Bronwyn Patterson

EES Dept. Undergraduate Capstone Project, SAS ’25

Bio: Bronwyn Patterson is a fourth-year undergraduate candidate for a B.A. of Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainability and Management. From Annapolis, Maryland, Bronwyn is the captain of the Women’s Varsity Track and Field team here at Penn. Aside from competing for Penn Track, she is also a member of the Sphinx Senior Society, a team representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), and was a 2022-23 Undergraduate Fellow for the the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. She is interested in the overlap between finance and climate action, as well as sustainable investing that can support the clean energy transition for the decades to come.

Research Project: Bronwyn’s senior thesis partners the programming language R with ChatGPT 4o-Mini to capture how ExxonMobil’s climate-change related discourse has changed over time, specifically within the last decade (2015-2024). Specifically, her research employs automated text analysis to quantify the number of press releases from
ExxonMobil that include the linguistic “market levers” frame, which includes a range of phrases and diction that address climate change and/or its market risks. Her work aims to address a critical lack of extensive research into the fossil fuel industry’s public facing communication via automated text analysis, and will be used to establish connections between regulatory frameworks, financial risk, and climate communication in the energy industry.

Annika Sheridan

Undergraduate Research PURM Intern Summer 2024

Research Project: Annika is interested in the intersection of political affiliation and climate change perceptions/beliefs. Annika’s project focused on evaluating the differences in tweet content based on certain location variables such as state political affiliation, climate change vulnerability index, and coastal versus inland states. Specifically, she used tweet content from Twitter data to research how belief in the climate crisis, sentiment, willingness to support pro-climate policy, etc., differs based on regional differences.

Bio: Annika Sheridan is an undergraduate summer research assistant working for the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media through the Penn Undergraduate Research Center (PURM). She is a rising junior pursuing a dual major in Environmental Studies, concentrating on sustainability and environmental management, and Economics, minoring in Spanish. Her specific interests include shifting the conversation away from doom-and-gloom messaging, climate anxiety, and addressing the ever worsening water crisis.

Read Annika’s PURM Research report here.

Julia Pampush

Undergraduate Researcher AY 2023-2024, SAS ’25

Research Project: Julia is interested in communicating climate and sustainability issues to the public and policy makers. Her project focuses on communicating the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the general public. Learn more about this project here.

Bio: Julia Pampush is an undergraduate research intern for the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media and a rising junior in the College. She is pursuing an Environmental Studies Major with a Concentration in Sustainability and Environmental Management and Design Minor. She has a keen interest in the theory and practicality of designing sustainable, environmentally friendly urban, living and working spaces. Additionally, she is passionate about addressing the challenges and opportunities involved in communicating climate and sustainability issues to the public and policymakers. 

Lotus Kaufman

Undergraduate Research Intern Summer 2023, SAS ’24, MES ’25

Research Project: Lotus is interested in the polarization and politicization of climate change science and communication. Her project focuses on climate change communication on social media before and after major platform policy changes. Lotus has rolled her Summer 2023 project into her MES Capstone project and will be working with PCSSM to conduct the research.

Bio: Lotus Kaufman is an undergraduate summer research assistant for the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media. She is a rising senior pursuing a B.A. in Communication with a Politics and Policy concentration and submatriculating into the Masters of Environmental Studies program at Penn. Her interests lie in the ways climate communication has contributed to the political polarization of climate change and strategies to bridge the partisan divide.

Elijah Cook

Undergraduate Research Intern Summer 2023, SAS ’25

Research Project: Elijah is interested in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and corporate sustainability. His project focuses on the communication and messaging surrounding ESG on social media. Elijah finished this project in Fall 2023 and PCSSM will be publishing his report in Spring 2024.

Bio: Elijah Cook is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania in the College of Arts and Sciences. Elijah is majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainability and Management. He throws the javelin on the varsity Track and Field team at Penn. Currently he is interning with the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media as well as the Sunrise Project. He is researching Environmental, Social and Governance and the public’s perception of it. Elijah has a love for the outdoors and is interested in our relationship with the natural world, the ways in which humans can drastically alter it as well as preserve it. 

Justin Cairns

MES Student ’25

Bio: Justin Cairns is a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in Sustainability and Clean Energy. With a strong foundation in climate technology and clean energy, his work explores the intersection of science, public policy, and economics. Justin brings experience from public-sector roles, where he has supported government programs related to clean energy innovation and economic development. His research interests include offshore wind energy, environmental justice, and strategies for decarbonization across corporate value chains. Justin aims to leverage his academic and professional experience to pursue a career in project and program management, with a focus on environmental sustainability and clean energy initiatives.

Lotus Kaufman

MES Student ’25

Research Project: Lotus is interested in the polarization and politicization of climate change science and communication. Her project focuses on climate change communication on social media before and after major platform policy changes. Lotus has rolled her Summer 2023 project into her MES Capstone project and will be working with PCSSM to conduct the research.

Bio: Lotus Kaufman is a second year student in the Master of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. Lotus was the undergraduate summer research assistant for the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media in Summer 2023. She holds a B.A. in Communication with a Politics and Policy concentration from Penn (Class of 2024). Her interests lie in the ways climate communication has contributed to the political polarization of climate change and strategies to bridge the partisan divide.

Emily Stephens

MES Student ’25

Research Project: Emily is interested in highlighting the critical role of trust in shaping Gen Z’s engagement with sustainability-focused influencers on social media platforms. Her project intends to demonstrate a comprehensive exploration of the factors influencing trustworthiness in social media influencers that specialize in sustainability, “green” influencers, and how successful they are at changing intentions to adopt sustainable behaviors.

Bio: Emily is a second year student in the Master of Environmental Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Sustainability. Her interests include corporate sustainability, climate change communication, value creation, and sustainability reporting. She has a professional background in public relations and received her B.A. in Communication Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh. She hopes to leverage these skills to explore the ways in which we communicate about sustainability and how we can influence companies and the public to become more involved in environmental sustainability.

Zhao Liu

MES Student ’24

Research Project: Zhao is working on research related to energy policy with PCSSM Senior Research Fellow Dr. Joe Romm. He is currently a research assistant at the Energy Justice Lab at Penn.

Bio: Zhao Liu is currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Studies degree and a Master in Law degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Renmin University of China and a Bachelor of Management and Commerce degree from KEDGE Business School in France. With a multi-disciplinary background, he brings extensive expertise in ESG and sustainability. His experience spans from ESG and sustainability research to ESG and sustainability rating, reporting, and investment. Outside of his academic pursuits, Zhao is an amateur DJ and a sports enthusiast.

Hannah Schwalberg

MES Student ’24

Research Project: Hannah is interested in weather identity and weather event messaging and communication surrounding hurricanes and extreme weather events in the eastern U.S. Hannah is projected to graduate from Penn in May 2024.

Bio: Hannah is a Master of Environmental Studies candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, where she developed a concentration in Sustainability and Communications to study how scientific issues are understood by different communities, and how strategic messaging can be used to support sustainability initiatives. With a professional background in digital media strategy, much of Hannah’s research also focuses on the intersection of social media and public perception of climate change.  Her current research examines the relationship of regional cultural identity, extreme weather events, and emergency messaging efficacy. Hannah received a B.A in Advertising from The Pennsylvania State University’s Bellisario College of Communications.