Current GATES Members by Program
We currently define membership as any persons currently enrolled Graduate Students at the University of Maryland advised by Department of Environmental Science and Technology (ENST) Faculty, whether or not ENST is their primary program. Students enrolled in the fall, winter, spring, and/or summer semesters are eligible for membership. There are no dues or attendance requirements for membership.
ENST - Soil and Watershed Sciences
Grace Bodine (She/Her):
- Broadly speaking, my research is on iron and manganese oxidation-reduction dynamics in wetland soils. Specifically, I am using Indicator of Reduction in Soils (IRIS) films to document anaerobic soil conditions in wetland restoration sites. I am using IRIS films as a tool to evaluate the ecological and functional success of these restoration sites in developing soils with saturated and reducing conditions (hydric soils). In the lab, I am focusing on the primary drivers of iron and manganese reduction and understanding their impacts on these processes using microcosm experiments.
- Program: MS Student, 1st Year
- Advisor: Dr. Rabenhorst
- Email: [email protected]
- Websites: www.linkedin.com/in/grace-bodine; https://mobile.twitter.com/gmbodine
- I am an agronomist studying edge-of-field nitrogen losses in surface runoff, tile drainage, and ditch drainage from working farms across Maryland.
- Program: PhD Student, 2nd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Toor
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyckennedy
- My work is focused on Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their fate and distribution within higher order plants.
- Program: Master’s, 1st Year
- Advisor: Dr. Duncan
- Email: [email protected]
- I study cover crop management effects on nitrogen leaching and N use efficiency
- Program: MS Student, 2nd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Weil
- Email: [email protected]
ENST - Ecological Technology Design
Kirk Mahoney (He/Him):
- I research novel applications of renewable energy technologies including Anaerobic Digestion, Microbial Electrolysis cells, electrocoagulation, hydrodynamic cavitation.
- Program: MS Student, 2nd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Hassanein
- Email: [email protected]
- I study bioplastic production using anaerobic and microaerophillic digestion of food waste. I also study methane production efficiency of anaerobically digested poultry litter.
- Program: 4+1 MS Student, 1st Year
- Advisor: Dr. Lansing
- Email: [email protected]
- I study ecosystem service multi functionality in stormwater green infrastructure.
- Program: PhD Student
- Advisor: Dr. Pavao-Zuckerman
- My research interest in urban ecology and ecosystem services. To be more specific, I am studying in the assessment and evaluation of the function of green infrastructure and stormwater control managements,such as contaminant removal and runoff reduction, and their impacts on the natural water bodies over time and space in the urban settings.
- Program: PhD Student, 3rd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Pavao-Zuckerman
- Email: [email protected]
- My research utilizes watershed hydrological modeling in SWAT and artificial neural networks to provide stakeholders the tools they need to make the best decisions in water resources management.
- Program: MS Student, 1st Year
- Advisor: Dr. Negahban-Azar
- Email: [email protected]
ENST - Ecosystem Health and Natural Resource Management
Andrew East (He/Him):
Dan Herrera (He/Him):
- I quantify and model PFAS mixture exposure and effects in a model mammal to avian system.
- Program: PhD, 1st Year
- Advisor: Dr. Yonkos
- Email: [email protected]
Dan Herrera (He/Him):
- I study how animals respond to urbanization directly (e.g., the physical form of the city) and indirectly (e.g., noise pollution, invasive species common in urban areas, etc.), and how we can use that knowledge to build wildlife-friendly cities in the future.
- Program: PhD Student, 3rd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Gallo
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.herrerawildlife.com
- I am a community ecologist interested in anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem structure and function; I am especially passionate about research with relevance for resource management, environmental justice, and sustainable policy. Currently, I am researching the relationship between urban green space and medically important mosquito species across socioeconomic gradients in Baltimore and DC.
- Program: PhD Student, 4th Year
- Advisor: Dr. Leisnham
- Email: [email protected]
- Websites: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahrothman/; www.leisnham.org
- I am an urban ecologist with an interest in invasive species. I am currently researching the impacts of the vine Hedera helix (English Ivy), which is invasive to the United States, on urban forest patch health in Baltimore.
- Program: 4+1 MS Student, 2nd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Pavao-Zuckerman
- Email: [email protected]
- I am an aquatic toxicologist studying adaptive tradeoffs and resilience of mummichog (minnow species) in urban (contaminated) tidal rivers in the context of environmental health.
- Laboratory assay development and validation: response of embryo-eleutro embryo resident and surrogate minnow species to whole-sediments spiked with persistent organic pollutants.
- Biomonitoring reproductive health via ovarian assessments, quantifying reproductive output in field-collected adults .
- Program: 4+1 MS Student, 2nd Year.
- Advisor: Dr. Lance Yonkos.
- Mentors: Dr. Alfred Pinkney, Dr. Wolfgang Vogelbein.
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alevaz
- I am studying the potential for stormwater green infrastructure to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change in Maryland.
- Program: 4+1 Master’s, 2nd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Pavao-Zuckerman
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mairead-wj/
ENST - Wetland Sciences
Nora Hamovit (She/Her):
- I study soil microbial ecology and methane biogeochemistry of restored wetlands.
- Program: PhD, 5th Year
- Advisor: Dr. Yarwood
- Email: [email protected]
- I am interested in soil science, particularly pedology. I have also had great experiences working in wetlands and with wetlands soils. My research involves both of these topics; I study tidal marsh soils and how different types of marshes store varying quantities of C.
- Program: MS Student, 3rd Year
- Advisor: Dr. Rabenhorst
- Email: [email protected]