I started at the University of Washington in Fall 2024 with a broad interest in atmospheric sciences and a desire to understand how human and natural systems interacted to shape the Earth’s climate. As an undergraduate, I was drawn to questions that connected physical processes in the atmosphere to the real-world climate impacts, but I also recognized that my interests were still evolving. With a background in physics and an ever-growing interest in atmospheric and climate sciences, I wanted to learn how fundamental processes and quantitative reasoning could be applied to questions about the Earth system.

My first year as a graduate student was a period of exploration and refinement. Through my coursework and interactions with professors and my peers, I became exposed to a range of tools used in atmospheric sciences – from observational analyses to models that helped to clarify complex systems. Over this period, I was able to narrow my focus towards methane, a strong greenhouse gas with both natural and anthropogenic sources. The latter half of my first year to present-day has been spent understanding what processes influence methane’s behaviour over time.

My work explores how methane’s behavior may be shaped by natural and human-driven, and atmospheric processes. By examining observations and running simple models, I aim to better understand what has been controlling methane trends since 1980, with a particular focus on the driver of the accelerated methane growth post-2007. The goal is to better inform the measurements we make and improve guidance for mitigation strategies. This work is still in its early stages, but has been helping me to build a foundation for addressing larger questions about climate mitigation and climate feedbacks. Currently, the emphasis is on learning how to ask the right questions- working with data, testing assumptions, and building the tools needed for more detailed analyses later in my research.

This early stage of my PhD has been most formative in teaching me how research questions take shape. Instead of starting with a fixed problem, I am learning that we need to identify which questions are both scientifically meaningful and manageable by examining data and testing assumptions. This process has shifted my perspective from one of a gatherer of information to one of a contributor. 

Apart from research and coursework, I have been involved in activities and programs like the ATMOS outreach program, which have helped me to foster communication skills and interdisciplinary engagement. It is a joy to be able to share science with others.

The PCC Graubard fellowship played an important role in shaping my first year. It provided a flexibility which allowed me to fully engage in coursework and explore emerging ideas without a need to narrow my interests too quickly. I believe the fellowship helped me establish a strong research direction that I find genuinely interesting and deeply satisfying, and has set me up well for the next stages of my PhD.

Written by Ianá Ferguson. Ianá is a second-year PhD student in the Atmospheric and Climate Science (ATMOS) Department. She studies methane and its stable isotopologues using atmospheric observations and modeling to better understand the sources and sinks driving methane trends. She is a member of the ATMOS Outreach Committee.