Highlights from the 2026 ESS Research Symposium and Gala

The UW Department of Earth & Space Sciences Research Symposium and Gala is an annual graduate student-organized event that brings together students, faculty, alumni and supporters to celebrate our students’ groundbreaking work. This year’s Gala, held during the first week of Spring Quarter, showcased over 30 student presentations, 17 posters, a department-wide photo contest and an awards reception.

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ESS undergrad researcher studies some of Earth’s oldest ice

When the opportunity arose to work with 5 million-year-old ice from Antarctica, Hailey Smith jumped at the chance. Smith, a fourth-year ESS undergraduate student, had spent the past year working with ESS graduate student mentor Liam Kirkpatrick on a research project to decipher the origins of layering in ice core segments from Antarctica. These ice cores give us insights into atmospheric conditions millions of years ago.

This work builds on a method Kirkpatrick developed with advisors T.J. Fudge and Eric Steig that uses 3-D electrical conductivity mapping, along with isotope measurements, to reveal centimeter-scale changes in ice composition, giving Smith hands-on exposure to cutting-edge geoscience research.

Smith and Kirkpatrick were paired as a research team through their involvement with the UW College of the Environment's Identity, Belonging and Inquiry in Science (IBIS) mentoring program that connects undergraduate students interested in research with graduate student mentors in the geosciences.

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ESS undergraduate Dahlia Gietka sparks climate conversations on UW Campus

This past spring, undergraduate Dahlia Gietka (B.S. Earth & Space Sciences, graduating March 2026) brought together community leaders and students for a campus-wide climate forum, the first of its kind at UW. Timed around Earth Day, the event offered a space for cross-disciplinary dialogue focused on policy at the local, state, and national levels. The event aimed to give students a deeper understanding by providing a foundation for future conversations about climate policy and sustainability.

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