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PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Joel Eklof is an assistant professor in the Environmental Studies and Sciences department at the University of Puget Sound. He has worked at Puget Sound since 2025.
Prior to his position at Puget Sound, Joel was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, where he also received his Master's and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Outside of work, Joel loves rock climbing, mountaineering, lifting, bowling, cooking, hammocking, and cuddling with his wife and golden retriever while reading a good book.
CURRENT MEMBERS
CURRENT MEMBERS
Megan Cobb is a career Environmental Scientist and student researcher at the University of Puget Sound. She completed her B.S. in Geosciences at Southern New Hampshire University and her M.S. in Environmental Science and Master's Certificate in Environmental & Energy Policy at Louisiana State University.
Prior to attending Puget Sound, Megan had a 6-year career across many environmental fields, with her favorite job ever being a National Park Ranger.
Outside of work, Megan loves SCUBA, free diving, hiking, cooking and baking, lifting, going down Wikipedia rabbit holes, and having adventures and traveling with her husband and their two daughters.
Liberty La is an incoming senior at the University of Puget Sound, where she studies Earth and Environmental Science and minors in Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Originally from San Francisco, California, she discovered her passion for the cryosphere after moving to Washington state and has been captivated by icy landscapes ever since. Her curiosity has taken her abroad to Denmark and Greenland, where she explored Arctic environments and massive ice sheets firsthand.
Liberty La is an incoming senior at the University of Puget Sound, where she studies Earth and Environmental Science and minors in Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Originally from San Francisco, California, she discovered her passion for the cryosphere after moving to Washington state and has been captivated by icy landscapes ever since. Her curiosity has taken her abroad to Denmark and Greenland, where she explored Arctic environments and massive ice sheets firsthand.
Beyond academics, Liberty is passionate about community care and volunteers at local shelters. In her free time, she loves reading, trying new foods, going on long walks, writing to pen pals across the globe, and laughing with the people she loves most.
Beyond academics, Liberty is passionate about community care and volunteers at local shelters. In her free time, she loves reading, trying new foods, going on long walks, writing to pen pals across the globe, and laughing with the people she loves most.
Reggie Westgate is an undergrad studying Earth and Environmental Science and Environmental Policy and Decision-making at the University of Puget Sound. In addition, Reggie IA's for "Frozen Earth" and works for NextGen Salmon Collective focusing outreach on water and energy policy as it pertains to Salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin.
He is interested in how alpine environments are responding to climate change and how water resources downstream are affected by changes in alpine ice reservoirs. Reggie is also passionate about creating more inclusive outdoors spaces and the pedagogy of outdoor education.
Outside of research, enjoys Nordic skiing, backpacking, trail running, rock climbing, and canoeing. He loves a good bowl of soup and a long game of cribbage. Reggie is also an accomplished woodworker and carver.
Lina McDonald is a sophomore Chemistry and Earth & Environmental Science major at the University of Puget Sound. Passionate about climate change research, her interests lie in the intersections of environmental science and chemistry, including the atmosphere and cryosphere. She is excited to combine these fields in an interdisciplinary sense and work towards understanding one of humanity’s greatest threats.
When not engrossed in her studies, Lina can be found outside, in the kitchen, or dancing around. She is an avid hiker and also enjoys going for a good run around town, making sure to enjoy all that Washington has to offer.
Grayson Tix is a 3rd year student at the University of Puget Sound studying chemistry and also has interests in arctic studies, geochemistry, and biology. Here, he enjoys leading trips for the outdoors club and writing articles for the newspaper, the Trail. In his free time, he likes to hike, backpack, bike, relax in a hammock, read, and write.
In the Change Lab, Grayson will conduct isotopic analysis of permafrost and surrounding water sources on Mt Rainier to identify isotopic fractionation and begin building the larger dataset for an isoscape.
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