Mentors
Dr. Stephen Pekar, a geology professor at Queens College, has been investigating past climate and oceanographic changes during times (16- 45 million years ago) when CO2 was as high as what is predicted for this century (500-1000 ppm). As CO2 is rising rapidly today, which is predicted to be like putting our climate on a “hot plate,” exploring these times for him is like “Looking Back to Our Future.” To investigate climate change of the past, he looks at sediments, microfossil, and geochemical data obtained from cores obtained from near-shore to deep-sea locations ranging from the tropics to Antarctica. His research has taken him on expeditions around the world, including four to Antarctica, during one of which he was project leader.
Dr. Joe Montoya – Georgia Tech
Drake Lee-Patterson
Students
Hello! My name is Ashley Eugley. I am a rising sophomore at Bard College majoring in Environmental and Urban Studies with a focus on economics, policy, and development. I plan to attend law school after I graduate and hope to practice environmental law. I grew up in Maine and spent countless hours outside, engendering both a love of nature and interest in how it functions in me at a young age. STEMSEAS is my first formal opportunity to study the ocean, an entity that fascinates me as a vital economic resource, a dynamic habitat, and as a crucial regulator for Earth systems. I am eager to set sail aboard the R/V Endeavour and am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do so!
Hello! My name is Carissa Root, I am 20 years old, and I am currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. I am majoring in geology and getting a certificate in geographic information systems. I fell in love with environmental geosciences when I was in middle school competing on my school’s Science Olympiad team. In my free time, I enjoy playing french horn, running, spending time outdoors, and reading. I hope to attend graduate school to continue studying geology and to research climate change. I am beyond excited and grateful for all of the new experiences STEMSEAS will provide me with!
Hau! My name is Jacob Joe Rosales, and I am an Oglala Lakota from Kyle, South Dakota, which lies on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I am a rising junior at Yale and have not yet decided what I would like to study. My interests range from Microbiology to History of Science and Medicine, and my high school dream was to be a marine biologist.
In my free time, I enjoy jogging, playing the ukulele, eating late-night pizza, longboarding around campus, and exploring the surrounding neighborhoods. I am also constantly on the search for new music, and would like to dedicate some time during the transit to exchange artists. I hope to obtain new insights and a few friendships on this cruise, and look forward to sailing with you all!
Hey y’all! My name is Mariah and San Antonio TX is home to me. I am currently a Junior at Texas A&M University in College Station (WHOOP!) and am pursuing a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies as an elementary teacher! Upon receiving my teaching certification, I am planning on pursuing a Master’s or further in Speech and Language Pathology. School is one of my largest passions, and I have always planned on pursuing a higher education. I am also a waitress and spend many volunteer hours tutoring students at schools in under-privileged regions. Oceanography, Geology, and Astronomy are subjects in which I have spent much time diving into on my own time, and I have always been deeply fascinated by them–my favorite professors taught courses aligning with either of those three, and one of them actually referred me to the STEMSEAS program, I feel so grateful that I am here! Much of what I spend extra time doing, is taking walks or going to the gym with my family, cooking(fun fact: my first choice career was actually culinary school!), having one-on-one time with a friend, and lastly reading scholarly articles and books on wellness–especially skin health, since skin is the body’s largest organ.) I am the oldest sibling of 5 girls, and have a little fat puppy we call Cocoa Puff. All in all, pretty much everything I love and enjoy was a prior major choice, or I ridiculously enjoy learning about it! I am thrilled and thankful to be joining this trip with all of you, I wish you each safe travels and will see you soon!
Oh, hi there! My name is Matthew Twyman, aka Matt, and I’m from San Diego, California. I’m a student at San Diego Mesa College and spend a lot of my time volunteering for non-profit environmental organizations such as the San Diego River Park Foundation and the Surfrider Foundation. I’m studying environmental science with the hopes of pursuing a career in the environmental consulting business. I think it’s important to work with businesses to create change within by helping to increase energy efficiency and reduce the detrimental impacts to the ecosystems we’re apart of. In my free time, I like to stay active by playing soccer or any other sport. I also try to strengthen my Spanish and German speaking skills whenever I can. I am extremely excited for the kinds of projects we’ll be doing at sea and I look forward to what the ocean has to offer, bring on the sea sickness!!
Hello there, my name is Michael Gee and I am a freshman at City College of San Francisco. I am pursuing a major in Civil Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering. In my free time I enjoy listening to Ed Sheeran, playing tennis, making sushi, and learning piano. I am thrilled to participate in the voyage from North Carolina to Barbados in June, and I hope to develop research skills from all the passionate instructors, scientists aboard. My ambition is to both promote environmental sustainability and meet basic human needs all over the world through working on renewable energy and desalination projects.
Nathan Escobedo is a biology undergraduate from California. Capricorn, born in the year of the snake. Love the ocean. And mountains and everything else. I love soccer and most other sports as well as rainbows and long walks on the beach. This trip will be my first time in the Atlantic Ocean. Self-proclaimed cool dude.
Paloma Galindo is an eccentric, first generation, Hispanic, and STEM student attending the University of Houston. She is also the first student from the University of Houston to be accepted into the STEMSEAS program and is excited for the opportunity to embark on the 2019 transit to Barbados. Paloma is currently working on obtaining her Bachelors degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in programming. In the future, she will pursue her Masters in Computer Science. In her free time, she enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, RuneScape, drawing, traveling, and learning new skills. Her main two career goals are to create technology for people with disabilities and environmental sustainability technology. Other goals include traveling internationally to continue further research and using her experience to apply it in her career. Her career goals were inspired by her passionate yet resilient spirit that loves all matters of science and overcoming a rare stroke that should’ve left her completely paralyzed. When it comes to challenges, big or small, Paloma says “I’m ready to give them the ole’ razzle dazzle.
Hello! My name is Bethel Tesfamariam, and I am currently a student at Northern Virginia Community College and will be transferring to VCU in the fall. I’m currently majoring in environmental science with a minor in public management. I’ve been assisting my previous geology professor as a learning assistant in both historical and physical geology and hope to apply my knowledge on the transit. In my free time I love the outdoors, particularly hiking and traveling, and painting. I am incredibly excited to be part of STEMSEAS and hope to gain as much knowledge about researching and marine life as possible.
