Group

Kris Karnauskas is a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) at the University of Colorado Boulder, with secondary faculty appointments in the CU School of Medicine and the Colorado School of Public Health. Prior to joining the CU Boulder faculty, ...

Amanda Bowden is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC), with a B.S. and M.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Georgia and Colorado State University, respectively. At CSU, Amanda has conducted research on sea surface temperature changes and their effects on the Madden-Julian Oscillation ...

Maxwell Elling joins the Oceans & Climate Lab in the Fall of 2024. Max is currently a Scientific Programmer in the Global Climate Modeling group at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). At GISS, Max is researching the behavior of climate extremes in GISS ModelE and the consequences of model differences on climate impact-drivers ...

Sydney Kramer is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC). Sydney received her B.S. from the University of Miami, where she conducted research on multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic sector with Prof. Amy Clement of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric & Earth Science. Here at CU ...

Ethan Murray is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). After receiving his B.A. in Physics from Vassar College in 2021, Ethan completed a summer internship at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Through his current research, ...

While establishing a career as a Water Resources Engineer at a well-known firm in Boulder, Elizabeth Simon joined CU Boulder in Fall 2022 and the Oceans & Climate Lab in Spring 2023 as a graduate student pursuing a Master's in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. Following her B.S in Civil Engineering from Seattle University, Elizabeth worked ...

Mikell Warms is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC). Mikell received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Santa Clara University, where he conducted research on low-tech coconut shell activated charcoal production. Mikell then earned his M.S. from Colorado State University, studying the calibration of hydrologic models ...

Wyn Pauly is a senior undergraduate majoring in ATOC at CU Boulder, conducting research in the Oceans & Climate Lab during the 2023-24 academic year. In collaboration with sabbatical visitor Chris Little, Wyn is using satellite data, mooring measurements, ocean reanalyses, and tide gauge data to investigate the relationship between U.S. coastal sea level variability ...

Currently a Research Physical Scientist at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, CO (12/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Dillon Amaya joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in January, 2020 as a CIRES Postdoctoral Fellow . Dr. Amaya earned a Ph.D. at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography with Shang-Ping Xie and Art Miller. Dillon's research focuses on interannual & decadal climate variability spanning the tropics to extratropics. In Boulder, Dillon...

Starting a Ph.D. program at the University of Hawaii in January 2023 (10/2022) ~~~ Brief Bio: Hillary Beckmeyer is a senior ATOC major at CU Boulder. Her independent study project during the summer of 2021 examines how oceanic barrier layers are represented in the latest generation of global climate models , and how such models predict barrier layers will respond to global climate change.

Currently entering graduate school at Colorado State University (5/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Zaibeth Carlo Frontera is a 2019 summer intern in the Oceans and Climate Lab through the SMART program. Zaibeth is majoring in Theoretical Physics (with a minor in Applied Math) at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez. Zaibeth is interested in modeling changes in hurricane climatology due to climate change, especially super typhoons in the western Pacific.

Brief Bio: Abby Clabaugh joins the Oceans and Climate Lab during the 2017/18 academic year under the UROP program . Abby is studying Chemical and Biological Engineering with a minor in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences . As a senior interested in ocean processes, Abby will be continuing her research from her summer fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) studying trends and anomalies in the meteorology and air-sea flux...

Currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Sloan Coats joins the Oceans and Climate Lab from Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences ( DEES ) and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ( LDEO ). Previously, Sloan double-majored in Environmental Economics and Policy and Geography at Berkeley . Sloan is a climate dynamicist who employs paleoclimate evidence and climate modeling to better understand past...

Summer joins the Oceans & Climate Lab for the Spring 2023 semester as an Independent Study student. Majoring in ATOC, Summer is conducting research using global climate model experiments to investigate the role of aerosol forcing in driving changes in eastern boundary upwelling systems such as the California Current System.

Megan Collins is a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC). Megan graduated from CU Boulder in 2020 (Summa Cum Laude, With Distinction) with a major in Mathematics and minor in ATOC, and is concurrently pursuing a Professional Master’s in Applied Math at CU Boulder. Megan's undergraduate research in mathematics has been published ...

Jacob Condill joins the Oceans and Climate Lab for the summer of 2021 from Metropolitan State University of Denver , where he is a Meteorology major (minoring in Math ). Jacob's research in the Oceans and Climate Lab, via the ATOC REU Program , focuses on how the ocean will influence future hurricane risk along the US East Coast. Jacob's graduate student mentor is Tessa Gorte .

Brief Bio: Gabriela De La Cruz Tello, recipient of a 2015 National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Graduate Research Fellowship, joins the Oceans and Climate Lab from the San Jose State University Department of Meteorology and Climate Science . Gaby has conducted research on the Hadley Circulation and Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ( WHOI ), has presented her work at several national conferences including...

Currently a Graduate Research Assistant at University of Tennessee (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Kellie Gadeken is a senior undergraduate majoring in Astronomy and minoring in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Kellie joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in the spring of 2018 to work on projected supported by the CIRES Innovative Research Program . Kellie worked on a large, digital data set of underwater acoustic measurements that were collected off the...

