IBES Voss Fellows bring climate research to the community

Members of the 2025-2026 Voss Undergraduate Fellowship cohort have shared their research with local audiences through the Conversations in Science series at Providence’s Hamilton House.

This semester, several Brown students supported by the IBES Voss Fellowship program have brought their research beyond campus, presenting at Providence’s Hamilton House as part of the Conversations in Science series, which connects Brown scholars with lifelong learners eager to explore real-world environmental challenges.

So far this fall, Caitlyn Carpenter ’26, Emma Blankstein ’26, and Wyatt Sieminski ’26 delivered 20–30 minute talks followed by open discussion, presenting their independent, faculty-mentored research on urban air quality and environmental justice, climate policy and local decision-making, and ocean dynamics and the carbon cycle.

The series grew out of a collaboration—and a shared commitment to community dialogue—between Mindi Schneider, IBES Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Liz Kelley, Program and Outreach Manager at Hamilton House. “For us, this program is a way to foster intergenerational exchange around issues at the intersection of environment and society, especially those affecting Providence and Rhode Island,” said Schneider. She added that the partnership offers a model for connecting Brown research with the communities it serves and hopes to continue to expand beyond the Voss Fellows program.

At the October 29 session, Sieminski, a whitewater raft guide turned marine researcher, described how his curiosity about Earth’s changing systems led him to study climate modeling and ocean dynamics. His current project, led in collaboration with IBES affiliate faculty member Mara Freilich, explores how temperature and salinity “fronts” in the Atlantic Ocean interact with sunlight and atmospheric conditions.

“We’re trying to understand whether existing climate models are missing key mechanisms in how the ocean mixes and stores heat,” Sieminski explained. “It’s a process that could have big implications for future climate projections.”

A couple weeks prior to Sieminski’s presentation, Hamilton House hosted Emma Blankstein ’26, a member of Professor Meredith Hastings’s Breathe Providence project. She presented on local urban air quality and impacts of fossil fuel infrastructure on surrounding communities in a talk titled, “It Smells Like Environmental Racism: Mapping Residents’ Experiences of Environmental (In)justice in Providence, RI.”

Caitlyn Carpenter ’26, a member of Professor J Timmons Roberts’s Climate and Development Lab, also presented her work earlier this fall, examining recent lobbying state lobbying trends during her talk, “Facing Real(i)ty: Land Related Industry Influence on California Wildfire Resilience Land Use Policy.”

Through these talks, the Voss Fellows are not only deepening public understanding of science; they’re also honing the art of public speaking and science communication, key skills for translating their research and maximizing its impact. Each presentation reflects IBES’ commitment to turning research into action that connects communities and inspires change.

Rafael Ash ’26 will bring the series to a close later in November, presenting on how two coastal communities on opposite sides of the world are adapting to their rapidly changing environments.

Learn more about the Voss Fellowship program

Voss Research Fellowships in Environmental Science and Communication empower students to pursue independent, faculty-mentored research that sparks dialogue and drives solutions on climate and sustainability.

Explore the program