Bio
Yianna Bekris is a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Mingfang Ting. Her current research examines the characteristics and drivers of very large and extreme heatwaves. Prior to coming to Columbia University she was a research associate at the Washington State University Vancouver Climate Extremes Laboratory. She obtained her M.S. in Geography from Portland State University in 2022, with her thesis on the changing probability of extreme humid heat. She spent several years as a field technician working on phenology, fire and plant ecology, and old-growth forest research following the completion of her B.S. in ecology from The Evergreen State College in 2013. In addition to a keen interest in the drivers, characteristics, and impacts of climate extremes, she hopes to leverage her ecology background to research ecosystem-atmosphere interactions. Outside graduate school she enjoys hiking, plant and fungi identification, food, and music.
Advisor: Dr. Mingfang Ting