Julia Head

In the last few weeks of her senior year at Clark, environmental science major Julia Head had a long to-do list: research papers for classes in the School of Climate, Environment, and Society; an honors thesis and final project for her yearlong Human-Environment Research Observatory (HERO) Fellowship; and rehearsals and performances for the student Variant Dance Troupe.

And then there was one more task: finishing 10 GIS-based maps to be released worldwide as part of a multinational, multi-institutional research project examining the potential impacts of a Chinese “megaport” on the Peruvian Amazon. Funded by a two-year, $920,000 grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the project is led by Sustainability and Social Justice professor and principal investigator Denise Humphreys Bebbington.

“I feel a huge responsibility,” Head says. “I’m very honored to be on this project.” Next fall, Head will begin Clark’s 4+1 Accelerated Master’s Degree program in Geographic Information Science (GIS).