Guadalupe Barajas Vasques

What’s the work that you do?

As an Arctic microbial ecologist working on my Ph.D., I research the fate and transport of methane in the polygonal tundra of the North Slope of Alaska. My goal is to investigate how methane travels through the landscape during the early spring thaw to better understand the carbon inputs from the rapidly thawing Arctic and its influence on the global carbon budget.

What keeps you going?

My desire to learn as much as possible about climate change stems from the deep-seated love and appreciation of nature my mother instilled in me. That passion has kept me going and I hope to one day be one of the women in STEM, especially as a Latina, that young girls can look up to. Having had few role models that looked like me as I was growing up is what truly drives me to be a Latina climate scientist for future young scientists.

What’s your message to the world?

It isn’t often that people find a way to combine their passions in life – I am so thankful to be able to combine my love for the Arctic into my daily work! Climate change is an incredible daunting phenomenon that we are just beginning to experience and understand. As this threat looms over us, it provides an opportunity for people and scientists to come together and collaborate as we combat it.