Ayse Akyildiz

Ayse Akyildiz is a Ph.D. student in Rural Sociology and Demography at Pennsylvania State University, under the advisement of Dr. Guangqing Chi. Ayse’s research focuses on how climate change and variabilities impact food security and migration, particularly in the rural and Indigenous communities of the U.S. and Canadian Arctic. She has participated in multiple projects funded by the National Science Foundation as a graduate assistant, during which she participated in data collection efforts aimed at investigating environmental, social, and infrastructure changes and visited Indigenous communities.  These experiences have profoundly shaped her research trajectory and commitment to community-centered research. Ayse has co-authored research on topics such as environment and migration, transportation, and tourism. Her dissertation investigates the impacts of climate change on subsistence and market-based food systems, as well as the complex decisions rural residents face about whether to stay or leave their homes. Ayse is trained in qualitative, quantitative, demographic, and spatial methods to answer her research questions. In October 2024, she was selected to participate in a transdisciplinary research training in a rural community in the Canadian Arctic and onboard the Canadian research icebreaker, CCGS Amundsen.