Polsky Research Fellow, 2026
Marija is a third-year student at the University of Chicago studying Geophysical Sciences with a minor in Geographic Information Science. Born and raised in Florida, she developed an early fascination with fluid Earth systems, particularly atmospheric science and ocean dynamics. Driven by the realities of sea-level rise in her home state, and after particularly enjoying an introductory course on The Cryosphere with Professor Meghana Ranganathan, her academic interests expanded to include glaciology.
As a Polsky Research Fellow, Marija will work under Professor Ranganathan to improve models of ice crystal size and ice flow using ice core data from Greenland and Antarctica, remote sensing, and mathematical modeling. In this role, she will help compare model outputs with observational datasets and investigate how variations in ice microstructure influence large-scale ice sheet behavior and future sea-level rise.