Dr. Julia Wester

For her thesis research, Julia applied social psychology and behavioral economics research findings to decisions about water recycling. She was specifically interested in the role of emotional disgust and its interaction with ideas of morality and normative behavior. She completed a series of large national surveys on attitudes toward water reuse on this topic, including hierarchical modeling to inform the role of disgust reactions over and above other factors and framing experiments to determine the degree to which attitudes may be mutable. She also completed a project employing ethnographic research methods, discourse and policy analysis to explore the connection between public attitudes, changing regulations and policy decision making in Texas where direct potable water reuse projects were first successfully implemented in the US.
 
Since graduating Julia has helped found Field School (www.getintothefield.com), a company dedicated to facilitating research and experiential education aboard a 55’ liveaboard research vessel, the R/V Garvin. As part of Field School Julia develops hands-on research field courses for students of all ages and coordinates logistics for marine scientists working in Florida and the Bahamas. She is a lecturer at the University of Miami and the Associate Director of the Ecosystem Science and Policy undergraduate program at the Abess Center.

Find her online CV here.