Climate Research Spotlight
See What Our Funded Researchers are Exploring
Research Focus Map Tool
See where Wilkes Center researchers are focused on campus, across Utah, and around the world.
College of Science Featured Stories
Science, Literature and Euphoria: Special Event with visiting mycologist Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian and U poet...
Emissions of two major pollutants have steadily decreased over the past two decades
From a passion for paleontology to anthropology and climate science
Engineered dust control measures would have costs and tradeoffs, constrained by water availability
U scientists monitor how the change to cleaner ship fuel affects cloud formation
A data-based modeling tool to visualize dust exposures
U researchers begin to characterize the mountain-derived groundwater extending thousands of feet below the playa...
“Proxies” in geologic record show rainfall was more intense, but less regular during the Paleogene
Annual Strike Team report outlines new dust-mitigation strategies, successes in controlling salinity and fresh projections...
When Disciplines Coalesce: Environmental Science Reimagined December 5, 2025 Above: photo credits, […]
Reality check to agencies considering such proposals as a way to stave off climate change
The varied topography of the American West results in minutely localized weather
Climate Research Spotlight
Research Minute Video Series
Wilkes Center-funded Student Researchers
Jasmine Aguilar Lopez
Communication BA
Atrapadxs en un Hoyo: Reproductive Justice and Environmental Health of Latina Mothers and Children in Salt Lake City Utah
Tobias Armstrong
Computer Science BS
Advancing Wildfire Air Quality Management: Integrating TROPOMI Data for Enhanced Exceptional Event Reporting
Rachel Christensen
Geography BS
Exploring responses in the stomatal conductance of conifers using stomatal density as a proxy through changing atmospheric conditions: an analysis using Pinus longaeva.
Riley Cummings
Anthropology BS
Impact of Natural Disasters and Climate Shocks on Risk Perception in the Baja California Peninsula
Jane Darmstadt
Biology BS
Using Past Ecosystems to Understand Modern Climate Change: A Case Study from Utah’s House Mountain Range
Bennett Davenport
Geoscience BS
Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on the Body Size of Uinta Mountain Rodents
Auriana Dunn
Anthropology BS
Comparing Historical and Modern Mammal Distribution at Bear River Basin: Has climate had an effect?
Kierra Forthman
Chemistry BS
Heavy Metal-Free Green Energy Storage Devices Operating in Water-Based Electrolytes
Rylie Gagne
Computer Science BS
Enhancing Models of Optimal Polar Bear Movement in the Arctic through Advanced Data Science and Image Processing
Autumn Hartley
Geoscience BS
The Cause of Excess Magmatism in the Northern Atlantic Margin
Gracyn Hinojosa
Anthropology BS
The Impact on Ranching Culture and Livestock Management in the Baja California Peninsula
Drew Hooker
Atmospheric Sciences BS
How Wildfire Smoke as an Exceptional Events affect Human Health
Lucy Leary
Mathematics BS
The world in color: how different types of noise affect ecological transient dynamics
Zhiyao Lin
Mathematics BS
The Dynamics of the Microbial Community within Sea Ice
Natalia Lopez
Undeclared
Resident Perspectives on Air Pollution and Environmental Injustice in Salt Lake County
Eliana Massey
Museum Studies BS & Philosophy of Science BS
Food Sovereignty Possibilities for Pacific Islanders in Salt Lake City's West Side
Celeste Maybell
Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Shade, Urban Heat, and Public Transportation in Tucson, Arizona
Delaney Miller
Chemistry BS
Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors for Green Energy Storage
Juliana Moyano
Anthropology BS
Impacts of Drought and Economic Variability on Ranch Abandonment in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Rachael Noble
Geoscience BS
Cosmogenic 3He Surface Dating: Alpine Glaciers of Fish Lake Plateau and Boulder Mountain, Utah
Melanie Osuna
Geography BS
UROP Proposal Fall 2024
Kyler Pak
Chemical Engineering BS
An Analysis on The Accuracy of Current Weather Forecast Models on Extreme Weather Events
Ainsley Parkins
Biology BS
Unveiling Cryptic Avifauna Diversity Using Nanopore DNA Sequencing: A Case Study in the Passerine Genus Emberiza (Passeriformes: Emberizidae)
Allison Perkins
Biology BS
Quaking Aspen Pathogen Defense in the Presence of Climate Change Related Drought
