"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean." – Arthur C. Clarke
Sonya is interested in understanding the world through chemistry science and providing real-world learning experiences for students that foster such insights. After earning her M.S. (2003) and Ph.D. (2008) doing research in the Chemical Oceanography Division of UW’s School of Oceanography, she taught at UW’s College of the Environment (2008 – 2010) and Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability (2010 – 2013). She also served as part-time faculty at North Seattle Community College and University of Washington, Tacoma (2005 – 2008) while finishing up her Ph.D. in Oceanography.
She strives to incorporate field work, and analytical techniques and instrumentation, into her courses through research projects so that students may experience “science in action.” She has worked with students on many such projects, including carbon cycling in wetlands (North Seattle CC), nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in urban lakes (UW, Tacoma), and heavy metal contamination of urban soils and sediments (ASU and Hope House Farms in Phoenix). At BC, she co-developed a new course (CHEM 272) in which students have carried out research projects on topics such as the effect of pesticides on bees, micro-scale Puget Sound air pollution, and desalinization using forward osmosis. In addition to science education, she works to incorporate sustainability into her courses so that students solve sustainability challenges as part of their coursework. She is the coordinator for a new Sustainability Concentration at BC and teaches the 1-credit seminar for this concentration (EXPRL 195). In addition to teaching, her other passion is doing anything high up in the mountains, such as mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and hiking with her son.
