News & Blog
Embracing Bioplastics: A Sustainable Alternative to Fossil Fuel-Based Plastics
Lexi Maerz 20 May 2024 On January 29th, 2024, Science on Tap held their monthly science talk at Ravenna Third Place Bookstore, where I was honored to be featured as their guest speaker. I am a Master’s student in Bioresource Science and Engineering at the University of Washington researching sustainable alternatives to fossil-fuel based plastics. I shared my insights into the promising future of bioplastics, showcasing my own work in the lab.
Read moreA Recap of the 2024 Spring Symposium
The Program on Climate Change (PCC) community gathered for the annual Spring Symposium highlighting undergrad and grad student research. The event was hosted by the PCC Graduate Steering Committee (P-GraSC) on the evening of Thursday, May 2nd in the Ocean Sciences Building. The event began with P-GraSC introductions and updates on past and upcoming events, like the City Nature Challenge and the Schooner Series.
Read moreUCo: Grad School Explained Panel
The PCC Undergraduate Cohort (UCo) hosted a “Grad School Explained” session on the afternoon of Monday, April 29th, 2024. This event was formed to supply undergraduate students interested in climate grad school with the opportunity to learn more about the process and connect with current climate grad students to ask questions. Hosted in the Life Sciences Building, the event began with Pagliacci pizza and time to socialize with fellow undergrads.
Read moreUpcoming Events: Grad School Panel and City Nature Challenge
Join the Program on Climate Change Undergraduate Cohort for a dual event on April 29th— the City Nature Challenge & Graduate School Panel. This Earth Month, the Program on Climate Change (PCC) and UW Biology experts are excited to bring the global City Nature Challenge to the UW on Monday, April 29th, 11:00am-1:00pm! Contribute to a worldwide citizen science initiative by documenting wild flora and fauna on iNaturalist and explore the rich biodiversity of our campus.
Read moreHow to Find an EPA Job: Advice for Students
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a dream employer for many climate-minded undergrads. And yet, understanding the processes involved in finding and applying for these federal positions can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to figure out where to even find open positions, much less actually apply for them. Overcoming these barriers to many climate career pathways was a motivating factor behind the PCC Undergraduate Cohort‘s recent Alumni Climate Career Panel, which included Dr.
Read moreClimate Change at the Poles: An Overview of the 2023 PCC Summer Institute
The Arctic has warmed four times faster than the lower latitudes over the historic record whereas warming and sea ice loss in polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere has been limited until very recent years. These hemispherically asymmetric trends in observed polar climate challenge our basic understanding of atmospheric, oceanic and cryospheric processes contributing to climate change and their representation in the climate models used to predict future climate change.
Read moreA Wonderful 2024 Winter Welcome
This year’s annual Winter Welcome was held on Wednesday, March 6th beginning at 5pm in the Fisheries Science Building. We were excited to have all PCC Directors, past and present, in attendance. Don’t know who they are? Look to Jim Murray, Chris Bretherton, LuAnne Thompson, Cecilia Bitz and Becky Alexander. We are also very thankful to have such a wonderful turnout from our PCC community, from board members, faculty, and researchers, to grad students, undergrads, and even some alumni.
Read moreOutcomes of our PCC Community Survey
The Program on Climate Change represents a combination of University of Washington members. We all come together with an interest in climate change from faculty, staff, and researchers to grad students, undergrads, and alumni. We form a group focused on accelerating climate involvement, education, and research but we also form a community. To get to know and connect with our community members further, we sent out a survey in February and March 2024, ahead of our Winter Welcome.
Read moreAccelerating Progress in Climate Science: Research and Graduate Student Funding leverage the framework built by the Program on Climate Change
The Program on Climate Change maintains a unique framework of intense cross-disciplinary collaboration that advances research and education in climate science, building knowledge, actions and solutions to address the climate crisis. New gift funds established by generous donors are providing new professors, post-doctoral scholars, and students the opportunity to leverage the PCC framework to pursue their ideas, making new connections among the UW climate community.
Read morePathways to Climate Careers: The Undergraduate Cohort Career Panel
Climate Sciences is a growing field seeing expansion in both educational and career pathways. This growth is seen within UW as more and more students partake in climate change courses, programs, and research. As education in environmental and climate sciences expands, knowing where to take a climate education beyond college is important. To address this, UCo, The PCC’s Undergraduate Cohort, hosted the “Careers in Climate Panel.” The panel, hosted on the evening of Tuesday, February 13th, featured professionals currently working in climate-focused careers, including UW and PCC alumni.
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