Spotlight Student

Advyth Ramachandran selected for an ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (ESA)

David J Lubinski — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 20:40:13 +0000

Advyth Ramachandran selected for an ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (ESA) David J Lubinski Thu, 03/06/2025 - 13:40

PhD student Advyth Ramachandran (EBIO + INSTAAR) won a 2025 Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award from The Ecological Society of America. The award provides hands-on training and science policy experience in Washington, D.C. to a cohort of 10 graduate students.

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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 ��Vlog�ƽ�� 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 ��Vlog�ƽ�� 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 ��Vlog�ƽ�� 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 ��Vlog�ƽ�� 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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Racing for climate action at 18,000 feet (Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine)

David J Lubinski — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 04:38:46 +0000

Racing for climate action at 18,000 feet (Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine) David J Lubinski Fri, 12/06/2024 - 21:38

Invited by the king of Bhutan, CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� PhD student Clare Gallagher (ENVS & INSTAAR) completed the 109-mile Snowman Race to bring attention to the realities of climate change.

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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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5 CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� students, alumni receive 2024–25 Fulbright awards (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today)

Anonymous — Tue, 07 May 2024 19:00:56 +0000

5 CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� students, alumni receive 2024–25 Fulbright awards (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/07/2024 - 13:00

PhD student Millie Spencer is 1 of 5 Fulbright awardees from CU ��Vlog�ƽ��. She will use her award to expand her work with Mapuche-Pehuenche communities in Chile: mapping glaciers, gathering oral histories of glacier retreat and hydrological change, and illuminating water insecurity.

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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 ��Vlog�ƽ��, 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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Katie Gannon is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:39:27 +0000

Katie Gannon is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/02/2024 - 13:39

Shelly Sommer

Katie Gannon

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that incoming PhD student Katie Gannon is this year’s recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship.

Gannon will enter CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� as a PhD student at INSTAAR and in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, working with advisor Bella Oleksy.

Gannon’s research explores murky questions around greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes. As the climate warms, ice cover is disappearing earlier in the year from lakes in cold regions. This shortened duration of ice has consequences for ecosystems that aren’t well understood, in particular the amounts of methane and carbon dioxide produced in lakes.

Gannon has devised a research program to test hypotheses about productivity, carbon cycling, and greenhouse gas emissions in seasonally ice-covered lakes. Using funds from the Crump Fellowship, she will visit and select sites, pilot sample collection and analytical methods, and build and deploy sensors in lakes in the Green Valley Lakes area of the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research area.

As well as a creative and dedicated researcher, Gannon is an activist for wider, more equitable access to mountain science and mountain experiences. She has guided backcountry trips for girls and gender minorities; been a wilderness instructor for K-12 students; and has helped students with various physical cognitive and physical abilities to learn to ski. This integrated focus on research and community was also a hallmark of Sarah Crump’s life and work.

See also:

See more about Katie in a followup article: Q&A with Katie Gannon, Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship winner.
Learn more about the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, including Sarah's extraordinary legacy.

An INSTAAR student works in the Green Lakes Valley, where Katie Gannon will conduct her research. Photo by Dillon Ragar.

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that incoming PhD student Katie Gannon is this year’s recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. Gannon will work with advisor Bella Oleksy to explore murky questions around greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes.

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Aiken Graduate Fellowships awarded

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 19:12:21 +0000

Aiken Graduate Fellowships awarded Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/19/2023 - 13:12

Shelly Sommer

George Aiken at the start of a day of fieldwork.

INSTAAR is pleased to announce four George R. Aiken Graduate Fellowships for 2023. CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� graduate students Mackensie Bowen, Allison Cook, Tim Higgins, and Millie Spencer received the awards, which come with funding to support their research over the next year.

CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� graduate students conducting water-related research are eligible for the fellowship. It was established to honor George Aiken, a distinguished organic biogeochemist who contributed significantly to our understanding of aquatic ecosystems during his 40-year career with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The fellowship aims to support collaborative research in water and earth science that contributes to the wise and sustainable management of Earth’s natural resources within the context of environmental change. Funds may be used to pay for research expenses.

