Peter Schmidt’s senior thesis imagines a world where nature demands justice
July 9, 2020 ・ Morgan KellyAs rain darkened the red earth atop Bolivia’s largest silver mine, Peter Schmidt watched children only a few years younger than him emerge from the honeycomb of hand-excavated tunnels to dump minecarts of ore before hurrying back inside the mountain’s…
Naomi Cohen-Shields’ senior thesis explores who benefits as China cleans its air
June 12, 2020 ・ Morgan KellyAfter months of researching and analyzing China’s notorious air pollution for her Princeton senior thesis, Naomi Cohen-Shields stepped off a plane in Beijing in December 2019 to a shockingly clear sky. Her gaze fell across the unencumbered skyline of the…
PEI Class Day 2020 honors students’ excellence and resilience
June 1, 2020 ・ Morgan KellyStudents and parents joined faculty, researchers and staff from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) and the Program in Environmental Studies for a virtual Class Day ceremony celebrating the accomplishments and resilience of the 24 Princeton University seniors who were the…
A burning question: Senior Maria Stahl examined the role of fire in wildlife recovery
May 15, 2020 ・ Morgan Kelly“The sky above the flames was littered not only with ash, but also with huge flutters of butterflies and clouds of grasshoppers escaping the blaze. Every now and then a stray oribi or kudu darted out from the grassland to…
Senior Cole Morokhovich’s unexpected path to studying what hummingbirds could tell us about climate change
May 7, 2020 ・ Morgan KellyPrinceton senior Cole Morokhovich still marvels at the possibility that his academic path may have come down to one five-minute window. Having come to Princeton with a focus on pre-medicine, he had taken most of the required courses and declared…
Princeton ENV students receive Udall Scholarships to study Native American, environmental issues
April 24, 2020 ・ Morgan KellyTwo Princeton University environmental studies students are among only 13 college sophomores nationwide to be named 2020 Udall Scholars by the Udall Foundation. Scholars receive up to $7,000 and are selected based on their leadership, public service, academic excellence, and…
‘Defend the progress you’ve made’: Addressing the urgency, hope of conservation
February 18, 2020 ・ Morgan Kelly“How many of you have found the content of this course depressing?” Princeton professor David Wilcove asked as he began one of the last lectures of the fall course “Conservation Biology.” After three months of examining the global decimation of…
‘Creative Ecologies’: Storytelling and environmentalism
January 27, 2020 ・ Jamie SaxonStudents in several Princeton courses this fall examined the perils of climate change by considering how storytelling — with elements of description, language and structure — can influence people’s perceptions and fire up the imagination. One of the classes in…
Geyman’s published senior thesis research offers new thoughts on how carbonates record global carbon cycle
November 8, 2019 ・ Tom GarlinghouseWhen scientists want to study Earth’s very ancient geological past — typically greater than 100 million years ago — they often turn to rocks called carbonates. Calcium carbonates, the most ubiquitous forms of carbonate, are minerals that precipitate from seawater…