Kyle Pope
Geoscience BS
Monitoring Seasonal Aquifer Storage Change in the Salt Lake Valley using Repeat Microgravity and GPS Measurements
Sofia Price
Anthropology BS
Distribution of Ranches in the Baja California Peninsula and Drought Affectedness
Alec Roberts
Psychology BS
A Study of Identity and Behavior in Reaction to Critical Climate Change Information Utilizing Mobile Eye Tracking in a Museum Setting
Bitia Robles
Health, Society and Policy BS
Evaluating the Impact of Discontinuing Carbon Credit Use and Its Effect on Corporate Emissions
Nate Stovak
Computer Science BS
Predicting Monthly to Seasonal Western U.S. Climate Anomalies
Jacob Sussman
Physics BS
Environmental niche model of Coccidioides presence using mammal distributions
Shaylee Whipple
Anthropology BS
Evaluating the Effect of Climate Change on Body Size of Animals in Owl Cave
Brandt Winn
Biology BS
Water Use of Native vs. Invasive Plants in Riparian Zones
Talon Townsend
Chemical Engineering BCH
Investigating the Interplay between Cold Air Pools and Particulate Matter for Enhanced Air Quality Management
Autumn Hartley
Geoscience BSG
Excess Magmatism during the North Atlantic Continental breakup and its link with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: What can we learn from previous global warming events?
Allie Perkins
Biology BS, Spanish BA
Quaking Aspen Pathogen Defense in the Presence of Climate Change Related Drought
Samuel Bona
Geoscience BSG
Cave Sediment Core Records 2200 Years of Alpine Climate in Utah
Toby Armstrong
Data Science BS
Clustering Algorithms for Understanding Air Pollution Sources Along the Wasatch Front
Michael Komigi
Anthropology BS, Environmental & Sustain Std BS
Educational Module of Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Indigenous Moi Tribe as an Alternative to Combat Global Climate Change
Jacob Sussman
Applied Mathematics BS, Physics HBS
Mapping Valley Fever Risk in the Context of a Changing Climate
Delaney Miller
Chemistry HBS
Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors for Green Energy Storage
Kyler Pak
Chemical Engineering BCH
An Analysis on The Accuracy of Current Weather Forecast Models on Extreme Weather Events
Anne Ashworth
Biology BS
Reproducible Plasmonic Nanoparticle Synthesis to Enhance Photon Upconversion Efficiency
Rylie Gagne
Data Science BS
Enhancing Models of Optimal Polar Bear Movement in the Arctic through Advanced Data Science and Image Processing
Graduate and undergraduate students who have received Wilkes Center funding were given the opportunity to showcase their climate related research using poster presentations at the Wilkes Climate Solutions Summit May 14-15, 2024. The posters were evaluated by the Wilkes Center team and prizes were awarded for best posters in each category. In addition, attendees of the summit were invited to vote on their favorite posters, in the category of People’s Choice Awards. (Scroll down to view the posters)
Undergraduate Student Prizes:
1. First Prize (tied)
FireNest Team (Navi Brar, Sarah Choe, Suhaani Shelat, and Kalina Manova)
“FireNest: An Innovative Solution to Urban Planning in WUIs”
2. First Prize (tied)
Margaret Call
“Using Tree Leaves to Measure the Impact of an Inland Shipping Port on Residential Air Quality”
3. Second Prize
Alex Farley
”Public Investment Strategies to Reduce Household Energy Burdens”
4. Third Prize
Makayla Patrick
“Predicting Long Term Effects of Deforestation Using Local Climate Models”
5. People’s Choice Award
Marcus Tanner
“Using Paleoglacier Outlines and Modern Climate Data to Estimate Paleoclimate”
6. People’s Choice Award
Ainsley Nystrom
“Photosystem Responses of Ponderosa Pine to Smoke”
Graduate Student Prizes:
1.First Prize
Joaquin Torre
“Indigenizing Environmental Justice”
2. Second Prize
Sara McCormack
“Machine Learning Enabled Design of Stable Quinones Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries”
3. Third Prize
S.R. Jackson
“Conjugated Polymers for Green Energy Solutions”
4. People’s Choice Award
Rexford Osei Owusu
For “Do green gentrification concerns affect mental health and wellbeing”
AND
“Supply and demand of ecosystem services of urban green spaces in deprived areas: Perceptions from Kumasi Ghana”
5. People’s Choice Award
Alice Parker
“Construction of an Electroabsorbtion Setup for Understanding Organic Materials Key in Hydrogen Sensors and Solar Cells”
Seth Helton
Biology HBS
Could climate change be urbanizing mountain lions?
