I received my PhD in Environemntal Science and Engineering and SM in Applied Mathematics from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2022. My disseratation "An Analytical and Statistical Toolbox for Per- and Polylfuoroalkyl Substances Biogeochemistry and Source Attribution" focused on improving our understanding of the chemistry of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of compounds refered to as "forever chemicals", in aquatic environments. In particular, my thesis developed new quantiative tools to measure polyfluoroalkyl precursors to enable assessment of their prevalance and biogeochemistry in aqueous film forming foams and contaminated sites. I complete a short postdoc to continue my thesis research while serving as the interim Resident Dean for Dunster House and Assistant Dean of Harvard College.
As of February 2023, I am starting a new postdoc at the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology in California to study the impacts of climate change on nitrogen efflux and eutrophication in the Arctic.
I am originally from Denver, Colorado. I became interested in PFAS when a friend's family asked me why people from the nearby military base showed up at their house asking to test their private well for PFAS. Before my interest in PFAS, I studied the chemistry of wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and treatment technolgoies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where I received my BS in Environmental Engineering.
