Gabrielle Wong-Parodi receives NAS early-career award

The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has announced that Stanford Earth's Gabrielle Wong-Parodi is among the 20 recipients of its 2019 Early-Career Research Fellowships. Now in its fifth year, the fellowship program supports the development of emerging scientific leaders who are prepared to work at the intersections of environmental health, community health and resilience, and offshore energy system safety in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. coastal regions.

The Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship helps early-career researchers during the critical pre-tenure phase of their careers. Fellows are provided with a $76,000 financial award along with mentoring support to help them navigate this period with independence, flexibility, and a built-in support network. The support allows them to take risks on research ideas, pursue unique collaborations, and build a network of colleagues who share their interest in improving offshore energy system safety and the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems.

The fellowships are awarded to individuals who demonstrate a strong scientific or technical background, superior scholarship, effective communication skills, and an ability to work across disciplines, among other attributes. Nearly 70 Early-Career Fellowships have been awarded since 2015.

Wong-Parodi is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth System Science and a Center Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Her research focuses on applying behavioral decision research methods to address challenges associated with global environmental change. She uses behavioral decision science approaches to create evidence-based strategies for informed decision making, with a particular focus on building resilience and promoting sustainability in the face of a changing climate.

Wong-Parodi has a background in energy resources, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and risk perceptions of emerging technologies. She recently served on the committee that produced the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report Understanding the Long-Term Evolution of the Coupled Natural-Human Coastal System. Wong-Parodi received her MA and PhD in risk perceptions and communication from the University of California, Berkeley, and her BS in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

This story was adapted from a press release published by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.