People / Students

Nancy Freitas

Arctic Lake Emissions in a Warming World (MS ’20)

At ERG, Nancy research focuses on identifying existing gaps in climate science and decision-making. In her master’s research, she used a combination of fieldwork, lab work, and data science to determine the potential contribution of greenhouse gases from Arctic lakes to the atmosphere. In her PhD, Nancy is engaged in collaborative work alongside scientists and electricity sector practitioners to develop improved climate projections. The intention of this research is to better understand practitioner needs regarding climate vulnerabilities, risks, and impacts, and to co-produce climate models/data that are more usable and actionable in adaptation planning.

Before coming to ERG, Nancy worked in environmental conservation with Peace Corps Paraguay and helped run the Bio/Diversity Project, a STEM outreach and education program, at the University of Arizona (UA). She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the UA (2015) and an M.S. in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley (2020).

For fun, Nancy competes in club-level ultimate frisbee tournaments and has been a head coach for high school and college-level ultimate teams since 2016. When she’s not chasing a piece of plastic around a field, she finds time to travel widely, drink good coffee, and be outdoors.

Her work has been supported by the NSF GRFP, the UC Berkeley Graduate Opportunity Program Master’s Fellowship, and Graduate Student Research opportunities at LBL and UC Berkeley.

Research:
Climate & Carbon Sciences Program
Kueppers Lab Group
Jones Lab

Contact:
nfreitas@berkeley.edu