Rae Noble
Geoscience BSG
From Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake Valley: Climate-Driven Groundwater Storage and the 2022-2023 Winter Snowpack Anomaly Analysis
Brendan More
Atmospheric Sciences BAT
Modeling the Climate of the Mid-Holocene American Southwest
Brennan Stock
History BA
Sembrando Vida: Social and Environmental Costs in a Yucatec Village
Sophia Dodge
Anthropology BS
Gambel Oak Acorns as a Food Resource in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest
Catherine Petersen
Biochemistry HBS, English BA
Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Exposures and the Risk of Pediatric Obesity Using Unsupervised Machine Learning
Sylvan Carey
Geography BS
Climate Change Impacts on Desert Ecosystems: Paleoecological Lessons from the Late Pleistocene in the Great Basin, Nevada
Aidan Mace
Geography HBS
Modeling the Evolution of Rock Glaciers from Existing Glacial Systems
Vincent Ngo
Chemistry BS
Efficient, Eco-Friendly Recycling of Phosphine Oxide into Phosphine using Electrochemical Methods
David Gluckman
Applied Mathematics BS
Modeling a Shifting Arctic Ice Pack
Matthew McFarland
Criminology BS, Psychology BS
Resident perspectives on air pollution and environmental injustice in Salt Lake County
Ainsley Nystrom
Chemistry HBS
Designing Novel Smoke Response Curves to Explore the Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Multiple Tree Photosynthetic Traits
Todd Clark
Chemical Enginerring BCH, Computer Science BCS
Formalizing a Tool to Enable the Use of USGS Soil Data in 3-D Global Climate Models
Jane Damstedt
Anthropology BS, Biology BS
Using Past Ecosystems to Understand Modern Climate Change: A Case Study from Utah’s House Mountain Range
Gaby Karakcheyeva
Biology HBS
Using Snapshot Camera Trap data to evaluate the extent of the “weekend effect” across varying climatic regions of the contiguous United States.
Auriana Dunn
Anthropology HBS, Biology HBS
Comparing Historical and Modern Mammal Distribution at Bear River Basin: Has climate had an effect?
