What are you up to now?

Joanna Bate
REU '03

Mentor: David Kittredge
Project: Timber harvesting: a study of the effects of socio-economic characteristics and forest ownership patterns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Hometown: Nashville, TN
College and major: Haverford College, Biology, class of '03

What you miss most about the REU program:
Living with smart, fun, creative people my age in a remote setting where we had to make up our own fun.

What you miss least about the REU program:
Sitting at a computer all day doing GIS was a little boring.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
My friendships, and my exposure to ecology (which is now my science field of choice), GIS, and land use issues.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes! Although not as well as I might have hoped, but we are still buds.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
I didn't have much in the way of plans when I went, and it has definitely supported my pursuit of ecology, studying human impacts on ecosystems, and use of GIS.

What you're up to now:
I am finishing my Masters in Environmental Planning at the U of Arizona, and working as a Research Assistant at the University's Water Resources Research Center, where I'm helping establish city programs to connect water conservation with environmental restoration projects. I'm hoping to continue my work on linking science with policy as well as my focus on water issues. I will be moving back to the northeast within the next couple of years.

Want to see more alumni profiles? Check out our Harvard Forest REU alumni blog.