From family farm to The Farm
Emily Snell, BSH Geological Sciences ’24, is passionate about studying how to mitigate hazards from volcanic eruptions to nearby communities, and connects these interests to global challenges like climate change.
It is a long way from Emily Snell’s family farm in Butler, Ohio, to The Farm of Stanford University, and farther still to Antarctic volcano Mount Terror that the graduating senior now studies. But it’s not quite as far as one might think.
What inspired her to study volcanoes? “I get that question a lot because obviously there’s no volcanoes in Ohio,” Snell says of her chosen field with a smile. “I just enjoy studying the Earth and chemistry – and specifically chemistry at high temperature and pressure. The real connection is growing up outdoors. I love being outside.”
Even in high school, Snell was already interested in chemistry, science, and sustainability. As she tried to settle on a major, Snell talked with several faculty members, particularly George Hilley and Ayla Pamukcu in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, who persuaded her that their field was a great way to go for someone with her interests.
In 2021, Snell joined Pamukcu’s lab modeling the thermodynamics of basaltic systems. She enjoys learning to understand and predict volcanic eruptions, but especially how that knowledge can be used to mitigate hazards to nearby communities by providing early warnings of potential eruptions.
On the doorstep of her degree, Snell completes a circle by tying her interests in volcanic activity to large Earth system challenges like climate change. Volcanic eruptions emit greenhouse gases and the ability to study that connection is meaningful to Snell.
“The volcanic systems and magmatic processes that I’ve studied at Stanford can have a really large effect on the planet and society,” she says.
As for what’s next, Snell has planned a gap year before applying to graduate school to study igneous petrology, where she hopes to earn her doctorate. “I’d love to be a professor and a researcher someday,” she says.
Looking back at her expectations of Stanford as someone who had never visited California, Snell says she was pleasantly surprised to learn that the university and the Golden State are not vast urban cityscapes, but beautiful and wide open. She discovered that openness among people, too.“One thing that was unexpected is just how collaborative the people here are,” Snell says. “From the students to the professors, everyone has been so inviting.”
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