Melissa Lau
Melissa is pursuing her M.S. at the Earth and Environment Department at FIU under the guidance of Dr. Anderson. She graduated from Miami Dade College with an A.A. in Environmental Studies and from FIU with a B.A. in Sustainability in the Environment. She is exploring the field of Environmental Psychology, which studies the relationship between the natural environment and human behavior as well as how they affect one another. Specifically, she is interested in place attachment and place-based meanings of natural and urban landscapes and how these embodied emotions and attachments influence behavior and overall environmental concern. As an intern in the Tropical Rivers Lab, she worked on a water conservation survey that examined the motivations and obstacles college students living on and off campus go through when it comes to conserving water. Her current work focuses on examining the place-based meanings and attachments of urban riverscapes, specifically the meanings and attachments South Florida residents have regarding the Miami River. With this work, she hopes to place greater emphasis on the psychological aspects of environmental attitudes and perceptions and to integrate these meanings into environmental management policies.
Contact: mlau006@fiu.edu