Faraz Gorginpaveh, Ph.D. student
Research interests/activities:
Hi. I am Faraz. I graduated from University of Tehran. My major was Hydraulics. Then expanded my knowledge to Hydrology and Water Resources Management. I also did some wastewater treatment and desalination. These studies were in experimental simulations, remote sensing, and modeling. Today, I am expanding my knowledge in Biogeochemistry. I am a numerical modelist working with PnET-BGC trying to understand the forest behaviors in absorbing CO2, nutrients, and water during climate change. Also, I have started Machine Learning and will use it in my research. I am working on Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Adirondack lakes, and hopefully I will work on tropical jungles as well. Here is my personal website which is under development. I am very excited about my research. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Qasim Mehdi, Ph.D. student
Research interests/activities:
We are analyzing the health and ecosystem threats of different carbon policies: rollback of Clean Power Plan (CPP) with Alternative Clean Energy (ACE), accelerated CPP, carbon tax at national level, carbon trading at national level and business as usual with carbon sequestration. We are quantitatively analyzing how each policy impacts emissions of air toxics both on state and national level with respect to their cost and risks under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. This research can help policy makers determine which policy has environmental justice and economically viability to and protect our ecosystems and the health of our communities.
Nicholas LoRusso, Ph.D. student
Research interests/activities
Nicholas is from Syracuse, NY and earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry, from SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry. He joined Syracuse University’s Civil & Environmental Engineering Department in May 2016 as a laboratory technician. He’s led the collection and chemical analysis of stream and soil water at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest under the direction of Dr. Charles Driscoll. Also during that time he completed his Master’s in Environmental Engineering Science. His research currently focuses on seasonal fluxes and characterization of dissolved organic matter in both calcium-treated and reference watersheds.
Connor Olson, Ph.D. student
Research interests/activities
I earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in biology at Middle Tennessee State University. My previous work focused on investigating anthropogenic stressors in remote Appalachian Mountain streams, with an emphasis on mercury. Much of this work has involved the use of riparian spiders as bioindicators of mercury flux from aquatic to terrestrial systems via emergent aquatic insects. Papers and biographic information
Laura Markley, Ph.D. Student
Research interests/activities
Laura Markley has a B.S. in Environmental Earth Science from Eastern Connecticut State University and her M.S. in Earth & Environmental Science from Lehigh University. She is interested in the impacts of natural and anthropogenic contaminants in water on human and environmental health. Her research is focused on the impact of plastic pollution along its life cycle, from everyday plastic use and release of endocrine disrupting compounds, to waste generation and potential release into the environment as microplastics. She is also founder of Waste-Free PhD, a website and social media platform aimed at communicating the science around sustainability and promoting waste reduction. Papers and biographic information
Caitlin Eger, Ph.D. Student
Research interests and activities
I am developing and testing causal ecological models in urban settings using green stormwater infrastructure as an experimental ecological unit. More generally, I use data science tools to analyze and visualize multivariate environmental datasets, and consult with other researchers to support their projects using my background in environmental science and engineering. LinkedIn
Amy Sauer, Ph.D. Student
Research interests/activities
My current research focuses on the production and transfer of methylmercury through terrestrial food webs across the northeastern landscape. Using selected songbird and invertebrate prey species, I will examine and compare patterns of methylmercury bioaccumulation within northern hardwood forests, high-elevation boreal forests, and Sphagnum bog habitats in the Adirondack Park of New York State. Additional data collected from long-term, ecological research sites in the northeastern United States will be utilized to determine the relationships between mercury deposition and regional patterns of environmental health. Papers and biographic information.
