Thea Whitman, who traveled along with the Wisconsin Idea Seminar in 2016, studies microbes here at UW-Madison, burning wood in a large furnace in order to look at carbon and its role in soil. The knowledge gained from analyzing the biochar can then be applied to current situations – most notably, climate change. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Thea shares her research interest in wildfires with her sister Ellen, who is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alberta. Read more about Thea’s work!