I’m Stephanie Lim!

My name is Stephanie (@slim_oceans on Twitter), and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a biological oceanographer and am currently in the 3rd year of my PhD at Stanford University (@StanfordEarth). I study single-celled algae that grow in the sea ice and in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Algae are important because they are like the plants of the ocean, fixing carbon for the rest of the food web and controlling carbon dioxide drawdown. I'm working on a couple of different projects to understand how algae are responding to climate change: some questions surround the carbon and nitrogen cycles, toxic algal blooms, and sea ice loss.

Ideally, this work would include a combination of field work, lab work, satellite remote sensing (looking at the ocean from space!), and modeling, but the pandemic has cancelled/postponed a lot of field work. So for now, I am using satellite products to build a model that examines changes in sea ice algal habitat over the past 30+ years. Using these sorts of methods is powerful because we can study the entire Arctic in a way that is simply too difficult by a ship trying to sail through ice!

I think the polar regions can sometimes seem far away or unimportant, but they help balance the entire Earth system, people directly rely on the polar oceans, and they are a sort of "testing ground" (though I would say, not in a good way) where we see the effects of climate change in real time. So I hope this makes readers interested in these really cool areas.

I identify as Chinese American and was born and raised in California. Both sides of my family were part of the "Chinese diaspora": my mom's family immigrated to Malaysia and my dad's family to the Philippines. Having bits and pieces from all of these cultures made for a confusing time growing up! But I think that speaks to the complexity and diversity of the "Asian American experience."

I have been dancing since I was two, and it remains my favorite hobby! In recent years, I've been enjoying social partner dancing, especially blues fusion. I also enjoy cooking/baking, traveling, and quality time with friends.

I did an internship at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Tasmania, Australia while I was studying abroad in college. I knew I was interested in algae and in marine biogeochemistry at the time, but it was just by chance that I landed on a project studying Antarctic sea ice algae. I got to learn under the wing of these two really wonderful and generous advisors, Delphine Lannuzel and Sebastien Moreau, and as they taught me about the sea ice system, I became fascinated by this extreme environment and the life that is able to thrive there.

Because of the pandemic, I haven't had the opportunity to go to either the Arctic or the Antarctic yet, but I hope to get on a research cruise someday soon. I think it will probably blow my mind--the pictures I've seen look amazing!

My family always tries to suggest that they should come on the research cruises too. I've had people suggest that they could serve as the cook or the medical personnel!

Don't be afraid to ask (me and others) for help and for advice! Unfortunately, oceanography, like many science fields, favors those who know more about how the system works. For example, many people don't know that you get paid to get your PhD. I've had many wonderful mentors that helped me get to where I am today, but I was probably quite lucky. I hope that we improve how we support aspiring scientists, but until then, be bold and ask--most people are eager to share!

I've also been connecting to another affinity group that has been founded recently: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Geosciences (@aapigeosci on Twitter). It's been awesome to see these new communities pop up and help change the face of the geosciences, and I can't wait to meet more people!