Julia Cronin ’25 Earns Fulbright Study/Research Award

Julia Cronin ’25 has earned a Fulbright study/research award to Denmark, giving her the opportunity to spend the 2025-26 academic year conducting research on ice cores with Dr. Helle Astrid Kjær at the Niels Bohr Institute.

“Our work will aim to identify trace impurities linked to forest fires, volcanoes, and sea ice extent during past periods of rapid warming,” says Cronin, a chemistry and environmental studies graduate from Bethesda, Maryland. “With more knowledge of climate systems, we can indicate what might happen in our current climate crisis.” 

While in Denmark, Julia will take master’s-level courses at the University of Copenhagen in the Master of Science in Climate Change program. “I am very excited to get involved with the research community in Copenhagen and reconnect with people I met while studying abroad there a couple of years ago,” she adds.

At Oberlin, Julia conducted research with Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Shuming Chen and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Matt Elrod. She worked as a Living Machine operator/lab manager, monitoring water quality throughout the wastewater treatment process. She was also a peer tutor in the intro-level chemistry sequence and held several leadership positions in her three-year tenure playing ultimate frisbee with the Preying Manti.

How did Oberlin shape or influence you to pursue the Fulbright?
When I came to Oberlin, I didn’t know I wanted to do research or pursue a STEM career. I was very inspired by my first chemistry class here and immediately got more involved in the chemistry community through tutoring and research. 

After taking organic chemistry with Shuming Chen, I started conducting independent research in her lab. From this experience, I learned how exciting it is to solve unknown problems and how to pick up new skills quickly. 

My courses in environmental chemistry and atmospheric chemistry led me to an environmental studies major, which focused my trajectory toward environmentalism. 

With the flexibility in the environmental studies program and chemistry department, I was able to study abroad in Copenhagen, taking my first class on ice cores, glaciology, and climate change. In this course, I learned about the theories behind ice core climate science, but couldn’t apply them to actual lab work. 

Since returning to Oberlin, I continued building my environmental chemistry skills in class, through independent research with Professor Matt Elrod and with an REU summer internship at Arizona State University with Dr. Pierre Herckes. 

Through the fellowships office, I learned that the Fulbright program wasn’t just for teaching English and that project proposals can include conducting research abroad. I instantly knew that I wanted to try to return to Copenhagen and work in an ice core lab.

I am very grateful for the help from the fellowships office in connecting me with this program and assisting me throughout the process, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to apply the skills I’ve learned in labs at Oberlin to such an important part of understanding climate history. 

How does pursuing the Fulbright align with your post-college life and career goals? 
My current career goals are to work on environmental chemistry research, ensuring our world is safe for future generations. My Fulbright projects provide a unique experience to work in a leading ice core research group on a project directly focused on this lifelong goal. Additionally, it will give me key research experience, which I hope to use in a future PhD program. The master’s-level courses will expand my knowledge of the field and prepare me for future studies. 

What’s the best advice you’ve received from your Oberlin faculty mentors? 
There is too much advice to name just one thing! I have greatly appreciated the mentorship, teaching, and guidance from my research advisors, Professor Chen and Professor Elrod, and my manager at Living Machine, Ben Hobbs. Whenever I reached out to them for help, they were encouraging and supportive.

If you’re a rising or graduating senior interested in Fulbright, connect with Fellowships & Awards to learn more about pursuing research or an arts project, obtaining a graduate degree, or teaching English in a foreign country of your choice following graduation.