Patricia Beddows, Ph.D.

Class of:  2021

Patricia Beddows is dedicated to caves and karst landscapes, which provide 25% of the world’s drinking water supplies. Early research included chaining oceanographic instruments in the flooded cave systems of the Yucatan Peninsula. The challenges motivated her to develop the open-source Cave Pearl Loggers, in part to remove the financial barriers to underwater monitoring everywhere. Her Yucatan observatory includes more than 100 loggers tracking groundwater from the jungle through to the barrier reef. Patricia regularly provides public education, scientific advising, and has been on expeditions with the support of National Geographic in Belize, Bahamas, and Mexico. Patricia is on the faculty at Northwestern University.