Who am I and what inspires me?

While these varied interests keep my mind and body stimulated, the threat of climate change keeps me focused on a career in the Earth sciences. In high school, I realized that climate change would be the defining challenge for my generation and those to follow. When we consider Darwin's theory of natural selection, that our environment and changes in it selects which species survive versus those that go extinct, then it becomes clear that anthropogenic climate change is one of the greatest threats to our species and all life on Earth. But how to solve this grand challenge while still lifting humans around the world out of poverty? Like generations before mine, who provided us with incredible comforts through technological advancements while also working to protect the environment, I too would like to be a part of the renewable energy solution while finding creative ways to continue supporting technological progress. I switched to Earth Sciences during my undergraduate degree to learn more about the extremely complex global climate system and the key pieces of the puzzle that need to be understood. My undergraduate research work introduced me to the volcano-climate puzzle piece. Over geologic time, volcanoes have built and maintained our atmosphere and continue to modulate it. On shorter time scales rare catastrophic eruptions can induce rapid climate shifts, whereas the cumulative effects of small eruptions can influence climate over decades. Consequently, understanding eruption behaviors of all sizes is one of many crucial processes governing the climate's response to rising levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide over next century and I hope my research helps improve forecasts of climate change.