Bren PhD student Rachel Torres is a recipient of the 2022 Graduate Student Association's Excellence in Teaching Award. The award recognizes graduate students who have shown excellence and gone above and beyond as teachers at UCSB, as nominated by their peers and students.
Rachel is recognized for teaching and mentoring students in Earth System Science (ESM 203) and Environmental Modeling (ESM 232 / EDS 230) at the Bren School, and Introduction to Environmental Science (ENV S 2) for the UCSB Environmental Studies department.
In the PhD in Environmental Science and Management program, Rachel's research focuses on using an ecohydrological model with tree species-level remote sensing data to explore urban tree resilience to drought in Santa Barbara, and how we can adapt irrigation and landscaping management for urban vegetation to be more resilient to climate change and future drought.