Titles

• Graduate Student, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation

Biography

Education
B.I.S. Environmental Geography and American Indian Studies, Arizona State University
M.A.S. Geography Information Systems/Science, Arizona State University

Sophia Beym is an enrolled member of the Dine Nation. Her family still lives on the reservation in Rock Point and Tuba City, because of this strong relationship to her homeland, her focus is upon promoting renewable energy resources as it applies to tribal economic development. She is an active member of the Ecological Society of America through the Strategies for Ecological Education, Development and Sustainability (SEEDS) program where she is now serving as a mentor for undergraduate students. This wonderful program is "intended to promote the participation of underrepresented students in the field of ecology." Sophia is the member of five national honor societies.

Research focus includes:
Epidemiological GIS for Church Rock, New Mexico. Based upon the chemical analysis of water samples, a predictive GIS will determine if ingesting well water influences a community health risk. And, UV-B radiation study in urban heat island (UHI) schoolyard ecosystems. Using field observations and measurements along with remote sensing data, dynamic UV-B readings from Central Arizona–Phoenix, UHI schoolyards will establish a relationship between geographic codes and socioeconomic factors — does this attribute a higher exposure of UV-B in lower socioeconomic schoolyard ecosystems and does it affect academic performance.