Student spotlight: Aria Grossman on turning research into real-world impact
Stanford students are getting a head start on careers with education and leadership programs offered by the Woods Institute for the Environment. In the first of our new student spotlight series we talk with Aria Grossman, a junior who gained valuable research and on-the-job experience through the Mentoring Undergraduates in Interdisciplinary Research (MUIR) program.
Grossman worked with David Lobell's lab on a project about the impacts of climate shocks on urban migration and food prices in sub-Saharan Africa. She analyzed data on censuses, satellites and weather to help explain changes in agricultural production, food prices, and migration.
What part of your MUIR fellowship was most meaningful or eye-opening?
I loved being able to work with amazing people, to zero in on research and how it could inform our work. The Center on Food Security and the Environment has people with expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, economics, remote sensing and other fields. I was able to see the potential of collaborating in an interdisciplinary way.
How has this opportunity influenced your academic or career aspirations?
Seeing everything people in the lab were working on opened my eyes to what I might do, like applying machine learning to envronmental issues. Often, we only see the problems in front of us. The fellowship helped me see things from a global perspective.
What advice would you give other Stanford students considering research, internships, or fieldwork in environmental or sustainability topics?
Really recognize what an extraordinary opportunity it is to be able to do research and work with amazing professors. Embrace it. You get out of it what you put in.
What difference did it make to have you research opportunity funded? Did it enable you to do this research in place of a summer job, or something else? Any other reflections on having your work funded in this way?
Having it funded made all the difference. Every summer since my sophomore year in high school, I’ve worked at my local pizza shop. It was amazing to be able to do meaningful work without having to work another job. That wouldn’t have been possible without the fellowship.
Explore More
-
A novel machine learning pipeline developed by a Stanford student team is accelerating analysis of aerial drone imagery – and monitoring of an endangered shark species.
-
A Stanford fraternity is restoring native California coastal habitats and redefining what it means to be part of Greek life, one plant at a time.
-
Stanford students take local high schoolers behind the scenes of renewable energy and battery research.
