Currently in her second year as a M.S. student in the Department of Geography, Emma Cheriegate’s research interests center on ecology, climate change, GIS, and policy recommendation. She conducts research (on NASA- and USDA-funded projects) under the advisement of Kimberly Van Meter. In it, she aims to identify and map restorable (historical, drained) wetland sites spanning the Mississippi River Basin and assess potential water quality benefits by increasing nitrate removal.
Prior to arriving at Penn State, Cheriegate earned her B.S. in environmental studies under geography at California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Since graduation, her work has included air quality consultancy, environmental regulation interpretation, dataset and visualization creation for safety enhancement programs in the energy sector, and efforts to create scientific communication that is accessible to the public. Ultimately, she hopes to amalgamate her experiences across these fields to improve existing environmental policy practices.