportion of tardigrades in a sample and a high proportion of diatoms that are lacking chloroplasts, then that could be a connection showing that they’re being grazed upon.

I’ve already begun to analyze the relationship between tardigrade abundance and how many cells I find with or without chloroplasts. But I haven’t finished that aspect of my research. And so I want to continue to count those slides.

The research process requires a lot of thinking. When I’ve got the data—let’s see how it connects, how I can visualize it. That takes a lot of time that I didn’t have during the semester.

What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

I feel like there’s two sides of me. One side likes to get out. I’m originally from California, so this is my third year in Colorado. There’s a lot of Colorado I haven’t seen. I love to go explore different nature spots; I like hiking and exploring.

The other side of me likes to stay home. I love to paint—I’ve been an avid painter my whole life. I work on big pieces, usually commissions that my friends and family have given me. I make landscape paintings or cityscape paintings. That’s my creative outlet.

Jed Lenetsky (ATOC) is forecasting the future of Baffin Bay and its ecosystems in a changing climate

What will you be working on this summer?

This summer I’m focused on finishing up two different projects, both related to how the ocean in Baffin Bay is changing. Baffin is a critical region between the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and western Greenland, and it’s a region where you have lots of interactions between waters leaving the Arctic Ocean and entering the north Atlantic, and waters from the north Atlantic entering Baffin Bay. All these waters have very different properties.

One of these projects is looking at is a specific region in the northern tip of Baffin Bay called the North Water Polynya, which has one of the most productive ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean. We’re looking at climate models to understand how the North Water Polynya is going to change under different levels of global warming. We’re basically using a few different climate model simulations developed at NCAR that limit warming in a few different scenarios: 1.5 degrees, 2 degrees, and a business-as-usual scenario of warming over 3.5 degrees Celsius. This is different from a lot of climate models that have temperatures increasing with time. What this allows us to do is understand the impacts to this region at very specific warming levels that are policy relevant. One of the things that we found is that if we limit warming to under 2 degrees Celsius, we can really avoid large negative impacts to the ecosystem in the North Water Polynya. But we begin to see really large negative impacts to the ecosystem if warming goes above 2 degrees.

The second project I’m working on—there’s an array of ocean instruments in the southern end of Baffin Bay, in the Davis Strait. You basically have a string of measurements going across that strait that tell us how much salt, how much heat, and how much water from these different regions are coming in and out of Baffin Bay. Currently, the published record of these ocean transport only goes from 2004 to 2010. I’m working to extend that record from 2004 to 2022. It’s going to significantly increase our understanding of how ocean waters are exchanged between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

We know from our North Water Polynya paper that the amount of water from the North Atlantic coming into Baffin Bay plays a really large role in ecosystem productivity and how that’s going to change under different levels of global warming. So understanding how those ocean transports are changing now, over this record, is really important.

What will the scholarship enable you to do?

The North Water Polynya project came out of a grant on which Alex [Jahn], my advisor, was a co-PI on the grant and Anne Jennings was the lead PI, looking at past/present/future changes in the North Water Polynya. The paper came out of that work, but that grant has since expired.

So what this scholarship is allowing me to do is basically publish this work.

What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

Right now I’m really into getting my garden sorted out, now that it’s finally safe to plant things outside—I feel like the risk of snow is lower now.

I also really like cycling and hiking and running and trail running—basically all kinds of outdoor things.

INSTAAR has announced its Summer Scholars for 2024: Natalie Aranda and Jed Lenetsky. They will each be awarded a stipend for the summer months to continue their research projects.

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Jed Lenetsky and Natalie Aranda recieve their awards at the INSTAAR Celebration Luncheon, May 2024.

INSTAAR Celebration Luncheon

Anonymous — Thu, 09 May 2024 06:00:00 +0000

INSTAAR Celebration Luncheon Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/09/2024 - 00:00

On May 8th, we came together as a community to eat, present awards, and recognize our MS and PhD graduates. Many INSTAARs attended, along with the families of our graduates and award winners. Congratulations to all! And thank you to the organizers and photographers (Patti Newton, Marisa Seitz, Mallory Barndollar, Nikki Lovenduski, et al.).

