Earlier this month, Master of Environmental Studies (MES) students joined the entire Penn community for the sixth annual Climate Week at Penn. This year’s theme was “Hot Spots,” covering literal and figurative hot topics on climate. The five days of on-campus and virtual events bring students, faculty, staff, and industry experts together for educational programming, interactive workshops, and socializing.
At an opening event on Monday, October 13, a dozen undergraduate and graduate students from across Penn schools delivered 90-second presentations on their climate research during the 1.5 Minute Student Climate Lectures. Among them was graduate student Nat Glasgow (MES '26—exp), who shared a brief summary of linguistic injustice in climate change risk communications—a topic they are focusing on for their capstone project research.
Nat chose Penn for environmental graduate studies because of the interdisciplinary curriculum. “This program offers so much flexibility in what you're allowed to explore, and you can be boundless in your research,” they say. Last summer, Nat worked with Penn’s Environmental Innovations Initiative on the Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum program. The experience helped inspire them to speak at this year’s climate lectures event. “I thought it sounded like a great educational opportunity,” Nat shares.
The annual Careers in the Water Industry event took place on Thursday, October 16, featuring speakers, expert panels, water industry representatives, and a student research competition. Caroline Barnhart (MES '26—exp), a graduate fellow at the Water Center at Penn, was chosen as the Student Water Innovation Award winner from among three graduate student finalists for her project on constructed floating wetlands for PFAS (known as “forever chemicals”) remediation. A pilot of her nature-based solution is located on the Delaware River, near the Chemours Chambers Works Facility in New Jersey.
Caroline plans to pursue a career in the water industry to make a positive impact on the environment. She was excited to share her work and her passion at the day’s event. “It feels like every week is Climate Week for us in the MES program,” Caroline says. “It’s great to have everyone on the same page this week and attending events together.”
Other Climate Week events open to the Penn community included the Penn Faculty 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures, the third annual Research Poster Session, and a climate and agriculture workshop at Penn Farm. On Friday, the week’s keynote event featured Bill Nye the Science Guy in conversation with Professor Michael Mann, Director for the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, on the climate crisis and climate action.
For more about the sixth annual Penn Climate Week, see Penn Today’s Climate Week guide, and the Daily Pennsylvanian’s recap of the week.
