Global Insights, Green Innovations: 2026 Summer Environmental Fellows Announced

Amelia Wilkinson EVST '27
Yale Outdoor

For more than two decades, the Summer Environmental Fellowship (SEF) has empowered Yale undergraduates to confront critical environmental challenges through funded summer research and impactful internships. Spanning a diverse array of disciplines, sectors, and global geographies, SEF has a long-standing legacy of supporting students dedicated to environmental stewardship.

This summer, a new cohort of 15 SEF Fellows representing nine majors is setting out to conduct vital groundwork across 11 locations, including 7 states and 4 countries. From developing marine carbon dioxide removal and quantifying indoor semi-volatile organic compounds in New Haven to diverse ecosystems and urban centers from India to the Amazon, these students are expanding the boundaries of sustainability, scientific discovery, policy advocacy, and clean technology innovation.

Meet the 2026 SEF Fellows and explore the remarkable scope of their summer projects:

2026 SEF Recipients

Bella Amell, Environmental Studies and Global Affairs ‘27

  • Understanding Attitudes Towards Environmental Politics in Rural Maryland – Multiple Locations, MD

Julien Amsellem, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology ‘27

  • Niche Partitioning and Visitation Dynamics of Hermit Hummingbirds on Heliconia in the Lowland Tropical Rain Forest of Yasuní National Park – Near Limoncocha, Ecuador

Sawan Garde, Environmental Studies ‘27

  • Investigating Sustainable Approaches to Rice-Wheat Agriculture in Punjab, India – Mohali, India

Tomas Gonzales, ‘29

  • Heat Exposure, Energy Burden, and Nutritional Tradeoffs in Low- and Middle-Income Households – Miami, FL

Natalie Haase, Chemical Engineering ‘27

  • Climate: Sustainable Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal: Developing TiO2-Mediated Electrochemical pH-Swing Systems – New Haven, CT

Rosie Hampson, Environmental Studies ‘28

  • Ingalls Field Ecology Internship – Eastford, CT

Esperance Han, Environmental Studies ‘28

  • Research at the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Environmental Engineering – New Haven, CT

Young In Kim, Environmental Studies ‘27

  • Hydrodynamic Drivers of Paralytic Shellfish Toxin Accumulation in the Gulf of Alaska – Sitka, AK

Henry Liu, Environmental Studies and History ‘28

  • Internship at Harpeth Conservancy – Brentwood, TN

Sophia Rivkin, Environmental Studies ‘28

  • Environmental Justice Research in South Florida with Yale School of the Environment Students – Miami, FL

Pablo Rodriguez, Environmental Engineering ‘27

  • Quantifying Dust–Air Partitioning and Equilibration: Timescales of Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds in the Indoor Environment – New Haven, CT

Sophia Wan-Brodsky, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology ‘27

  • Owl Monkey Project – Formosa, Taiwan

Amelia Wilkinson, Environmental Studies ‘27

  • Advancing Rights of Nature Through Ethical Legal Frameworks, Intern at Cottonwood Environmental Law Center – Bozeman, MT

Ellen Windels, Anthropology ‘27

  • Gathering Access: Self-Sufficiency and Food Practices in Northeastern Minnesota – Northeastern Minnesota 

David Vasquez, Urban Studies ‘27

  • Grey to Green: Using Computer Vision to Quantify the Overabundance of Parking – New Haven, CT

Learn more about past projects and follow along this summer as we spotlight our fellows on Instagram: #EVSTSEFspotlight