Congratulations to our award winners

Natalie Aranda & Jed Lenetsky
Summer Scholars

Q&A with Natalie Aranda & Jed Lenetsky

Wendy Roth
Professional Research Assistant Award

More about Wendy Roth & her award

Tina Geller
Graduate Student Community Award

More about Tina Geller & her award

Katie Gannon
Sarah Crump Memorial Graduate Fellowship

Q&A with Katie Gannon

Congratulations to our INSTAAR graduates

Our graduates

Jared Collins: MS Environmental Engineering
Denise Mondragon: MS Geography
Briana Prado: MS Geography
Tessa Gorte: PhD Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Holly Olivarez: PhD Environmental Studies

After a hooding ceremony, Tessa Gorte (PhD Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences) is recognized by her advisor and INSTAAR Interim Director Nikki Lovenduski.

Holly Olivarez (PhD Environmental Studies) is hooded by her advisor and INSTAAR Interim Director Nikki Lovenduski.

Special thanks

Thanks to Sarah Crump’s family (John Crump, Liz Anderson, and Nodin de Saillan) for attending the event and continuing to honor her legacy and memory, and creating this fellowship to continue fostering bright, scientific talent well into the future. Learn about the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

A group photo for Katie Gannon, the 2024 winner of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. Gannon is flanked by Sarah Crump's parents, Liz Anderson and John Crump, as well as Sarah's PhD advisor Giff Miller (far left) and Sarah's partner, Nodin de Saillan (top).

Thanks and congratulations to Jose Constancia, our INSTAAR front office intern, for his years of dedicated service to the institute and his completion of his graduate degree in Business Management. We wish you good luck and all the best!

Operations Manager Patti Newton recognizes front office student intern Jose Constancia. Jose has been an amazing intern for several years and is graduating in the class of 2024 with a degree in Management from Leeds School of Business.

Front office staff photo after the luncheon, including a former member! From left: Chrystal Pochay (former staff), Marisa Seitz, Jean Lindahl (front), Lindsay McCandless (behind), Jose Constancia, Patti Newton, Chad Stoffel, Heather Stoffel (front), Becky Miller (behind), and Mallory Barndollar.

Learn more about Joe/Jose

Thank you again to all the wonderful students, faculty, and staff who make INSTAAR such a fantastic place to learn and work. As our Director Nikki Lovenduski said during the luncheon: INSTAAR is really about people, and it was great to have the opportunity to celebrate the people who make INSTAAR such a unique research institution. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer!

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Q&A with Katie Gannon, Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship winner

Anonymous — Mon, 06 May 2024 22:31:10 +0000

Q&A with Katie Gannon, Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship winner Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/06/2024 - 16:31

Shelly Sommer

Incoming PhD student Katie Gannon (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) has garnered this year’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. She will investigate greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes, working with advisor Bella Oleksy.

Gannon is returning to CU �鶹ӰԺ, where she was an undergraduate student, after earning her master’s degree from Montana State University. She was most recently the lab manager for the Holgerson Lab at Cornell University, and before that was a wilderness instructor and naturalist working to expand equitable access to wilderness and the outdoors.

We asked Katie about her research, plans for the summer, and life as a scientist and outdoor advocate.

Q: What is your research about?

Lakes and inland waters produce a lot of greenhouses gases—most people don’t realize that. They’re creating methane and CO₂ [carbon dioxide]. Lakes in high places are especially interesting, because they have ice cover during the cold part of the year. Think of the ice as a lid, a kind of layer that keeps the greenhouse gases from coming out. We don’t know exactly what is going on under that lid or what happens in spring when the ice melts. That introduces a lot of uncertainty about where greenhouse gases are coming from as we look at inputs into climate change.

It’s still a pretty big unknown. When the ice melts, what happens? Do the gases come out in one big burp, or more gradually? How do we measure it? If we miss ice off, how does that throw off our measurements?

My work is to look at accumulation rates of greenhouse gases under the ice and release in the spring.

Q: What will you be working on this summer as part of your Crump Fellowship?

Doing field research in New England.

We’ll choose which five lakes we’re going to use. I’ll spend time scouting and finding lakes. Working in alpine areas, you have all these big gradients in a small space. It’s really, really nice as a study system. I also just love the mountains, so it’s a fun place to be.

We’ll be able to instrument all these lakes. And I’d like to build these sensors—I’ve been working with a collaborator of mine, Jonas Stage Sø at the University of Southern Denmark who did his PhD on building machines that are $400 each and continuously measure CO₂ and methane. Whereas, the lab-based machines are closer to $40,000 each. We want to bring in and deploy these machines in Green Lakes Valley.

I’m also trying to pilot some methods this summer. There are a lot of ways to measure greenhouse gases. I’ll be working with Kevin [Rozmiarek] and Sylvia [Michel] in the Stable Isotope Lab to look at greenhouse gas abundance and isotopes. One of the best things about being here is all of the collaboration and cross-pollination.

