2025-2026 MW CASC Graduate Student
Indiana University
Kesondra Key is an environmental science PhD candidate at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, specializing in data-informed nature-based climate solutions. Her dissertation research focuses on exploring plant-climate interactions, dominantly through the eddy covariance method, to assess plant responses to changes in management in agriculture (i.e., cover crops) by comparing carbon, water, and energy budgets, or during times of plant stress (i.e., drought) to explore variations in temporal dynamics. Leveraging her expertise in biogeochemistry, eco-hydrology, and micro-meteorology, she aims to advance the understanding of ecological processes to better inform nature-based climate solutions.
Kesondra is originally from the Pacific Northwest, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Washington State University - Vancouver, then post graduation, she moved to Knoxville, TN to work as a post-bachelor's research associate in the Climate Change Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory before starting her PhD program at Indiana University.
Research Topic: Towards Data-Informed Nature-Based Climate Solutions