Welcome! I’m Sophie, a graduate student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. I work in the Bob & Norma Street Environmental Fluid Mechanics Lab (EFML) under the mentorship of Dr. Nick Ouellette. My research interests include sediment transport, geomorphology, and (of course) environmental fluid mechanics. I’m currently working on a project that investigates stress history in granular beds.

I originally studied geology at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a B.A. in Earth Sciences in 2018. During my time at Penn, I worked with Doug Jerolmack at the Penn Soft Earth Dynamics (PennSED) lab where I performed experiments to examine the shape changes undergone by sediment particles as they experience transport. I also assisted with a project that investigated the effect of moisture on threshold wind speeds for aeolian transport through lab experiments and fieldwork at White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

I then earned a M.S. in Geology from the University of Delaware in 2020, where I was advised by fluvial geomorphologist Jim Pizzuto. My thesis involved fieldwork and numerical modeling to evaluate coarse sediment transport at the White Clay Creek in Pennsylvania. I also helped with projects that examined riverbank stratigraphy and wetland deposits to infer historical land use changes in the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as fluvial deposits along the Powder River in Montana to investigate river meander migration.

In between graduating with my master’s degree and starting a PhD in 2022, I taught at Penn State Brandywine as an adjunct instructor of Earth Sciences for four semesters. I also worked as a consultant in the environmental due diligence space. After living on the East Coast for a quarter-century, I enjoy spending time exploring my new California home.

Enjoying views of the sunset and the Golden Gate Bridge

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