Kate Swanger

Kate Swanger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, affiliated with the Kennedy College of Sciences and the Climate Change Initiative. Her research focuses on Earth surface processes and paleoclimatology, particularly glacial geology, permafrost dynamics, and high-latitude climate change in Antarctica. She holds a Ph.D. in Geomorphology from Boston University (2009) and a B.S. in Anthropology from the University of Oregon (2002).

Swanger’s work combines field experiments and numerical modeling to study Antarctic ice sheet responses to climate change, buried glacier ice in permafrost, and rock glacier records of glacial advances. She has received prestigious awards including the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (2004) and academic honors such as Phi Beta Kappa (2002).

Her grants include NSF-funded projects on Antarctic rock glaciers and multi-nuclide approaches to climatic variability. Research themes emphasize quantifying earth surface processes, understanding Holocene glacial dynamics, and preserving climate archives in permafrost regions. Collaborations with institutions like Boston University and NASA underscore her interdisciplinary approach to polar climate science.