Past Lab Members

Post-Doctoral Scholars

Dr. Alex Ireland
Project Title: Ecological Sites in Forested, Northern Appalachian Landscapes, USA

  • Senior Environmental Scientist, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc.

Dr. Jasmeet Lamba Project Title: The Fertilizer Forecaster

  • Assistant Professor, Biosystems Engineering Department, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Graduate Students

Shauna Kay Rainford Graduate Student (PhD Ecology)

Thesis Title: An integrative assessment of soil organic carbon dynamics in wetland environments

  • Postdoctoral Scholar with Prof. Dr. Willy Tinner - Institute of Plant Sciences - Universität Bern

Nico Navarro Graduate Student (M.S. Soil Science)

Thesis Title: Using soil chemical properties and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) forage nutrients to refine forested, northern Appalachian ecological sites

  • Environmental Scientist in Los Angeles, CA area

Lauren Vitko Graduate Student (PhD Soil Science)

Thesis Title: Predictive mapping of soil restrictive layers using topographic relationships and geophysical tools

  • Agricultural Science Research Technician, USDA-ARS, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research, Kimberley, Idaho

Cody Fink Graduate Student (M.S. Soil Science) Thesis Title: Dynamic soil property change in response to natural gas development in Pennsylvania

  • Environmental Scientist in Sacramento, CA area

Katherine Lindeburg Graduate Student (M.S. Soil Science)
Thesis Title: Silty Mantles and Fragipans in Pennsylvania Soils

Emilie Erich Graduate Student (M.S. Soil Science)
Research Topic: The extent and characterization of subaqueous soils of Black Moshannon: Mercury distribution in the Black Moshannon drainage basin.

  • Currently employed by the Montana Dept. of Agriculture.

Maureen Yonivitz Graduate Student (M.S. Geosciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Thesis Title: Pedogenesis of Vesicular Horizons in Disturbed Soils.

Joshua Boxell Graduate Student (M.S. Geosciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Thesis Title: Soil Hydrological and Physical Changes Due to Bromus tectorum L.(Cheatgrass) Establishment in Northern Nevada, USA.

Peggy Elliott Graduate Student (M.S. Geosciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Thesis Title: Clay accumulation and argillic-horizon development as influenced by aeolian deposition vs. local parent material on quartzite and limestone-derived alluvial fans.

Undergraduate Students

Dan Wesdock Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Pennsylvania deer-forest interaction study.

Nancy Bao Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Vernal pool biogeochemistry in northern Appalachians.

  • MS Student, Duke University

Anne McGraw Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Pennsylvania deer-forest interaction study.

  • MS Student, Univ. Kentucky

Nicole Rella Undergraduate Student (B.S. Agricultural Engineering)
Project title: Pennsylvania deer-forest interaction study.

  • Environmental Engineer, Pittsburgh, PA

Anna Schwyter Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Vernal pool biogeochemistry in the northern Appalachians.

  • MS Student, Univ. Wyoming

Katie Speicher Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Vernal pool biogeochemistry in the northern Appalachians.

  • Farm technician, Virginia

Mark Younkins Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Pennsylvania deer-forest interaction study.

Matt Drohan Undergraduate Student (B.S. Biology)
Project title: Vernal pool biogeochemistry in the northern Appalachians.

  • Executive, Amazon, Long Island

Derick Bartram Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Total Hg in former subaqueous soils of an Appalachian reservoir.

Kaitlyn Benson Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Wetland ecosystem disturbance

  • Received M.S. degree at Ohio State Univ.

Eric Bevacqua Undergraduate student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt. in progress)
Project title: Forested Ecological Sites and browse relationships with white-tailed deer.

Taylor Blackman Undergraduate student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)

  • MS Student, Penn State

Ben Bullock Undergraduate Student (B.S. Geoscience)
Project title: Extent of carbon additions in soils of 19th century furnace, charcoal pits

Kathryn Clark Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Honor Course Project: Development of a soil morphology GPR library for Pennsylvania soils.

  • Received M.S. degree at the Univ. Delaware with Dr. Amy Shober.

April Doroski Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Marcellus Shale infrastructure landscape effects on ecosystems

  • former Environmental Scientist in Eastern PA
  • Received M.S. degree at the Univ. Connecticut.

John Driscoll Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Marcellus Shale infrastructure landscape effects on ecosystems

  • Currently employed as a soil scientist in the NY City area

Mitch Fleming Undergraduate Student (B.S. Ag. Sciences)
Project title: Marcellus Shale infrastructure landscape effects on ecosystems; Forecasting runoff in Pennsylvania Landscapes

  • Currently employed as a soil scientist in western Pennsylvania.

Jacob Gogno Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Marcellus Shale infrastructure landscape effects on ecosystems; Forecasting runoff in Pennsylvania Landscapes

  • Received M.S. degree at Penn State in Ag Engineering with Dr. Chip Elliott.

Kylie Hint Undergraduate student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt. in progress)
Project title: Periglacial controls on Valley and Ridge restrictive layer genesis.

Jennifer Kellogg Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Research Topic: Biogeochemistry of vernal pools

Alex Lin Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Research Topic: Aeolian contributions to soils along a hydrocatena on the Allegheny Plateau

Dan Lawler Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Total mercury pools in soils across Pennsylvania

  • Received M.S. degree at Penn State with Dr. Beth Boyer.

Lalita Limpichart Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Biogeochemistry of vernal pools

  • Currently employed by USDA-NRCS

Anne Mcgraw Undergraduate student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt. in progress)
Project title: Forested Ecological Sites and browse relationships with white-tailed deer.

Kyle Medash Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Marcellus Shale infrastructure landscape effects on ecosystems.

  • Currently employed as a soil scientist with Hanover Engineering

Maggie Norton Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Research Topic: Gigapan imagery of soil monoliths to enhance distance learning of soil science.

Ben Moorehead Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Soil Sci.)
Research Topic: Characterization of surface crust mineralogy and morphology in an acid mine drainage kill zone.

Mia Rager Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Landscape change associated with historical and current land-use practices

Nicole Rella Undergraduate student (B.S. Biological Engineering in progress)
Project title: Forested Ecological Sites and browse relationships with white-tailed deer.

Katie Speicher Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Topic: Biogeochemistry of vernal pools

  • Currently with the Peace Corps in Senegal, Africa

Anna Schwyter Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Topic: Biogeochemistry of vernal pools

  • Currently an agronomist with a medical marijuana grower in California.

Bethany Thatcher Undergraduate student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt. in progress)
Project title: Forested Ecological Sites and browse relationships with white-tailed deer.

Devon Turner Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Project title: Soil moisture and temperature patterns in New England organic orchards.

  • Currently employed by USDA-NRCS

Bill Wall Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Res. Mgmt.)
Research Topic: Wetland ecosystem disturbance.

  • Currently employed in Georgia starting online MS at Auburn Univ.

Austin Young Undergraduate Student (B.S. Env. Soil Sci.)
Research Topic: Aeolian parent material contributions to a Pre-Wisconsinan and Late Wisconsinan colluvial soil.

  • Currently employed as a soil scientist with Hanover Engineering