Dr. Georgianne Moore
Ecohydrology
REU Program Lead, Associate Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
REU research topic: the role of vegetation in the water cycle and how global change affects water resources; evapotranspiration patterns and processes at leaf-to-stand-to-watershed scales.
Background: seeks to better understand the role of evapotranspiration (ET) in the water budget of tropical forests and how ET varies at leaf to-landscape scales and with forest management. Dr. Moore will apply innovative techniques to reveal moisture capture and evapotranspiration patterns and processes that relate to broader issues of forest productivity, biodiversity, deforestation, and climate change.
For REU inquiry: tamu.costaricareu.application@gmail.com
Dr. Kelly Brumbelow
Hydrology
REU Program Co-Leader, Associate Professor, Water Resources Engineering
REU research topic: water resources planning and management, streamflow monitoring
Background: Dr. Kelly Brumbelow is a water resources engineer with expertise in streamflow hydrology (i.e., streamflow and sediment transport) and hydraulics as well as water resources planning and management. In addition to his past REU work at the Soltis Center and his role as TAMU Civil Engineering Assistant Department Head for Undergraduate Programs, he serves as a technical mentor to the Texas A&M chapter of Engineers Without Borders, which has built multiple infrastructure projects in the adjacent community.
Dr. Gretchen Miller
Ecohydrology – Subsurface Hydrology
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
REU research topic: quantifying the interactions and feedbacks within the tropical soil-plant-atmosphere continuum.
Background: Dr. Gretchen Miller is a water resources engineer specializing in geo-ecohydrology. Her research focuses on quantifying the interactions and feedbacks between groundwater and vegetation, developing methods to measure and model plant and stand scale water fluxes. Dr. Miller is the lead PI on Improving Land-Surface Modeling of Evapotranspiration Processes in Tropical Forests at the Soltis Center with Drs. Cahill and Moore.
Dr. Tony Cahill
Hydrology
REU Director, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
REU research topic: hydrologic measurement technologies for a rough, vegetated terrain
Background: Dr. Anthony Cahill is a civil and environmental engineer with interests in stream hydrology, runoff generation, evaporation and environmental instrumentation. Dr. Cahill will advise student research into parameterizations of land-atmosphere exchange. In his instrument development work, Dr. Cahill is particularly interested in working with students to develop hydrologic measurement technologies for a rough, vegetated terrain.
Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez
Director of TAMU Soltis Center for Research and Education
REU research topic: logistics coordination and tropical forest ecology
Background: Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez has more than 25 years of experience with international environmental research programs and author and coauthor in numerous publications on tropical forests. Most of his research is related to reforestation and restoration of tropical areas, watershed management, and sustainable eco-agriculture. He has also coordinated and led pioneering projects on wetland and forest restoration in Costa Rica.
Dr. Mark Everett
Geophysics
Professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics
REU research topic: field geophysical studies on the subsurface hydraulic properties of the watershed using GPR and EM Induction
Background: Dr. Mark Everett is a near-surface applied geophysicist specializing in electrical, magnetic, and electromagnetic techniques for imaging the shallow subsurface to depths of ~30-100 m. Dr Everett will advise students conducting field geophysical studies on the subsurface hydraulic properties of the watershed.
Dr. Peter Knappett
Hydrogeology
Assistant Professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics
REU research topic: transport of dissolved and particulate contaminants in groundwater; regional groundwater budgets and processes that negatively impact water quality.
Background: Dr. Peter Knappett is an experimental hydrogeologist who studies the transport of dissolved and particulate contaminants in groundwater. His work includes calculating regional groundwater quantity budgets and studying processes which negatively impact water quality.
Dr. Wendy Jepson
Human-environmental interaction
Associate Professor, Department of Geography
REU research topic: political ecology and environmental governance with particular focus on environmental justice and water resources in Latin America
Background: Dr. Wendy Jepson is a human-environment geographer with expertise in water governance whose NSF-supported research examines formal and informal domestic water provisioning systems and household water security in rural and peri-urban communities along the US-Mexico border and in cities of Northeastern Brazil. Dr. Jepson will help students consider the coupled biophysical processes and social systems through assessment of community-based water governance (ASADAS) and household water security in selected valley communities.
Dr. Michelle Lawing
Climate Change Biology – Paleobiogeography – Morphometrics
Assistant Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
REU research topic: climate effects on the spatial distribution of species
Background: Dr. Michelle Lawing studies how species and communities respond to environmental change through time. Her work includes the investigation of geographic, evolutionary, and morphological responses of both species and communities to environmental changes in the past, present, and future using methods such as species distribution modeling (SDMs), geometric morphometrics (GMs), and phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs).
Dr. Christian Birkel
Hydrology
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose
REU research topic: catchment hydrology and the measurement and modelling of streamflow generation and biogeochemical processes.
Background: As a hydrologic modeler, Birkel has been studying tropical forest hydrology in Costa Rica since 2011. His research focuses on catchment hydrology and the measurement and modelling of streamflow generation and biogeochemical processes. Insights can be applied to assess the impacts of stream regulation and environmental change on the quality and quantity of surface waters.
https://www.geografia.fcs.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/20-descargas/programascursos/20-christian-birkel
Dr. Peyton Smith
Soil Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology
Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
REU research topic: Tropical land use change or elevational effects on soil chemistry, biology and physical structure (i.e., soil aggregate or pore architecture), with an emphasis on soil organic matter (soil carbon) stabilization and transformations.
Background: Dr. Peyton Smith is a soil ecologist interested identifying how global change (land use and climate change) alters the interactions among soil microorganisms, their resources and soil structure that govern the fate and transport of organic carbon in soils. Dr. Smith can instruct students how to perform a variety of techniques in soil carbon science: soil aggregate stability, microbial enzyme activity, greenhouse gas production, and concentrations of carbon and nutrients.
Dr. Shankar Chellam
Water and Air Quality
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
REU research topic: Surface water quality (and implications for treatment)
Background: Prof. Shankar Chellam is an environmental engineer with expertise in advanced water purification and measurement of trace metals in aerosols. His current research focuses on (electro)coagulation and membrane filtration for drinking water treatment and wastewater reclamation for potable reuse. His students also quantify primary particle releases from industries and motor vehicles as well as long-range transport of dust from the Sahara-Sahel region to Texas. Recently, he is getting interested in topics related to urban surface water quality, especially following extreme events such as hurricanes.