Elizabeth W. Boyer, Ph.D.

Scientific Interests:  hydrology, atmospheric deposition, climate, coastal zone, critical zone, ecosystems, earth & environmental sciences, food-energy-water nexus, forests, freshwater, groundwater, STEM education, sustainability.

Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar (publications & citations)
Profiles from Penn State and AGU Ecohydrology
AGU Witherspoon Lecture (mid-career award)
Twitter (academic & science related posts)
Research & Training (field & lab studies gallery) 
Outreach (let's talk about water gallery)

Research:  My research explores natural and anthropogenic processes affecting watersheds, the water cycle, and water quality.  Much of my work focuses on status and trends of chemical constituents in surface and ground waters-- as influenced by landscape characteristics, climatic variability, atmospheric deposition, and watershed management.  I approach research from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together expertise from universities, government agencies, and industry; and have worked with over 350 collaborators from around the world on my publications.  Students & staff in my research group conduct projects involving field observations, laboratory studies, and ecological/hydrological modeling. Such work provides a scientific basis for policies and management strategies to mitigate the effects of environmental pollution and to protect, conserve, and restore water resources.

Service: Toward communicating scientific information, I participate in conferences and public events, provide scientific perspectives, engage in citizen science activities, and make Congressional visits.  I am a member of advisory committees of the US Environmental Protection Agency considering air pollution and water resources.  I serve on the National Academies committee reviewing the New York City Watershed Protection Program.  I am an Editor of the international journal Hydrological Processes.  I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Universities Council on Water Resources and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrological Sciences.  I lead one of the 54 centers comprising the National Institutes for Water Resources.  

Advising:  I enjoy working with students toward meeting their academic and professional goals.  I advise undergraduates in the Watershed Option of the Forest Management Major and the Water Science Option of the Environmental Resources Management major.  I advise graduate students in various degree programs suited to their interests, including Ecology, Environmental Pollution Control, Fisheries Science, Forest Resources, and Soil Science.  I participate in dual-title interdisciplinary graduate education programs in Biogeochemistry, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources & the Environment, and International Agriculture.  Graduate students in my research group are standing on the shoulders of giants as part of hydrogeologist Irwin Remson's Academic Family Tree! Prospective students should contact me to discuss opportunities.  Find us at Beth's office (304 Forest Resources Building), grad student offices (234 Forest Resources Building), water quality lab (329 Forest Resources Building), or atmospheric deposition lab (201 Forest Resources Laboratory).  

Courses: 

• Watershed Hydrology & Management (FOR 470, spring 2017)
• Research Scholarship, Integrity, and Communication (ESM 597, spring 2017 & spring 2018)
• Limnology (WFS/ERM 435, fall 2017 & fall 2018)
• Colloquium in Ecosystem Science & Management (ESM 590, fall 2017 & spring 2018) 

Some Current Projects:

• Pennsylvania Atmospheric Deposition Research Program
• River Corridor Hot Spots for Biogeochemical Processing: a Continental Scale Synthesis
• Coupled Hydrological, Geological, and Ecological Processes Controlling Water Quality in Critical Zone Observatory Watersheds
• Chesapeake Research Consortium
• Quantifying Nitrogen Flows, Threats, and Benefits at Global and Regional Scales