CRESSLE Graduate Students
Jordan French
Jordan is a Ph.D. candidate in UT Austin’s Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering program. His research lies at the intersection of environment and energy transitions, as he leverages air quality modeling and monitoring tools to understand the impacts of energy-related infrastructure. Working with CRESSLE, he has engaged with community members to monitor and communicate the air quality impacts of gravel extraction and processing facilities in Bastrop County.
Sydney Libbing
Sydney is a master’s student in the Jackson School of Geosciences, where she studies the tradeoffs associated with cool pavement. She works with the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department to evaluate how this intervention influences local streams, and partners with a community fellow to understand neighborhood perspectives on heat and environmental risks. Sydney has experience in water sampling, surveying, and communicating scientific findings to diverse stakeholders. Through Project CRESSLE, she looks forward to collaborating with Austin community members to better understand the benefits and challenges of cool pavement as a climate adaptation strategy, as well as the broader environmental issues facing the community.
Yuer Wang
Yuer Wang is a Ph.D. student in Public Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, studying urban climate governance and resilience planning. Her research investigates how communities and key stakeholders perceive climate risks and evaluates the implementation of local climate actions, guiding and facilitating the development of evidence-based, community-centered environmental policy and planning strategies. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from UC Davis, as well as an M.S. in Environment and Sustainability and M.P.P. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. As part of Project CRESSLE, she expects to work closely with community members on climate resilience projects, with an emphasis on flood management as well as impacts and vulnerability of gentrification.