Mara Freilich

Mara Freilich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences and Applied Mathematics at Brown University. Her research focuses on the interplay between physical oceanography and microbial ecology, particularly how ocean processes like fronts and eddies influence carbon cycling and nutrient distributions. She integrates numerical models, observational data, and remote sensing to advance predictive understanding of climate impacts. Freilich is also committed to environmental justice, engaging community groups to apply climate science for equitable solutions.

Her affiliations include the Freilich Lab and cross-disciplinary collaborations within Brown’s Applied Mathematics program. Recent work includes leading the "From Feeding to Flux" project funded by Scialog: Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems (2025), exploring ocean carbon flow through animal behavior. She advocates for diversity in geosciences, publishing studies on underrepresented faculty recruitment challenges.

Research highlights include studies on the Salton Sea’s environmental degradation, Antarctic winter water dynamics, and submesoscale ocean processes. She emphasizes bridging theory and observation, leveraging tools like the EcoCTD instrument for real-time ocean profiling.