Mackenzie Bowden, a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering program, is investigating contaminants from fires at the wildland-urban interface. These contaminants work their way into streams and watersheds, presenting risks to downstream communities and ecosystems. Yet few studies have begun to identify and quantify the individual compounds or traced them back to their source materials. Bowden will sample building materials of concern, such as treated lumber, asphalt roofing shingles, and PVC pipes. She will use her fellowship funds to perform chemical analyses on the samples after combusting them in a lab. The results will help assess the hazards posed by pyrogenic compounds in fresh water.

See Mackenzie's report

Allison Cook is a master’s degree student in the Environmental Engineering program. She is passionate about tracing and control of pathogens in the urban environment for stronger public health. Her research group is investigating the outfalls of stormwater sewers, where the built and natural environments intersect. The City of ��Vlog�ƽ�� has noticed an increase in E. coli concentrations at locations in ��Vlog�ƽ�� Creek. Cook will sample the stormwater system and sediments in the creek to identify the strains of E. coli that are infiltrating the creek, and see whether they are from mammal, human, or soil sources. The research could help the City mitigate the source of the E. coli.

See Allison's report

Tim Higgins, a PhD candidate in the department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, is investigating the impacts of climate change on atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation events that affect the western United States. He is using a unique regional climate data set from the Weather@Home project, and has applied a convolutional neural network to track atmospheric rivers within the data. He is also researching how atmospheric rivers and extreme events might be predicted more accurately farther in advance of when they happen. With his fellowship funds, Higgins will travel to the World Climate Research Program Open Science Conference in Kigali, Rwanda to present his research.

See Tim's report

Millie Spencer is a PhD student in Geography, studying hydrology and glaciology through the lenses of traditional ecological knowledge and knowledge coproduction. She is part of a team of Mapuche, Chilean, and U.S. scientists that has received consent from several Mapuche-Pehuenche communities outside Temuco, Chile, to share scientific perspectives and community knowledge. Spencer will document the perspectives of community members who live in intimate proximity to Chile’s glaciers and hold community knowledge of the landscape dating back generations prior to colonization. She aims to document Mapuche knowledge of hydrological and climatic patterns and trends, greatly expanding upon current Western scientific knowledge of glacier change in the region. Her fellowship will provide funds for travel and lodging while conducting her work in Chile.

See Millie's report

The Aiken Graduate Fellowships are made possible by Ellen Aiken and many other donors. The new Fellows will be recognized at the CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Hydrologic Symposium in spring 2024.

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Q&A with Sara Padula, first recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:19:56 +0000

Q&A with Sara Padula, first recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/14/2023 - 15:19

Shelly Sommer

We are proud to announce Sara Padula as the first recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship provides summer support for a graduate student researching Earth or environmental science in Arctic, Antarctic, or alpine regions.

Padula is a first-year PhD student in EBIO, studying Rocky Mountain birds with Scott Taylor’s research group.

We caught up with Sara to ask about her research, her summer, and life as a scientist.

Q: What will you be working on this summer?

A: I am currently working on three projects. I’m a part of the ��Vlog�ƽ�� Chickadee Study, which is what our lab is known for. The study involves the black-capped chickadee and mountain chickadee. We have about 400 nest boxes from ��Vlog�ƽ�� at 5,000 feet up through the Mountain Research Station at 11,500 feet. We regularly monitor these nest boxes to get consistent data on chickadees: what nest stages look like, the timing of hatching, and genetic data.

Everybody interacts with birds, and chickadees are a really common backyard bird. So working on them is a great way to connect with our community.

Our overarching question is assessing the extent of hybridization between the two species. Previous members of my lab found that these two birds will mate with each other and produce offspring. Hybridization between black-capped chickadees and mountain chickadees in the Rocky Mountains is the result of human-mediated change. Us disturbing their environment has caused their habitats to overlap. My lab has found that most birds we sampled have genetic inheritance from both species, and that can have some consequences for the outcomes of nests. Can hybridization also help them adapt?

