Metta Nicholson

Metta Nicholson is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at Stanford University. Her research sits at the intersection of climate change mitigation strategies and global environmental health and is particularly focused on cost-effective solutions that target air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Currently, she is testing low-cost, scalable air filtration systems for deployment in primary schools downwind of brick kilns in Bangladesh, which are exposed to high levels of particulate matter pollution yet are situated in such climatic conditions that often necessitate keeping windows open despite high ambient pollution levels. Through this research, Metta hopes to produce a low-cost, feasible solution that may be applicable to a wide range of communities that are impacted by air pollution.

Metta attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree in Molecular Environmental Biology with a minor in Music and graduated with highest distinction from the College of Natural Resources. During her undergraduate career, she studied greenhouse gas emissions from restored wetland ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region and assisted on a project to analyze biodiversity change in wetlands using satellite remote sensing. Following graduation, she worked as a researcher in the Earth System Science department at Stanford studying emissions of greenhouse gasses and air pollutants from gas stoves, water heaters, and furnaces in residential homes. With interests ranging from violin to creative writing, she aims to incorporate innovative storytelling techniques into the communication of her research results, as well as experiment with storytelling as a mode of improving environmental literacy.