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Kate Lowry

RELP Cohort: 2016
Earth System Science
School: Sustainability

Kate is a PhD candidate in the Earth System Science department at Stanford University. As a graduate researcher in the Ocean Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Kate investigates the impacts of climate change on phytoplankton in polar marine ecosystems.

Her methods combine satellite remote sensing techniques with observational and experimental field sampling. Kate has extensive experience conducting oceanographic fieldwork aboard research icebreakers in the Arctic and in Antarctica and has spent nearly a year at sea as part of eight scientific expeditions. Her dissertation research examines the influence of ocean circulation and changing sea ice conditions on phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Chukchi Sea in the western Arctic.

An author of 14 peer-reviewed publications to date, Kate has received funding through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Stanford University Gerald J. Lieberman Fellowship. She is a recipient of the Arctic Service Medal from the United States Coast Guard and the Antarctic Service Medal from the National Science Foundation.

Prior to beginning her doctoral work, Kate completed her bachelors and co-terminal masters degrees at Stanford University in the Earth Systems Program. As an undergraduate, she participated in the Stanford at SEA oceanography and nautical science study abroad program and was the President of Stanfords chapter of Strategies for Ecology, Education, Diversity, and Sustainability (SEEDS). Before beginning her oceanography research, Kate conducted two summer research projects at NASA Ames Research Center where she used satellite data to explore the future availability of water for agriculture in the western U.S. and geologic evidence of recent liquid water on Mars. Kate enjoys participating in community science outreach efforts and is a mentor for Peninsula College Fund, a local non-profit that supports first-generation college students. Kate is originally from Slidell, Louisiana.