Juliette Weber
Health and Kinesiology HBS, World Languages & Cultures BA
Assessing population exposure of minority subgroups to extreme heat using U.S. census microdata
Emma Layon
Environmental & Sustain Std BS, Geography BS
Charcoal Analysis to Reconstruct Fire History for the Sierra San Pedro Martir National Park
Siena Crivac
Psychology BS
Using Big Data to Examine Disparities in Residential Tree Canopy Cover in the United States
Marcus Tanner
Geoscience BSG, Physics BS
Estimating Paleoclimate Using Paleoglacier Models: Implications for Future Climate Change
Justin Plascencia-Maciel
Mathematics BS
An Analysis of Food Justice in major US Metropolitan Communities using US Census Microdata
Alice Parker
Applied Mathematics BS, Chemistry BS
Synthesis and Characterization of Conjugated Organic Molecules for Development of Precise Hydrogen Sensors to Monitor Levels of Hydrogen Entering the Atmosphere
Ana Chavez
Atmospheric Sciences BAT, Geography BS
Long-term Human and ecosystem adaptations to climate change in the Rockies (Utah) over the past 12,000 years
Makayla Patrick
Atmospheric Sciences BAT, Biology BS
Predicting long term effects of deforestation using local and regional climate models
Seth Helton
Biology HBS
Could climate change be urbanizing mountain lions?
Rae Noble
Geoscience BSG
From Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake Valley: Climate-Driven Groundwater Storage and the 2022-2023 Winter Snowpack Anomaly Analysis
Brendan More
Atmospheric Sciences BAT
Modeling the Climate of the Mid-Holocene American Southwest
Brennan Stock
History BA
Sembrando Vida: Social and Environmental Costs in a Yucatec Village
Sophia Dodge
Anthropology BS
Gambel Oak Acorns as a Food Resource in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest
Catherine Petersen
Biochemistry HBS, English BA
Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Exposures and the Risk of Pediatric Obesity Using Unsupervised Machine Learning
Sylvan Carey
Geography BS
Climate Change Impacts on Desert Ecosystems: Paleoecological Lessons from the Late Pleistocene in the Great Basin, Nevada
Aidan Mace
Geography HBS
Modeling the Evolution of Rock Glaciers from Existing Glacial Systems
Vincent Ngo
Chemistry BS
Efficient, Eco-Friendly Recycling of Phosphine Oxide into Phosphine using Electrochemical Methods
David Gluckman
Applied Mathematics BS
Modeling a Shifting Arctic Ice Pack
Matthew McFarland
Criminology BS, Psychology BS
Resident perspectives on air pollution and environmental injustice in Salt Lake County
Ainsley Nystrom
Chemistry HBS
Designing Novel Smoke Response Curves to Explore the Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Multiple Tree Photosynthetic Traits
Todd Clark
Chemical Enginerring BCH, Computer Science BCS
Formalizing a Tool to Enable the Use of USGS Soil Data in 3-D Global Climate Models
Jane Damstedt
Anthropology BS, Biology BS
Using Past Ecosystems to Understand Modern Climate Change: A Case Study from Utah’s House Mountain Range
Gaby Karakcheyeva
Biology HBS
Using Snapshot Camera Trap data to evaluate the extent of the “weekend effect” across varying climatic regions of the contiguous United States.
Auriana Dunn
Anthropology HBS, Biology HBS
Comparing Historical and Modern Mammal Distribution at Bear River Basin: Has climate had an effect?
Juliette Weber
Health and Kinesiology HBS, World Languages & Cultures BA
Assessing population exposure of minority subgroups to extreme heat using U.S. census microdata
Emma Layon
Environmental & Sustain Std BS, Geography BS
Charcoal Analysis to Reconstruct Fire History for the Sierra San Pedro Martir National Park
Siena Crivac
Psychology BS
Using Big Data to Examine Disparities in Residential Tree Canopy Cover in the United States
Marcus Tanner
Geoscience BSG, Physics BS
Estimating Paleoclimate Using Paleoglacier Models: Implications for Future Climate Change
Justin Plascencia-Maciel
Mathematics BS
An Analysis of Food Justice in major US Metropolitan Communities using US Census Microdata
Alice Parker
Applied Mathematics BS, Chemistry BS
Synthesis and Characterization of Conjugated Organic Molecules for Development of Precise Hydrogen Sensors to Monitor Levels of Hydrogen Entering the Atmosphere
Ana Chavez
Atmospheric Sciences BAT, Geography BS
Long-term Human and ecosystem adaptations to climate change in the Rockies (Utah) over the past 12,000 years
Makayla Patrick
Atmospheric Sciences BAT, Biology BS
Predicting long term effects of deforestation using local and regional climate models
Arnel Besic Chemistry HBS
Electropolymerized Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors
Vivian Marcoux Biology HBS
Climate Change and Cyanobacteria: What Awaits the Great Salt Lake?
