I am a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. My research in the Bronstein Lab investigates how global warming affects species interactions and specifically mutualisms, mutually beneficial interspecific interactions. I draw upon both empirical and theoretical tools to uncover and predict how mutualisms across diverse ecological systems and ecological scales might persist in the face of anthropogenic warming. Before entering doctoral studies at the University of Arizona (UA), I was a social sciences researcher in the Department of Anthropology and The Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. In this role, I worked in an interdisciplinary team on conservation and development challenges in southern Costa Rica where I co-developed a community-based environmental leadership and education program for rural, underserved youth, and additionally helped establish baseline ecological monitoring research for a novel agroforestry project with local farmers in the region.

My UA/NASA Space Grant project will provide a year-long mentoring experience for underserved, high school-aged youth in a program built around two simultaneous parts. First, students will participate in and complete self-directed, outdoor field science research projects while learning about and engaging with the local environment. Second, students will enroll in a credit-bearing course at the UA (cost-free). This course is created specifically for the participating students and will provide an introduction to higher education, the scientific process and research, and include visits to UA laboratories and research facilities. The program will be designed to center on the students’ needs and their personal and educational development, providing them social and academic bridges towards higher education. Students will be guided and mentored on and off-campus by a team of UA undergraduate and graduate student scientists, as well local community-based agencies. Overall, my role is to facilitate sustained engagement with science alongside positive personal and social development through strengthening meaningful connections between local youth, the university, and community-based organizations.

Lauren Thompson is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She works with Mary Nichols from USDA Agricultural Research Service - SWRC on "Assessing Rangeland Conservation Practices Using Remotely Sensed Data".

Joshua Smith is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He works with Christopher Walker from the Astronomy Department and Mike Parker from Rincon Research Corporation, assisting in programming Rincon's contribution to CatSat, the AstroSDR DSP Board, and assisting in testing feeds for the 6.1 meter dishes.

Richard Pepel is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. He works with Eric Betterton from the Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences Department on "Solar Photolysis of Poorly Characterized 'Onium' Salts".

Gerardo Figueroa is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Engineering. He works with John Szivek from the Orthopaedic Surgery Department on "Rapid Bonding Multi-sensor Development for Bone Monitoring in Space".

Joshua Wu is a University of Arizona Junior majoring in Electrical & Computer Engineering. He works with John Wallace from Rincon Research Corporation in Rincon Research Corporation's Intern Program.

Catharine Weibel is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Physics and Mathematics. She works with Joanna Masel from the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department on "Current Directional Evolution in Amino Acid Composition".