As director of the office of undergraduate research, Pascale Poussart leads a variety of campuswide efforts and initiatives designed to enhance the quality and visibility of the undergraduate research experience as an integral component of a Princeton education. Ongoing projects include: working with departments to articulate the goals and expectations for undergraduate independent work and assess student learning; to develop, promote and implement practices designed to enhance the educational value of independent work such as the Independent Work Mentors Program; to expand the range of faculty-mentored research opportunities for undergraduates; to identify and publicize funding available to support undergraduate research and participation in academic conferences; to manage the approval process for undergraduate internships and educational programs; to develop workshops and other resources for undergraduate students around research methods, protocols and issues related to research integrity and ethics. 

A graduate of McGill University (B.S., 1996), Pascale Poussart earned a master's degree in earth and ocean sciences (M.Sc., 1999) at the University of Victoria where she was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal for Best Masters Thesis and doctorate in earth and planetary sciences (Ph.D., 2004) at Harvard University where she received the Teresa Heinz Environmental Scholars Award. She continued doing research in the earth sciences, first as a NOSAMS postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2004-06) and then as a Hess associate research scholar in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University (2006-08). In 2008, she joined the Princeton Environmental Institute where, as the assistant director of energy initiatives, she administered the Carbon Mitigation Initiative and Siebel Energy Challenge programs. Working with faculty, staff and students, she led the development and implementation of research and education initiatives around energy and climate, including faculty-mentored undergraduate summer internships and the Princeton Energy and Climate Scholars (PECS) graduate student group. She has been an undergraduate academic adviser in Whitman College since 2008.

Appointments

When classes are in session, the director of undergraduate research holds weekly office hours for Princeton undergraduate students interested in research. Students are encouraged to schedule via WASS.