Andrew Larkin Chemistry BS
Thermodynamic considerations for carbamate reduction at a Ru catalyst
Ana Chavez Department of Atmospheric Sciences & Department of Geography
Long-term Human and ecosystem adaptations to climate change in the Rockies (Utah) over the past 12,000 years
David Gluckman Applied Mathematics BS
Albedo Evolution and the Shifting Arctic Ice Pack
John Koch Chemical Engg HCH
Salt Lake Valley Lake Effect Research
Todd Clark Chemical Engg BCH
Quantifying urban temperature and land-use changes in the Salt Lake Valley from 1998-2019
Kitsel Lusted Materials Science & Engg HMS
Analyzing Utah's Snowpack using Synthetic Aperture Radar
Zoe Exelbert Data Science BS
Hydroclimate Vulnerability Assessment of the Great Salt Lake on Bird Migratory Pattern Ecosystem Influence
Hamza Finance BS
Leo Bloxham Applied Mathematics BS, Chemistry BS
Tuning Phase Transitions in Copper and Manganese Based 2-D Hybrid Halide Perovskite
Corinna McMurtrey Environmental & Sustain St HBS, Philosophy of Science BS
Effect of Volcanism on Aksumite Agriculture: a long-term perspective from the Tigray Plateau, Ethiopia
Rylie Burke Geoscience BSG
Leveraging NEON to Build a Predictive Cross-scale Theory of Ecosystem Transpiration
Lillie Congram Biology BS, Environmental & Sustain Std BS
Does xylem plasticity of Populus tremuloides as a result of repeated severe droughts increase or decrease resilience to climate change?
Gardner Political Science BS
Catherine Petersen Chemistry BS
Examining the Relationship between Air Quality Trends and Glycemic Outcomes Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitu
April Radford Environmental & Sustain Std BS, Geography BS
Comparative Dendroclimatology Methodology
Alyssa Richards College of Social and Behavioral Science, Department of Geography
Paleoecology of the Great Basin, Nevada
Talon Roberts Environmental & Sustain Std BS
A geospatial and climatic analysis of the rise and fall of the Aksumite Empire on the Tigray Plateau, Ethiopia
Gareth Sanders Communication BS
Misinformation, Humor & Climate Change: A Content Analysis of TikTok Posts
Haley Segura Environmental & Sustain St HBS
Fire history and environmental disturbance reconstruction for Fish Lake, Utah
Nancy Sohlberg Chemistry HBS
A Climatology of Dust Events Impacting Snow Melt at the Atwater Study Plot in Alta, UT
Nash Ward Mathematics HBS
The effect of multiscalar fractals on the albedo of the ice pack
Sayma Khajehei Department of City & Metropolitan Planning
Impact of disaster mitigation projects on low- and moderate-income homeownership in New York City after the 2012 Hurricane Sandy
Jessie Eastburn Department of Geography
Transferability of Lidar-Derived Above-Ground Biomass Models in Piñon-Juniper Woodlands of the Western United States
Margaret Wolf Department of Geology & Geophysics
Advancing process understanding of how catchment groundwater storage buffers streamflow during drought
Natalie Winward Department of Geography
Predicting future ecosystem changes to inform land management and conservation practices
Susana Velasquez-Franco Department of Geography
Listening to Las Lagunas: a long-term perspective applied to environmental management in the Equatorial Andes
Dustin Roten Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Detecting Changes in Sector-specific CO2 Emissions from Space: an Application of OCO-3 over the Los Angeles Basin
Madelyn Purnell Department of Biology
Adapting to Change: Evolutionary History of Extremophile Nematodes in the Great Salt Lake
Talula Pontuti Department of Geography
Drought and Agricultural Employment in the United States
Baylee Olds Department of Geology & Geophysics
