A member of the BOOMLAB since 2019,
Shawnee is earning her doctorate in chemical oceanography and specializes in using dissolved gases to better understand the ocean’s role in regulating global climate.
Her thesis work focuses on:
- novel methods to measure dissolved gases
- coastal Arctic greenhouse gas emissions
- the biological carbon pump (NASA EXPORTS)
She studies these global biogeochemical cycles using a range of tools, from traditional field and lab work to leveraging autonomous platforms such as gliders and biogeochemical floats. She has a special interest in enhancing our observational capabilities in high latitude environments, and is actively pursuing research questions in both polar regions. During her time in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, she has been a member of the MIT Water Club, MIT Outing Club, and serves as a peer counseler in the REFS program.
Prior to joining the BOOMLAB,
Shawnee completed her undergraduate studies in environmental chemistry at Columbia University (2018) and worked as a field research assistant at the Palmer Station, Antarctica LTER site. Her undergraduate research at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory focused around environmental sensing, with applications from urban air and water quality to the carbon dynamics and resiliency of coral reefs. Shawnee is also interested in public outreach through data-driven art. Previous projects include a collaboration with Ennead Architecture Lab and serving as the Science and Technology Advisor to New York-based nonprofit +Pool for the launch of a floating public art installation in the East River that communicated water quality in real time.
