Our Students
Learn about our students and their research in addressing water resources challenges.
Austin Durglo
M.S., Water Resources (Science & Management option) | J.D. (Native American Law and Natural Resources & Environmental Law)
View ProfileKatie Beauto
M.S. Water Resources
My project aims to understand spatial variation of nitrate accumulation, uptake and leaching in agricultural systems. An overall goal of the project is to capture spatial patterns with hydrologic cropping models and identify practices that improve nitrogen use efficiencies and reduce instream loading.
- Major professor: Erin Brooks, Ph.D.
- B.S. Biology, University of Minnesota – Morris
- Hometown: Cambridge, Minnesota
Josie Brown
M.S. Water Resources Science and Management
Spatial and temporal contribution of fecal contamination (cow versus human), and the effects of stream hydrology on bacterial communities and nutrient dynamics, within the Lindsay Creek watershed, in Lewiston.
- Major professor: Laurel Lynch, Ph.D.
- B.S. Environmental and Ecosystem Sciences, Washington State University
- Hometown: Coeur d’ Alene
- Awards: 2022 Joe Jordan Scholarship Recipient
- Favorite river: Blackfoot River in Montana
- Hobbies: trail running, hiking, cross country skiing, fishing
Clayton Christensen
M.S. Water Resources
I am looking at the effects of various intensities of wildfire on soils. I am doing this by burning multiple square meter plots using a ceramic heater and measuring how the soil responds. This information will be used to fortify a commonly used land management model known as the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) to help understand the effects of wildfires on forested watersheds.
- Major professor: Erin Brooks, Ph.D.
- B.S. Environmental Science, University of Idaho
- Hometown: Meridian
Lana Cohen
M.S. Water Resources Engineering and Science
Currently a research associate with the forest hydrology project, ENREP (Eastside Type N Riparian Effectiveness Project). Interested in hydrometeorology, snow hydrology and climate impacts on water resources. Extensive previous work in polar atmospheric research and meteorological instrumentation.
- Major professor: Robert Heinse, Ph.D.
- Website: www.vortexsci.com
- B.A., M.S., Ph.D. Prior Major: Geology, Atmospheric Science, Geophysics, University of Montana, University of Colorado Boulder, Victoria University Wellington
- Hometown: Moscow
Matt Dunkle
Ph.D. Water Resources Science and Management
I study the spatiotemporal variation in biogeochemical regimes in streams and how they influence aquatic food web production. My dissertation research explores variation in a rapidly changing glacial meltwater landscape in coastal southeast Alaska. I’m also interested in spatial subsidies, river and stream restoration, and modeling.
- Major professor: Chris Caudill & Ryan Bellmore, Ph.D.
- M.S., B.S., and BA: Fisheries Science, Restoration Ecology and Environmental Studies, University of Montana, Aarhus University
- Hometown: Blair, Nebraska
- Awards:
- 2022 Water Resources Program Outstanding Graduate Student Award, University of Idaho
- 2022 Outstanding Graduate Research and Creative Activity Award, University of Idaho
- 2022 Outstanding Graduate Student Award, University of Idaho Graduate and Professional Student Association
- 2022 Best Student Presentation, Alaska Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting
- 2019-Present Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center – The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on River Food Webs and Salmon Productivity in Southeast Alaska
- 2017-2019 NSF Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship
- Publication: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oF97LNEAAAAJ&hl=en
Austin Durglo
M.S., Water Resources (Science & Management option) | J.D. (Native American Law and Natural Resources & Environmental Law)
My research is focused on developing the Watershed Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Model to better predict erosion from salvage logging operations. I am also interested in if the WEPP model may be used as a tool to help improve management decisions made under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
- Major Professor: Erin Brooks, Ph.D.
- B.S., Hydrology, Salish Kootenai College
- Hometown: St. Ignatius, Montana
Kelsyn Barria Gallardo
M.S. Water Resources Engineering & Science
My research is focused on the study of the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA; biodegradable biological thermoplastics) from dairy manure using mixed microbial consortia (MMC).
- Major professor: Erik R. Coats, Ph.D.