Landscape, Climate, and Radiation Controls on Net Snow Water Availability
Kaedan O'Brien Department of Anthropology
Reconstructing paleoclimate, seasonality, and ancient migratory systems in the Late Pleistocene of the eastern Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya
Kyle Kittelberger Department of Biology
Tying the Breeding Origin of Migratory Birds During Fall Migration in Utah Amid Ongoing Climatic Changes through Stable Isotope Analyses of Feather Samples
Hayley Kievman. Department of Anthropology
Late Holocene size variation of Mytilus californianus remains from Shelter Cove (CA-HUM-182, Northern California)”
Brenna Kelly Department of Geography
Inequities in the spatial distribution of air quality monitors
Tara Hetz Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
A Gateway Community's Journey to Destination Stewardship
Samantha Faulstich Department of Chemical Engineering
Integrating Fire Emissions Inventories and Atmospheric Dispersion Models to Improve Smoke Exposure Estimates
Amy Collins Professional Master of Science & Technology Program
Understanding the effectiveness and environmental economic considerations of engineered wetlands at Great Salt Lake Shorelands Nature Preserve
Gerardo Carrillo-Cardenas Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Elucidating New Particle Formation in Complex Terrain During the Winter 2022 CFACT Campaign
Jacob Boomsma Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Investigating the Efficacy of Using Valley Heat Deficit to Quantify Wintertime Cold Air Pools in the Western U.S.
Abby Baka Department of Anthropology
Preliminary Analyses of San Esteban (41PS20) Lithic Data: Implications for Mobility, Investment, and Dietary Predictions
Graduate and undergraduate students who have received Wilkes Center funding were given the opportunity to showcase their climate related research using poster presentations at the Wilkes Climate Solutions Summit May 16-17, 2023. The posters were evaluated by the Wilkes Center team and prizes were awarded for best posters in each category. In addition, attendees of the summit were invited to vote on their favorite posters, in the category of People’s Choice Awards. (Scroll down to view the posters)
Undergraduate Student Prizes:
- First Prize: $1500 – DAVID GLUCKMAN Albedo Evolution and the Shifting Arctic Ice Pack
- Second Prize: $1000 - KITSEL LUSTED Analyzing Utah’s Snowpack using Synthetic Aperture Radar
- Third Prize: $500 - HALEY SEGURA Fire history and environmental disturbance reconstruction for Fish Lake, Utah
- First People’s Choice Award $500 - GARETH SANDERS Misinformation, Humor & Climate Change: A Content Analysis of TikTok Posts
- Second People’s Choice Award $500 - ZOE EXELBERT Hydroclimate Vulnerability Assessment of the Great Salt Lake on Bird Migratory Pattern Ecosystem Influence
Graduate Student Prizes:
- First Prize: $1500 - TALULA PONTUTI Drought and Agricultural Employment in the United States
- Second Prize: $1000 - SAMANTHA FAULSTICH Integrating Fire Emissions Inventories and Atmospheric Dispersion Models to Improve Smoke Exposure Estimates
- Third Prize: $500 - BAYLEE OLDS Landscape, Climate, and Radiation Controls on Net Snow Water Availability
- First People’s Choice Award $500 - BRENNA KELLY Inequities in the spatial distribution of air quality monitors
- Second People’s Choice Award $500 - SUSANA VELASQUEZ-FRANCO Listening to Las Lagunas: a long-term perspective applied to environmental management in the Equatorial Andes.
Baylee Olds 
Susana Velasquez-Franco 
Talula Pontuti 
Kitsel Lusted 
Haley Segura 
David Gluckman 
Gareth Sanders 
Samantha Faulstich 
Zoe Exelbert 
Brenna Kelly
