CICOES is excited to announce the start of our 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). Our 14 students arrived on Tuesday, June 20, and are working on research projects with scientists at the University of Washington, the U.S. Geological Survey, and NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. The nine-week program will concluded with presentations on Thursday, August 17, in UW’s Maple Hall Great Room.

Get to Know the 2023 Cohort

Benny Adler – Bowdoin College

Benny is entering his senior year as an earth and oceanic sciences major at Bowdoin College in Maine. This summer he’s investigating the effects of environmental stress on coastal zooplankton populations with Amy Wyeth in the UW School of Oceanography.

• I love the outdoors. I’m down for anything, but I’ve been surfing a lot recently. Super excited to explore the PNW.
• I love to dance, but a lot of my friends have informed me that I’m not very good at it.
• I’m really excited to check out some live music in Seattle this summer!

Nick Burgos – University of California Los Angeles

Nick will be a senior at UCLA in the fall where he’s majoring in ecology, behavior, and evolution. This summer he’s working with Steve Rubin to evaluate juvenile salmon and forage fish use of large river delta eelgrass for the U.S. Geological Survey.

• I play the piano and trombone and was once in the pit orchestra for Shrek the Musical
• I sing in an a cappella group at UCLA that competes in the ICCAs, the competition from Pitch Perfect!
• I am an avid fan of The Hunger Games series and anything that has to do with dragons

Leila Fischer – Willamette University

Leila is entering her senior year at Willamette University where she’s majoring in environmental science and chemistry. She’s currently working with Emma Heitmann in the UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences and researching paleo-climate and uplift of the Colorado Plateau.

• I’ve played the cello for most of my life.
• One of my favorite outdoor activities is flying my kite on the beach and looking for fun critters at low tide.
• My first two years of college I volunteered in a dendrochronology lab, which is the study of tree rings.

Anna Gruchala – University of Alabama

Anna is now a senior majoring in environmental engineering at the University of Alabama. She’ll be spending the summer in Bristol Bay, Alaska, where she’ll be working with Dr. Daniel Schindler and the Alaska Salmon Program.

• I studied abroad in Krakow, Poland last fall and grew up speaking both Polish and English.
• I’ll be working with salmon, but I didn’t know until I was 13 years old that the ‘L’ in ‘salmon’ was silent.
• I love swimming.

Katherine Jackson – University of South Carolina

Katie is entering her senior year at the University of South Carolina where she’s majoring in environmental science. This summer she’s working with Dr. Craig Norrie in the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences to study interacting climate change stressors on farmed oysters.

• I studied abroad in Krabi, Thailand last summer, where I got to dive in a coral reef for the first time.
• I love to cook and bake, and my favorite thing to make is bread.
• I’m on the leadership team of my school’s beekeeping club — but I’ve never been stung!

Lashaun Jackson – University of Michigan

Lashaun is entering her senior year at the University of Michigan where she’s an environment major. She’s currently working with Dr. Tyler Kukla in the UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences on a project called Wandering continents: How the location of land impacts climate.

• I originally wanted to get a degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics as an undergrad.
• I enjoy shooting film photography and would like to try filmmaking next.
• My favorite animal is the blue whale 🙂

Karla Jimenez – Florida International University

Karla is a senior environmental engineering major at Florida International University. This summer she’s working with Dr. Melissa Moulton in the UW Applied Physics Laboratory on a project called From the beach to the sea and back: Studying how water, nutrients, and organisms move in the nearshore ocean.

• I received the Boren scholarship in 2021 and studied in South Korea for a year.
• I just returned from a 6-week study abroad in Cambodia and Vietnam.
• I’ve been skydiving.

Krista Matuska – University of Washington

Krista is a senior applied math and atmospheric science major at the University of Washington. She’s working with Dr. Georgy Manucharyan in UW School of Oceanography on numerical modeling of se ice dynamics.

• I love to hike and I’ve recently gotten into rock climbing.
• I enjoy cooking and lately I’ve been learning how to ferment things like kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha.
• I have lots of houseplants.

Stephanie Procopio – Louisiana State University

Stephanie is entering her junior year at Louisiana State University where she majoring in coastal environmental science. She’s working with Jessalyn Davis this summer in the UW School of Oceanography where they’re investigating coupled cycling of manganese and nitrogen.

• I have a pet leopard gecko named Mango, who I make dress up for holidays.
• My favorite author is Neil Gaiman, and my favorite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
• I was born with Cleft Lip and had my first surgery at 3 months old.

Adelina Rodriguez – Wesleyan University

Lina is entering her senior year as an earth and environmental sciences major at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. This summer she’s working with Dr. Nick Bond in the Office of the WA State Climatologist on analysis of soil moisture in Washington state.

• I recently studied abroad in Queensland, Australia, and I got to experience the thrill of scuba diving on the magnificent Great Barrier Reef!
• I’m a rock nerd (both the geology and music kinds).
• I’ve been playing soccer my whole life, and I’m currently on the varsity team at Wesleyan.

Marc Sailer – University of Washington

Marc is entering his junior year as a mathematics major at the University of Washington. He’s working with Dr. T.J. Fudge in the UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences on preservation of atmospheric gases in million year old ice.

• I love watching movies. Some of my favorite directors right now are Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson.
• I like going on runs and hikes.
• I enjoy trying coffee from different cafes.

Phillip Telgen – Whitman College

Phillip is entering his senior year at Whitman College where he’s a geology and chemistry major. This summer he’s working with Julian Herndon at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory looking at carbon chemistry on the U.S. West Coast and Puget Sound.

Sophia Wagner – Haverford College

Sophia is entering her senior year as a biology and environmental studies major at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She’s working with Dr. Catherine Berchock at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle where they’ll be tracking timing of marine mammal calls.

• During the pandemic, I started beekeeping and am the head of the beekeeping club at my college.
• Last semester I studied abroad in Iceland where I saw the northern lights, puffins, seals, whales, and reindeer.
• I have a pet rat named Petunia. Her favorite food are blueberries.

Lily Wu – Texas A&M University

Lily is entering her junior year at Texas A&M University where she’s an environmental geosciences major. Lily is studying timelapse of Arctic sea ice with Dr. Ignatius Rigor in the UW Applied Physics Laboratory.

• I love drawing and painting, and I wanted to major in art before switching to environmental science after realizing my love for science.
• My favorite movie is Cars, KaChow!
• I enjoy reading and writing in my free time.