Charlotte Beall
Major: Plan II Honors
Type of Experience: Research
Mentor: Joshua Busby, LBJ School of Public Affairs
Charlotte assisted her faculty mentor Dr. Joshua Busby on a project investigating the current methods of cleaning up energy production in China. As part of this research, she explored alternative methods of encouraging cleaner energy production in China through international market incentives and policy. As a result of this research experience, Charlotte is considering a future career in law and environmental policy.
Allison Yoder
Major: Geography
Type of Experience: Research in Galapagos Islands
Mentor: Brian King, Geography
Allison researched Ecuadorian ecosystems and environmental policy in the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. While in the Galapagos Islands, she examined the relationships between the various actors on the islands and their role in environmental policies and conservation. During this research, she was able to reexamine views on and methods for implementing conservation.
Erika Baylor
Major: History
Type of Experience: Research
Mentor: Melinda Taylor, Law
Erika took part in an environmental law clinic offered by the Law School. As part of the clinic, Erika received a temporary bar permit and, with a group of law students, acted as a lawyer representing residents of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. After this experience, Erika has decided to pursue her law degree and dedicate her career to practicing environmental law.
Kimberly Horndeski
Major: Government and Geography
Type of Experience: Research in Lima, Peru
Mentor: Henry Dietz, Government
In summer of 2008, Kimberly researched water quality and availability in Lima, Peru. She wanted to learn how Peruvian demographic changes and the effects of water quality for human use have impacted the society and the environment. Specifically, Kimberly investigated how water was made available to the Peruvian people. She conducted interviews with government public officials and Lima Citizens to understand the impact of the limited clean water resources available in Lima.
Anne Mariah Tapp
Major: Geography
Type of experience: Research abroad
Mentor: Ken Young, Geography
Anne Mariah spent Summer 2007 working with Dr. Ken Young, examining the hydrologic patterns of the Pastaza River in the Peruvian Amazon. Monitoring water quality and discharge in this area is important due to an oil pipeline that runs underwater across the river. The pipeline was constructed in the 1970s and has not been replaced since. While the pipeline has not ruptured up to this point, many think it is a “time bomb” with potentially devastating environmental consequences. For her senior thesis, Anne Mariah is developing a model that will show how fast the oil will reach communities and streams in the area if the pipeline were to break.