I also got a $10,000 grant to look at how anthropogenic noise impacts bird songs. Studies have found that in high-noise areas birds will initiate their dawn chorus earlier in the day or sing at higher pitches to avoid masking from anthropogenic noise. I’m working with ��Vlog�ƽ�� OSMP to look at bird songs in high- and low-noise areas.

And lastly there is my dissertation work. This is a winter project that I’ll be starting on in the late summer.

Mountain chickadees and black-capped chickadees cache food. They’ll hide their food throughout their environment when resources are plentiful and, in the winter, the birds will retrieve thousands of food these caches in a single season. To recover all those caches, they need a really good spatial memory.

I mean, they can remember the location of thousands of food caches, and I have trouble remembering where my keys are in the morning

Studies have found that the section of the brain that plays a major role in learning and memory, the hippocampus, becomes enlarged in chickadees in the winter, which is when they utilize their memories the most. And, the more harsh the chickadee’s habitat, the better the spatial memory—and the trait is inheritable.

We use automated feeders to perform memory tests on chickadees in the wild. I will put special tags on the birds’ legs that interact with an antenna on the feeders. When a bird lands on the feeder, the antenna detects the tag and, in turn, opens the feeder door allowing the bird to get a seed. I can program the feeders to only open for specific birds. For our memory tests, I will assign each chickadee to a specific feeder and measure the amount of mistakes (going to the wrong feeder) they make in each trial, which serves as a measure of their spatial memory. Previous work has shown the chickadees quickly learn to visit their assigned feeders with few to no errors.

What I want to do is to compare spatial memories between the two species of chickadees, and also correlate that with their genetics.

I find the memories of chickadees fascinating. I mean, they can remember the location of thousands of food caches, and I have trouble remembering where my keys are in the morning. Can they respond to changing conditions and extreme weather using their spatial memory?

Sara Padula and colleagues capture chickadees for measurement, banding, and release.

Q: What did the Crump Fellowship allow you to do that you couldn’t otherwise?

A: I’m able to go to two conferences this summer, which is really nice. And it gives me more freedom in what I ask for from [her advisor] Scott [Taylor], since he isn’t having to find salary.

The Fellowship has been amazing. I got connected with her [Sarah Crump’s] whole family. Her dad includes me in an email chain, and we talk. He participates in kestrel monitoring, so he sends me pictures of his nestlings, and I send him pictures of my nestlings.

Sara presented her science poster at the Evolution 2023 conference in June 2023. Her poster proposes how to investigate spatial cognition in black-capped chickadees and mountain chickadees.

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

A: I love reading. I only got back into reading when the pandemic happened. This year my goal is to read 40 books, and I’m on track for that. Me and my roommates have our own book club, just the three of us.

I’m on an intramural soccer team. And I’ve always loved running. I’m training for a half marathon in October in Moab.

I also love cooking and baking. I’m the designated chef and baker in my house. I’m vegetarian, and my girlfriend is vegan, so I do a lot of vegan and vegetarian stuff. I think vegan baking tastes better. It’s easier a lot of the time, too.

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.

We are proud to announce Sara Padula as the first recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship provides summer support for a graduate student researching Earth or environmental science in Arctic, Antarctic, or alpine regions. We caught up with Sara to ask about her research, her summer, and life as a scientist.

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Spotlight Student

Advyth Ramachandran selected for an ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (ESA)

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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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Racing for climate action at 18,000 feet (Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine)

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In search of pika (Rocky Mountain PBS)

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5 CU ����Vlog�ƽ�� students, alumni receive 2024–25 Fulbright awards (CU ����Vlog�ƽ�� Today)

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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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Katie Gannon is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

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Aiken Graduate Fellowships awarded

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Q&A with Sara Padula, first recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

Q: What will you be working on this summer?

Q: What did the Crump Fellowship allow you to do that you couldn’t otherwise?

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

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5 CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� students, alumni receive 2024–25 Fulbright awards (CU ��Vlog�ƽ�� Today)