Adelka Hancova earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science at UC San Diego, but soon realized that her role in the climate movement required understanding the issue through a STEM lens. She went on to pursue an M.A.S. in Climate Science and Policy at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Rhew and Dr. Deheyn, Adelka completed her capstone, Detecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Textile Waste under Ultraviolet Weathering: An Emerging Climate Impact of the Fast Fashion Industry. Her lab experiment tested whether polyester and cotton textiles emit measurable amounts of CH₄, CO₂, and CO under ultraviolet light alone, using an LGR analyzer. Because a growing share of the world’s discarded clothing ends up in the Global South, she also collected air samples and flux chamber measurements at large textile dumpsites in Accra, Ghana, which she then analyzed back in the lab on the LGR and Picarro analyzers.

Adelka is now pursuing an MSc in Sustainability and Circular Economy at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, where she is expanding her work on textile waste through life cycle assessment.