Ariel Pezner

Dr. Ariel Pezner is a Chancellor's Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), affiliated with the Faculty of Science and the Climate Change Cluster (C3). Her research focuses on climate change impacts on tropical coral reefs, particularly ocean deoxygenation and coral resilience under environmental stressors. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science (summa cum laude) from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UC San Diego), supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Her work bridges marine biogeochemistry and conservation, emphasizing how natural environmental gradients influence organismal responses to climate change. Key research interests include coral reef carbonate chemistry dynamics, hypoxia effects, and promoting equity in STEM fields.

Dr. Pezner’s recent studies explore coral mortality events, multi-stressor experiments, and global hypoxia trends. She has been recognized with the 2022 Chancellor's Dissertation Medal and the Edward A. Frieman Prize for her doctoral research. Prior to UTS, she was a Smithsonian/Link Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Marine Station.

• Awards: Chancellor's Dissertation Medal (2022), Edward A. Frieman Prize, NSF Graduate Fellowship
• Labs/Teams: Climate Change Cluster (C3) at UTS, Scripps Institution of Oceanography