As a Schmidt Science Fellow, Lucia will explore how tiny ocean microbes help lock away carbon for centuries.
To do this, Lucia will grow common marine bacteria in the lab and use their genetic blueprints to map how they transform nutrients into a stable form of carbon that stays dissolved in seawater. By combining these experiments with computer models, Lucia will identify which groups of microbes are best at producing long-lived carbon and determine whether mixing them can boost carbon storage.
Lucia’s work aims to deepen our understanding of how the ocean naturally captures carbon and could point toward new, innovative biotechnologies for durable carbon storage and marine ecosystem conservation.
Lucia will pivot from Analytical Chemistry to Marine Biology