Grace (Sloane) Stephenson

Education 
BBA, Business Analytics, University of Notre Dame
BA, Chinese, University of Notre Dame

Year Admitted 
2023

Research Areas 
data science, fire ecology, wildfire resiliency, climate change

Faculty Advisor 
Naomi Tague

Bio
Grace Stephenson is a data scientist and ecologist interested in utilizing ecohydrological and climate models to better understand wildfire behavior. She aims to research how climate change and forest management interventions impact wildfire frequency and severity, with the ultimate goal of studying wildfire resilience in coastal communities and forest ecosystems.
 
Grace graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with majors in Business Analytics and Chinese. During her undergrad, she explored numerous research fields such as glacial ecology, machine learning applications for predicting natural disasters, and equitable access to STEM education for underrepresented communities. After graduating, she worked in data solutions and received a masters certificate in Environmental Data Science. 
 
Grace witnessed first hand the effects of climate change on drought and natural disasters growing up in California. A particular emphasis of her academic focus is on action-oriented solutions, as she is passionate about conducting proactive climate adaptation research. In addition to her research interests, she is dedicated to environmental advocacy, effective science communication, and creating open-source and accessible data for all users.