ICE SAGES: Ellen Mosley-Thompson and Lonnie Thompson

Please enjoy the Ohio State Alumni Magazine article featuring two former Ohio State students, Ellen and Lonnie!

The Byrd Center student campaign will be open through Friday, December 31 for donations!

Thank you for helping support the next generation of climate scientists!

Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Our sincere thanks to those who have donated to the current Buckeye Funder, Climate Scientists: Support the Next Generation.  

Rick Toracinta Scholarship recipients continue to inspire young scientists…

Recently, the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center congratulated the 2021 recipient of the Rick Toracinta Scholarship: Alyssa Reynolds, M.S. Candidate in the Department of Geography. The Toracinta scholarship has been supporting the experiences of young climate scientists since 2007, and those recipients often go on to inspire future generations.

Ellyn McFadden Enderlin, MS ’10, PhD ’13, 2009 recipient of the Toracinta Scholarship, earned her master’s in Geological Sciences at Ohio State and went on to earn her doctorate in Earth Sciences in 2013.

Today, Ellyn guides and inspires future scientists as an assistant professor in the Boise State University Department of Geosciences and through her Glaciology Research Group, where she works with undergraduate and graduate students to advance understanding of the varying sensitivity of glaciers to climate change.

Ellyn is passionate about involving undergraduate students in her research so that they leave college prepared to conduct their own research. “I am particularly interested in providing research opportunities to women and other under-represented populations in STEM fields, since my undergraduate research experiences are what got me interested in glacier research,” she states. Ellyn also enjoys sharing her knowledge of glacier and climate change with middle and high school students, helping teenagers learn that science can be fun and exciting.

“The Toracinta scholarship provided support for me to attend the Karthaus Glaciology Summer School (in northern Italy). I learned a lot about glaciology and met a number of European graduate students at that summer school, many of whom are still professional colleagues.  The Karthaus Summer School was my first real opportunity to learn about glacier modeling.”

“I had a great graduate experience as part of the Byrd team,” she remembers. “Everyone was always willing to help me with my research and I have continued to be involved with Byrd as a member of the Goldthwait Polar Medal Committee (the Byrd Center’s most prestigious award recognizing outstanding contributions to polar research).

Preparing and inspiring future scientists is a priority for Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. You can support high school, undergraduate and graduate students who aspire to help the world understand and adapt to climate change.

Thanks for being a part of this campaign! We will be providing several updates throughout.  Here is update #1!

Please enjoy these student presentations from the 2021 Byrd Symposium.   Two of the speakers in this video were recipients of the McKenzie Brecher Scholarship.  The monies received from this Byrd scholarship contributed to costs associated with their research projects. These students gained a wealth of experience in conducting scientific research, the development of a presentation and public speaking during the symposium. Congratulations to these students!  We are so proud!

Please note that the McKenzie Brecher Scholarship is accepting applications through Dec. 6, 2021.  Check it out here.

We are proud to share that Alyssa Reynolds, M.S. Candidate in Dept. of Geography, Atmospheric Sciences has been awarded the 2021 Richard Toracinta Graduate Scholarship.

Her research project is entitled, Two Case Studies of Recent EF-4 Tornadoes in Ohio.

Alyssa’s research focuses on tornadoes occurring in the Ohio Valley. She also studies drought impacts specific to Ohio and is developing a database for stakeholders of real-time drought indices data. 

The next scholarship applications will be considered in the Fall of 2023.  Please consider donating to the Toracinta Endowed Scholarship so that we may award this scholarship each year.

We are grateful for your support of Byrd students!