Kelsey Murphy

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Texas at Austin

Hello! I’m a postdoc at UTAustin in the SHIELD program working with Dr. Danielle Touma, Dr. Geeta Persad, and Dr. Zong-Liang Yang. My current research focuses on how land use and land cover change influences hydroclimate extremes, including drought and extreme fire weather.

I earned my PhD from Rice University in August 2026, where I worked in the Climate & Water Lab with Dr. Sylvia Dee. My PhD research focused on last millennium changes in Mississippi River basin hydroclimate as a framework for understanding future anthropogenic impacts. My strengths are extreme event analysis, attributing hydroclimate changes to natural and human drivers, and studying land–atmosphere processes that drive variability and rapid transitions in the Common Era, using climate model simulations and observational data.

Before graduate school, I obtained my BSc in Geology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. I also have training in media arts and communication from Massasoit Community College, and a certificate in Teaching and Learning from Rice University’s Center for Teaching Excellence. In the future, I would enjoy continuing to explore the mechanisms driving mean-state changes and extremes, while expanding into their impacts on human and ecological systems.

On this site, you’ll find information about my research, publications, and my passion for teaching and science communication. Please feel free to explore and get in touch if you have any questions or collaboration ideas.