PhD Student
Pronouns: she/her
Education
BS, Atmospheric Science, University of Georgia
Bio
Shay’s research interests revolve around climate modeling and climate science, and she is specifically interested in ocean-atmosphere interactions and the response of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to anthropogenic climate change. As an undergraduate student in the Atmospheric Sciences program at the University of Georgia, Shay conducted undergraduate research using climate models to examine the impact of biomass burning aerosols on tropical precipitation in the 20th century. Shay published her senior thesis as a paper in Environmental Research Letters, and she is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Shay is passionate about understanding the physics and processes that drive the climate system’s response to anthropogenic climate change. During her PhD, she hopes to increase our understanding of the evolution of ENSO due to climate change and improve representation of processes important to ENSO progression in climate models. This research has implications for improved predictions of extreme weather disasters including droughts and floods, which are intricately linked to ENSO events and may be exacerbated by an ENSO affected by climate change. Shay is additionally interested in comprehensive climate action, and she hopes that her research detailing how natural phenomena such as ENSO react to anthropogenic activity can shed further light on the devastating effects of inaction on climate policy. Outside of research, Shay enjoys playing with her dog, open-water swimming, and learning languages.
Year Admitted
2023
Faculty Advisors
Sam Stevenson