Brief Bio: Dr. Chuan Gao is an Assistant Professor of Physical Oceanography at the Institute of Oceanology , Chinese Academy of Sciences in Qingdao, China. Dr. Gao is joining the Oceans and Climate Lab at CU Boulder as a Visiting Researcher throughout 2019, and her research interests include ocean modeling, data assimilation, and air-sea interaction. She has published several papers on ENSO simulation and prediction and related topics as listed...

Dr. Gorte graduated upon successfully defending her thesis during a power outage like it was a bagatelle (11/2023) ~~~ Brief Bio: Tessa received a Bachelor of Science in Physics and graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Hampshire in 2012. She has worked with Assistant Professor Jan Lenaerts in his Ice Sheets and Climate Lab since 2017 as part of the NASA Sea Level Team , investigating the...

Currently a Community Engagement Specialist at UCAR/CPAESS (8/2023) ~~~ Brief Bio: Alison joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in Fall of 2022. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Sociology and B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from Colorado State University . She is currently pursuing a B.A. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( ATOC ) at CU Boulder and works as Database Lead with the Navigating the New Arctic...

Currently an Ubben Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Northwestern University (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Ryan Harp is a fourth year graduate student (and doctoral candidate) in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( ATOC ) at CU Boulder . After double-majoring in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( AOS ) and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison , where he worked on research projects with Profs. Grant Petty and Ankur Desai,...

Currently a Staff Scientist at [C]Worthy in Boulder, CO (11/2023) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Ulla Heede joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in Fall 2022 as a CIRES Postdoctoral Fellow. She completed her Ph.D. in Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale ; her research is on tropical climate dynamics, especially toward understanding how the tropical Pacific coupled ocean-atmosphere system responds to anthropogenic radiative forcing. Ulla completed her undergraduate education at...

Brief Bio: Christopher Heney is a first year graduate student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( ATOC ) at CU Boulder . Christopher joins CU Boulder with a Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences from the University of Michigan followed by 11 years experience as a U.S. Naval Officer. Christopher's impressive Naval service record began in 2005, having served aboard three ships (USS Russell, Juneau...

Currently at MetOcean Solutions, New Zealand (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Julie Jakoboski is a doctoral student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography in Woods Hole, MA. Co-advised by Drs. Breck Owens ( WHOI ) and Kris Karnauskas , Julie is studying the circulation of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean using autonomous underwater gliders as well as numerical models through a grant from the NSF Physical Oceanography program . Julie...

Currently a Researcher III at the University of Minnesota (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Rachael Kaspar is conducting research in the Oceans and Climate Lab during the Spring 2016 semester under the ATOC Minor / Independent Study program . Rachael is double-majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies and minoring in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( ATOC ). As a rising young scientist interested in organismal and ecological responses...

Currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Pusan National University, South Korea (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Danielle Lemmon joins CU Boulder from the University of Washington . While earning a bachelor's degree in Physics (with a minor in Climate Sciences) as a NASA Space Grant Scholar , Danielle conducted independent research on such topics as projections of global food security using climate models, and participated in larger projects in the UW...

Currently an Assistant Professor at Penn State University (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Laifang Li is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution mentored by Drs. Ray Schmitt , Caroline Ummenhofer (WHOI) and Kris Karnauskas. Laifang's recent work focuses on the global water cycle and mechanisms for regional hydroclimate variability, including the use of salinity toward regional rainfall predictability. Laifang received her Ph.D. in Earth and Ocean Science...

Chris has returned to AER in Massachusetts (11/2023) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Chris Little joins CU Boulder as a CIRES Visiting Fellow for sabbatical over the summer & fall of 2023. Chris is a physical oceanographer and Senior Staff Scientist at Atmospheric and Environmental Research ( AER ) with broad interests in past, present, and future climate changes and their societal and ecosystem impacts. His research seeks to improve understanding...

Currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Maroon is a CIRES Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow , working collaboratively across the labs of Profs. Jen Kay and Kris Karnauskas. Elizabeth joins CU upon completing her Ph.D. at the University of Washington with with Profs. Frierson and Battisti on the role of orography (e.g., mountains) on the ocean circulation, previously double-majoring in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary...

Dr. Carlos Martinez joined the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Fall 2021 as an Advanced Study Program (ASP) Postdoctoral Fellow, and close collaborator of the Oceans and Climate Lab. Carlos recently earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES), where his research investigated the Caribbean ...

Currently a Data Configuration Engineer Contractor at General Electric Aviation in Lynn, MA (12/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Gabi Pagliuca is a Master's student at CU Boulder in the Mechanical Engineering department, advised by Prof. Karnauskas. Her B.S. is from the University of Connecticut at Storrs in Environmental Engineering . After graduation, she worked for two years for an environmental and civil engineering consulting firm based out of Boston, MA focusing...

Currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of California, Davis (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Hannah Palmer joins the Oceans and Climate Lab as a Visiting Research Assistant. Hannah graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Marine Biology and has conducted coral reef ecology research in Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Hannah will be working on a collaborative project with NOAA's Biogeography Branch investigating the impact of climate change on larval connectivity in...

Currently a Graduate Research Fellow at Colorado State University (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Jamin Rader joins the Oceans and Climate Lab for the summers of 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a SOARS Protégé . Jamin adds to a growing faction of the lab hailing from the University of Washington , where he is majoring in Atmospheric Sciences and minoring in Applied Math . Jamin is passionate about continuing his education...

Currently a Research And Teaching Assistant at Vanderbilt University (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Thomas Rechtman is a summer intern in the Oceans and Climate Lab through the SMART program. Originally from Brazil, Thomas joins CU from the University of Central Florida , where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Previously, Thomas has conducted research in spectral graph theory. During the summer of 2016, Thomas hopes to learn how to build climate models.

Brief Bio: Stephanie Redfern is conducting collaborative research in the Oceans and Climate Lab during the Spring 2016 semester under the CIRES Graduate Student Research Award Program . Stephanie entered the graduate program of the CU Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ( ATOC ) in 2015, after earning Master's degrees in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and Global Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Austin...

Carlos Romero joins the Oceans and Climate Lab for the summer of 2021 from Columbia University, where he is majoring in Sustainable Development. While in New York, Carlos has worked as a research assistant in geochemistry at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), and is currently an intern with Columbia's Earth Institute. Carlos' research ...

Currently an Assistant Professor at Santa Clara University (8/2023) ~~~ Brief Bio: Soon-to-be-Dr. Will Rush will join the Oceans and Climate Lab in Fall 2022 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate through a collaborative grant from the NSF Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change ( P2C2 ) program. Will is currently completing his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences at UC Santa Cruz , where his research is focused on the interface between climate...

Currently a Senior Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Dhrubajyoti (Dhruba) Samanta joins the Oceans and Climate Lab at CU Boulder as a Visiting Researcher during the Fall of 2017 and 2018. Dhruba is a Research Fellow based at the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) and affiliated with the Earth Observatory Singapore (EOS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, mentored jointly by...

Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences a CU Boulder (8/2022) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Sara Sanchez joined the Oceans and Climate Lab at CU Boulder in Fall 2020 as a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow for Diversity . Sara was most recently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Joint Institute for the study of the Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington . Prior to her...

Currently an Assistant Professor at Penn State University (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Luke Trusel is a Doherty Postdoctoral Scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution mentored by Drs. Sarah Das (WHOI) and Kris Karnauskas. Luke's research focuses on understanding past and future changes in the crysophere such as the rate of melting of Antarctic ice shelves. Previously, Luke was a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow in the Polar...

Brief Bio: Kate Vann joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in the summer of 2016 as an Independent Study Student supervised by Prof. Karnauskas. Kate is majoring in Mathematics while minoring in ATOC and Spanish . Previously, Kate also served as Learning Assistant for ATOC 1060 under Prof. Karnauskas. Kate was selected to participate in the Undergraduate Leadership Workshop ( ULW ) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (...

Brief Bio: Alyssa Walker joins the Oceans and Climate Lab for the summer of 2019 under the CU Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program ( UROP ). Alyssa is (as of Fall 2019) a senior majoring in Environmental Studies with minors in ATOC and Math . Alyssa plans to investigate the structure of the high pressure regions in the subtropical latitudes, their connection to ocean currents, and their sensitivity to greenhouse gas forcing.

Brief Bio: Ashley Warner joins the Oceans and Climate Lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. Ashley has a B.S. in Earth Science from CU-Denver and is currently working toward a second Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.

Currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at CIRES/NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, CO (12/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Ho-Hsuan Wei joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in the Fall of 2018 as a CIRES Postdoctoral Fellow . Dr. Wei earned her Ph.D. from Caltech in Environmental Science and Engineering with Dr. Simona Bordoni . Ho-Hsuan's dissertation focused on the seasonally-varying tropical convergence zones, which are crucial to billions of people...

Currently a Chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey (1/2021) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Jody Wycech joins the Oceans and Climate lab as a CIRES Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow working in collaboration with Profs. Peter Molnar , Kris Karnauskas, Balaji Rajagopalan and Tom Marchitto . Previously, Jody earned her Ph.D. in Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Dr. Clay Kelly using novel in situ techniques to enhance the fidelity of foraminiferal...

Currently a Researcher at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (8/2022) ~~~ Brief Bio: Dr. Lei Zhang joins the Oceans and Climate Lab from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Hawaii . Previously, Lei earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the Ocean University of China . Lei is a climate dynamicist interested in large-scale tropical ocean and atmospheric circulations,...

Currently a Graduate Student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (8/2022) ~~~ Brief Bio: Clark Zimmerman joined the Oceans and Climate Lab in the spring of 2021. Funded by the CU Boulder UROP Program , Clark will conduct research on sound propagation in the ocean from tidal turbines, including how climate change will impact sound propagation by way of downscaling changes in temperature and salinity...