People

Lizzy Clyne
Lizzy Clyne does active source seismic and radar work on Thwaites Glacier, interpretation of internal and basal reflective boundaries, and passive seismic work to study basal hydrology on Rhone Glacier. Their interests are sediment erosion/deposition/transport, ice-bed interactions, glacial seismology, and hydrology.

Ian Lee
Ian is a Ph.D. student focused on glacial seismology and data science, and the intersection between them. He earned his M.Sc. (earth sciences & engineering) from Dartmouth College and B.Sc. (geophysics) from University of Washington, Seattle. He currently works with seismic data from the Rutford Ice Stream (RIS) in West Antarctica to create high-resolution event catalogs of basal microseismicity to facilitate investigations of basal conditions on RIS using a data mining approach. Much of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is drained by fast-flowing ice streams, and one of the goals of this project is to improve understanding of ice stream dynamics to meaningfully reduce uncertainties in our numerical models and projections of sea level rise.

Sierra Melton
Sierra Melton is a recent MS graduate from PSICE and has just transitioned into the PhD program. She was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from Colorado College with a geology degree in 2018. Before she began researching ice, Sierra studied sediments in tidally influenced rivers, assessed erosion using photogrammetry, investigated carbon fluxes in Alaskan permafrost soils, and participated in a geoarchaeological excavation in Ethiopia. For her masters at Penn State, she researched the relationships between calving and meltwater drainage at the ice-cliff terminus of Greenland’s Helheim Glacier using high-resolution satellite and time-lapse imagery. Sierra also enjoys climbing, biking, musical theater, and adventures large and small – especially in Ethiopia. When not thinking about ice or exploring, she is attempting to learn the Amharic language.

Emily Schwans
Emily Schwans is a Ph.D. candidate with the PSICE group, who came to PSU after obtaining her B.S. in Geophysical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She primarily uses numerical models to investigate the influence of key processes on ice dynamics, but also enjoys teaching, mentoring, and honing her science communication skills. When she isn’t coding, Emily likes to climb, go hiking with her dog, and care for her many (many) houseplants.

Richard Alley
Richard is an Evan Pugh Professor of the Pennsylvania State University, as well as a Professor in the Department of Geosciences. Richard is a glaciologist with training in geology and materials science from Ohio State and Wisconsin. He studies the flow and stability of ice sheets, their climate records, and the way they interact with the landscape. He used to spend a lot of time on ice sheets; now, he cheers for students going to the field and stays home to teach, and communicate with the public and policymakers. He likes to bicycle and play soccer, and spend time with his family.

Sridhar Anandakrishnan
Sridhar is a Professor in the Department of Geosciences and an associate of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Institute (EESI). Sridhar teaches geophysics and glaciology and conducts research in as many cold places as he can convince folks to let him visit. So far he has done most of his fieldwork in West Antarctica and Greenland, with the occasional foray to Norway and Iceland. His interests involve using geophysical tools (seismology, ice penetrating radar, and GPS) to work out how and why glaciers flow in the ways they do. He was hooked on glaciology on his first trip to Antarctica and is still delighted every time he can stand on a glacier.

Byron Parizek
Byron is a PSICE alum, a Professor at Penn State DuBois, and is a member of the Department of Geosciences Graduate Faculty. He teaches undergraduate courses in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, and Computer Sciences. His NSF- and NASA-funded projects focus on numerical modeling of ice-sheet dynamics and related Earth-system processes. When not working with students and colleagues, he enjoys quality time with his family, coaching alpine ski racing, playing in the wilds of PA (e.g., hiking, fishing, hunting, camping, biking, paddling, etc.), traveling, and volunteering at his Church.

Luke Trusel
Luke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and an Associate of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. Luke heads the Cryosphere and Climate Lab, where he and his students investigate interactions between Earth’s ice sheets and climate system. A particular focus of the CryoLab is working to understand variability in ice sheet surface mass balance and its driving mechanisms through the analysis of remotely sensed, modeled, and climate proxy datasets. Beyond icy matters, Luke enjoys cycling, climbing, and spending quality time with his family.

Nathan Stevens
Nate is a postdoctoral scholar in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Institute (EESI) and a returning PSICE alum, after receiving his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He uses geophysics and experimental tools to investigate how glaciers slip under transient conditions. Nate is a member of the GreenDrill and ITGC-GHOST projects, in addition to several recent projects on alpine glaciers in North America. Outside of work, Nate is an avid mushroom forager, cat-dad, and amateur cook.

Shujie Wang
Shujie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, an associate of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Institute (EESI), and an associate of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS). She teaches remote sensing and machine learning classes. Shujie is broadly interested in using remote sensing, machine learning, and numerical modeling methods to study the cryosphere and climate system, with a particular focus on ice sheet flow dynamics and surface mass balance and the interactions between supraglacial microbes and ice/snow melting processes.