Also just sitting with the data and looking at it!

Q: You’ve been involved in many adaptive programs for equity in the outdoors—can you tell us about that?

On a trail run in the alpine.

A thing that’s really, really important to me is improving access to the outdoors and access to science.

A bad accident in high school meant I was in a wheelchair for a while. And getting out into nature or into science is a lot harder with any kind of disability.

I’ve taught a lot of adaptive skiing to people with different physical abilities and who are neurodiverse.

It’s easy for adventure science to be filled with only people who look like me. So it’s important that we open up science and open up the outdoors to everyone.

The thing that continuously strikes me is that if you really try to include people, there are small things that all of us can do that can make a big difference. For example, I volunteered at Big Sky Ski Resort and when they put in a new chair lift system, it was really hard for people using sit skis to get on the lift. (There was a bar they couldn’t get the ski over). We asked the resort to accommodate sit skis, and all it took was removing a small plastic piece on every third chair so that folks in sit skis could sit comfortably and safely. That opens up so much more terrain and so much more space for people.

Making outdoor spaces welcoming and accessible to everyone is deeply important to me and I think that we can all engage and make a difference.

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

I’m a runner. I trail run a lot. I’m actually training for a 50K right now.

I really like winter running. I love to ski. I read a lot of books.

That’s basically me: I do a lot of reading, I do a lot of running, I do a lot of skiing, I do a lot of science!

Crump Fellowship award ceremony

After receiving her Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship at the 2024 INSTAAR celebration luncheon, Katie Gannon is flanked by Sarah Crump's parents, Liz Anderson and John Crump, as well as Sarah's PhD advisor Giff Miller (far left) and Sarah's partner, Nodin de Saillan (top).

Giff Miller speaking at the 2024 INSTAAR celebration luncheon.

Katie Gannon speaking at the 2024 INSTAAR celebration luncheon.

Learn about the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, which provides summer support for a graduate student researching Earth or environmental science in Arctic, Antarctic, or alpine regions.

Incoming PhD student Katie Gannon (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) has garnered this year’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. She will investigate greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes, working with advisor Bella Oleksy.

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Joe Constancia - Entrep, Strat’24 (Leeds School of Business)

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 23:55:39 +0000

Joe Constancia - Entrep, Strat’24 (Leeds School of Business) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/29/2024 - 17:55

As a student assistant in INSTAAR's front office, Joe has been a beacon: his creative problem-solving and hard work are matched only by his kindness and generosity of spirit. Turns out his degree program (Leeds School of Business) was equally impressed.

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Diversity

Juliana Ruef is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

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Local middle schoolers visit INSTAAR to make movies about Earth science

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INSTAAR’s 2024 Sarah Crump Fellow reflects on an adventurous season in the Rockies

You worked on a lot of different projects this summer. Tell us about one that stood out?

You also worked on lake monitoring efforts in Rocky Mountain National Park and in Green Lakes Valley. Tell us about that.

Your lab collaborated with the forest service this summer. Tell us about that.

You were busy this summer. Did you have time to work on your own research?

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INSTAAR’s summer scholarship is open (plus a Q&A with last-year’s cohort)

INSTAAR is now accepting applications for the 2025 Summer Scholars cohort

Jed Lenetsky (ATOC)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on last summer?

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

What was your proudest moment?

Natalie Aranda (CEAE)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on?

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

What was your proudest moment?

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In search of pika (Rocky Mountain PBS)

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Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity 2024 (RIO)

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2024 INSTAAR Summer Scholars

Natalie Aranda (CEAE) is evaluating the role of tardigrades as grazers in ephemeral Antarctic streams

What will you be working on this summer?

What will the scholarship enable you to do?

What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

Jed Lenetsky (ATOC) is forecasting the future of Baffin Bay and its ecosystems in a changing climate

What will you be working on this summer?

What will the scholarship enable you to do?

What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

Related Articles

INSTAAR Celebration Luncheon

Congratulations to our award winners

Congratulations to our INSTAAR graduates

Special thanks

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Q&A with Katie Gannon, Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship winner

Q: What is your research about?

Q: What will you be working on this summer as part of your Crump Fellowship?

Q: You’ve been involved in many adaptive programs for equity in the outdoors—can you tell us about that?

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not sciencing?

Crump Fellowship award ceremony

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Joe Constancia - Entrep, Strat’24 (Leeds School of Business)

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