- B.S. Environmental Engineering, The Technological University of Panama
- Hometown: Panama
- Publications in Spanish:
- Study of the hydrodynamic behavior of an up-flow biological filter, using corn cobs as support material. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330456746_Estudio_del_comportamiento_hidrodinamico_de_un_filtro_biologico_de_flujo_ascendente_utilizando_mazorcas_de_maiz_como_material_de_soporte;
- Determination of a Risk and Vulnerability Index in Coastal Populations: Case Study Portobelo, Province of Colón. http://portal.amelica.org/ameli/journal/339/3391369003/html/
- Favorite river: Caldera River located in Boquete, Panama.
- Hobbies: One of my hobbies that I enjoy the most is reading books about history and fiction.
Dinesh Gulati
Ph.D. Water Resources – Engineering & Science
My research has quantitatively established positive relationships between increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil available water capacity. However, these relationships do not adequately inform our understanding, particularly of how improved available water capacity impacts hydrological balances and crop water stress. This research addresses these knowledge gaps by using standardized crop water requirement and stress estimation procedures to determine SOC impacts on agrohydrological outcomes, including crop evapotranspiration, crop water stress, irrigation requirements and hydrological losses.
- Major professor: Meetpal S. Kukal, Ph.D.
- M.Tech, Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, India
- B.Tech, Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, India
- Hometown: Ferozepur, Punjab, India
Arianna Hege
M.S. Water Resources Science & Management
My research explores the utility of soil moisture sensors in agricultural applications. The goal is to optimize available water resources while maximizing crop yield and quality through more precise irrigation techniques.
- Major professor: Linda Schott, Ph.D.
- B.S. Environmental Geochemical Science, State University of New York at New Paltz
- Hometown: Syracuse, New York
Abraham Hernández
M.S. Water Resources
My research is focused on a hydraulic model for an upstream section of the Hangman Creek close to the U.S. 95. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has been actively restoring Hangman Creek for several years. The main goal is to assess if and how stream restoration efforts have affected infrastructure in the surrounding area, including culverts, bridges and roads.
- Major professor: Fritz Fielder, Ph.D.
- B.S. Environmental Engineering, Universidad Technológica de Panamá
- Hometown: Panamá City, Panamá
Erica Koppes
M.S. Water Resources Engineering
Research topic is in progress. General interests include river restoration for aquatic habitat, specifically anadromous fish species and river geomorphological processes.
- Major professor: Andy Tranmer, Ph.D.
- B.S., AA Geosciences Hydrology, Liberal Arts, Boise State University, College of Western Idaho
- Hometown: Boise
- Favorite river: south Fork of the Payette, Arkansas River
- Hobbies: Kayaking, rafting, skiing and camping
Katherine Loos
J.D./M.S., Law and Water Resources
I am interested in water resources, especially as to watershed governance in the western United States. I have a key interest also in water law and how the science behind it has evolved and how it should evolve given greater scarcity of water in this part of the country.
- Major professor: Tim Link, Robert Heinse, Richard Seamon, Ph.D.
- B.S. Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
- Hometown: Houston, Texas
- Favorite river: Pend Orielle
- Hobbies: My husband and I enjoy camping around Washington and Idaho with our two dogs. I also enjoy gardening, skiing and foraging for berries and mushrooms in the summer months.
Tulley Mackey
M.S. Water Resources Science and Management
Research Topic and/or general interests: Evaluating geomorphic and riparian response to restoration of aquatic ecosystems using Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) with implications for fish habitat improvements.
- Major professor: Melinda Ellison, Ph.D.
- B.Sc. Recreation Management, University of Vermont
- Hometown: Salisbury, Vermont
Laura McSherry
M.S. Water Resources and Management
My research is dedicated to evaluating the ability of unmanned aerial systems (sUAS, aka drones) to improve streamflow simulation and forecasting, particularly at small watersheds in the northwest. I hope to improve water resource management and better mitigate impacts from growing climate variability. Additionally, I am surveying major Idaho water users to evaluate community benefit from more accurate prediction of hydrologic changes.
- Major professor: Jae Ryu, Ph.D.
