Claire Treat recently received a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in the Natural Resources and Earth Systems Science (NRESS) program at the University of New Hampshire.  Her research will focus on impacts of climate change and permafrost thaw on soil carbon release.  Claire is a 2005 graduate of Mount Holyoke College.  As an undergraduate, Claire received a UNH/NASA Research and Discover Fellowship to complete her honors research on factors controlling the net contribution of wetlands to climate change, working closely with Dr. Jill Bubier, Professor of Environmental Science at MHC, and Dr. Ruth Varner, Research Professor in Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the UNH.  A captain of the swim team while at MHC, Claire earned honors as a scholar athlete, as well as for her research and academic achievements.

Following graduation from Mount Holyoke College, Claire worked as a Research & Discover Intern at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, a lift operator at Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado, and as a research technician for Dr. Merritt Turetsky at Michigan State University.  As a technician, Claire worked extensively in Alaska on the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX), where she continued to study the role of northern wetlands in the carbon cycle.  She also assisted on a project that studied effects of wildfire on soil carbon.

Claire returned to the University of New Hampshire in September 2008 to pursue a Masters Degree in Earth Science with Dr. Steve Frolking, Research Professor in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space.  Claire’s current research focuses on modeling impacts of climate change on permafrost in wetlands.  As a graduate student, Claire has served on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, on the executive board for the University of New Hampshire Graduate Student Organization, as chair of the Stonewall Grads, and is a recipient of the Pink Triangle award from the GLBT Commission.