2025 Scholar/Faculty Mentor Teams
We are very excited to share our 2025 cohort of students and faculty members! Our teams are approaching climate change in innovative ways to improve urban growth, renewable energy/energy waste, sustainable business practices, agri-food systems, air pollution, carbon capture/sequestration, animal conservation, fisheries and marine food webs, disaster recovery, community engagement, climate history and education, public policy, and environmental justice and equity. The teams will work with their internship partners to develop solutions that mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change.
Student Highlights: See what our Climate Leaders Program scholars are doing to help find viable solutions for climate change.
Raja Manikam Bandari and Dr. Robin Abrams
Ph.D. Student – 2026
College of Design
Dept. of Architecture
Climate Change Interests: Mapping the morphological urban growth of cities and its carbon footprint using geospatial modelling techniques for sustainable future cities.
Isabella Bartels and Dr. Matthew Booker
Master’s Student – 2026
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Dept. of History
Climate Change Interests: History of climate misinformation, interpretation of climate change in rural communities and public lands, and the evolution of climate legislation.
John Brooks and Dr. Dave Eggleston
Ph.D. Student – 2027
College of Sciences
Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences
Climate Change Interests: Global change impacts on fisheries, ecosystems, and management; ecological restoration as a mitigating solution.
Payton DeMay and Dr. Nils Peterson
Master’s Student – 2026
College of Natural Resources
Dept. of Forestry and Environmental Resources
Climate Change Interests: Supporting climate adaptation of vulnerable wildlife species while mitigating human-wildlife conflicts through targeted socio-ecological systems management and proactive biodiversity conservation.
Qoriatul Fitriyah, Dr. Ranji Ranjithan and Dr. Anderson de Queiroz
Ph.D. Student – 2026
College of Engineering
Dept. of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Climate Change Interests: Integrating renewable energy systems, waste-to-energy technologies, and energy modeling to reduce coal dependency, mitigate emissions, and improve sustainable waste management practices .
Matthew Menon and Dr. Walt Robinson
Undergraduate – 2027
College of Sciences, College of Natural Resources
Dept. of Statistics
Climate Change Interests: Utilization of statistics and data science tools such as modeling and machine learning to promote sustainable decision-making in climate policy and the energy sector.
Bianca Meotti and Dr. Fernando Garcia Menendez
Ph.D. Student – 2027
College of Engineering
Dept. of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Climate Change Interests: Mitigating air pollution and health inequities in marginalized communities; integrating socioeconomic disparities and climate justice solutions into power system planning.
Cornelius Ojo and Dr. Gavin Smith
Ph.D. Student – 2028
College of Design
Dept. of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Climate Change Interests: Climate adaptation strategies that incorporate human dimensions of resilience, disaster recovery planning, disaster resilience policy and design.
August Puckett and Dr. Chris Osburn
Undergraduate – 2026
College of Sciences
Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences
Climate Change Interests: Exploring strategies for climate change mitigation and reversal, including geochemical carbon sequestration, ocean alkalinization, and nature-based solutions.
Lucy Roussa and Dr. Astrid Schnetzer
Ph.D. Student – 2027
College of Sciences
Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences
Climate Change Interests: Ocean acidification, understanding threats to marine food webs in response to climate change, marine science education and engagement.
Clara Stec and Prof. Jessica Yinka Thomas
Undergraduate – 2026
Poole College of Management
Dept. of Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Climate Change Interests: Leveraging sustainable business practices to address climate challenges, prioritizing social equity, environmental stewardship, and economic viability.
Tess Stogner and Dr. Andy Fox
Master’s Student – 2027
College of Design
Dept. of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Climate Change Interests: Community-led climate adaptation, coastal resilience, and local stewardship.
Lauren Faye Welsh and Dr. Kofi Boone
Master’s Student – 2026
College of Design
Dept. of Landscape Architecture
Climate Change Interests: Land conservation as a tool for mitigating the impacts of climate change, community food systems, community led development, environmental justice.
Seung Hyun Yoo and Dr. Minliang Yang
Master’s Student – 2026
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Dept. of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Climate Change Interests: Mitigating environmental impacts and promoting sustainability in agri-food systems.
