Natalie Ceperley is an interdisciplinary ecohydrologist with training spanning the biological, physical and social sciences. She holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Biology with an interdisciplinary concentration in Global Development Studies from Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA (2003, USA), a Master's of Environmental Science with a graduate certificate in African Studies from Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, CT (2008, USA) and Ph.D. from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2014, EPFL, CH) in environmental engineering.
Over the course of her education, she spent significant time in the field. In the Americas, she worked on conservation issues in Iowa, California, Minnesota, Alaska and Belize. In West Africa, first she studied in Senegal, then she taught environmental education during a U.S. Peace Corps Service in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, then she researched traditional environmental knowledge, botany and sacred sites as a Fulbright Scholar in the Republic of Benin and finally she carried out her doctoral work in Burkina Faso. Her Ph.D. thesis on the ecohydrology of the savanna-agricultural interface is among the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary studies in West Africa that brought together stable isotopes of water, wireless sensor networks, eddy-covariance and participatory workshops and outreach
Natalie's post-doctoral work brought her into new collaborations and groups at EPFL, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, to the University of Lausanne, and finally to the Geography Institute at the University of Bern. During her first postdoctoral position with Dr. Andrea Rinaldo, she contributed her West African field expertise to an effort to improve understanding and prediction of waterborne diseases, especially schistosomiasis, with cutting-edge modeling in Burkina Faso based on real time hydrologic data and participatory outreach. During her subsequent postdoctoral position, she transferred her competence for field work in hard-to-access locations to new frontiers by joining a project led by Dr. Bettina Schaefli in the Swiss Alps (Vallon de Nant, Vaud). Her current research uses stable isotopes and novel tracers (environmental DNA) to improve understanding of Alpine hydrology, specifically on the impact of forest expansion and changing snow cover. Her most recent research, in collaboration with the Bern University of Applied Sciences -Forestry Program, examines the hydrological consequences of wood harvesting on steep slopes.
Natalie’s passion is for field research that simultaneously uses cutting-edge technology and empowers people to take charge of management of their environment. Throughout her education and research, Natalie has particularly enjoyed working with students and teaching. Ultimately, she hopes her work renders human society and natural ecosystems more resilient.