- B.S. Geosciences with emphasis in Hydrology, Boise State University
- Hometown: Boise
- Awards and publications:
- Map of the Month – January 2018, Idaho Geospatial Office
- McSherry, L., Narducci, J., Sprague, C., Costa, A., Brandt, J., Fragkias, M., Schneider, J., Benner, S. 2017. Urban Growth in Treasure Valley Idaho. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/ModelingUrbanGrowth.
Heather Neace
Recharge Hydrogeologist, Idaho Department of Water Resources
Heather Neace, ’23, has served an important role in the effort to reverse decades of declining eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, thereby enabling hundreds of irrigators to continue raising crops. Neace completed her master’s thesis at U of I on how installing artificial beaver dams, known as beaver dam analogs, influences water quality. She’s now devoting her skills toward finding solutions to address one of Idaho’s most pressing natural resource challenges.
Neace works as a contract employee with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, aiding in a program that seeks to use surplus surface water to bolster declining groundwater levels, known as managed aquifer recharge. Her job is monitoring water quality at recharge sites to make certain natural filtration prevents pollutants within surface water from leaching into the aquifer.
“The state is using a multifaceted approach for aquifer stabilization including groundwater and surface water user agreements, irrigation infrastructure for recharge sites and recharge basin/injection wells,” Neace said. “We are currently working to expand recharge sites, but yearly recharge highly depends on available water.”
Neace, of Boise, earned a bachelor’s degree in geology with a hydrology emphasis from Boise State University before spending a year working full time as a consultant with a water engineering firm. She also worked as a lab assistant at the Idaho Water Center in Boise before starting graduate school at U of I in 2018.
“I think people who are looking for a really good, tight-knit community, that is something I hadn’t experienced as an undergraduate that U of I offered,” Neace said.
Grace Peven
Ph.D. Water Resources Science and Management
I’m broadly interested in understanding how water is changing in the west, the ecological impacts of these changes and identifying hydrologic refugia across a landscape. My current research investigates how spring ecosystems in Idaho are responding ecologically and hydrologically to shifts in snowmelt dynamics.
- Major professor: Mary Engels, Ph.D.
- B.A. Geography, minor in GIS, Western Washington University
- Hometown: Wenatchee, Washington
- Awards: Avista Waters of the West Scholarship
- Personal website: www.linkedin.com/in/gracepeven
- Favorite river: Wenatchee River, Salmon River
- Hobbies: Exploring various forms of water through rafting, skiing, backpacking and watercolor painting.
Galen Richards
Ph.D. Water Resources
Modeling water and nutrient transport in the Magic Valley region of south-central Idaho with a focus on assessing the long-term impacts of increased dairy agriculture. The SWAT model is being used to simulate irrigation schedules, canal withdrawals, land use changes and fertilizer application rates. The overall goal of the research is to assist in ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of agriculture in the Magic Valley.
- Major Professor: Erin S. Brooks, Ph.D.
- M.S., Natural Resource Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- B.S., Environmental Science, Western Washington University
- Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Marina Steiner
M.S. Water Resources, Science & Management option
IRIC, Room 340
Specific research project is in progress but will be partnering with TIFO to address drinking water contamination in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.
- Major Professor: Gregory Moller, Ph.D.
- B.S., Environmental Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Hometown St. Paul, Minnesota
Lusine Taslakyan
Ph.D. Water Resources
My research is on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) for novel water treatment technology that can remove phosphorus to ultralow levels, to address harmful algal blooms (HABs). I analyzed the operations and performance, technology design upgrade potential and carbon footprint. Latest publication: CO2e footprint and eco‐impact of ultralow phosphorus removal by hydrous ferric oxide reactive filtration: A municipal wastewater LCA case study.
- Major professor: Gregory Möller, Ph.D.
- M.Sc., Biology and Ecology, Armenian State Pedagogical University, Armenia
- M.Sc., Environmental Science, University of Idaho
- M.Sc., Water Science, Policy and Management, University of Oxford, UK
- Hometown: Yerevan, Armenia
Michael Vogler
M.S. Water Resources (Science and Management option)
Optimizing biochar for the removal of phosphorus from wastewater. The biochar is being designed to be reused as a soil amendment after its use in treatment.
- Major professor is Daniel Strawn, Ph.D.
- B.S., Environmental Geology, Colorado State University
- Associate of Science, Front Range Community College
- Hometown is Fort Collins, Colorado