GRADUATE STUDENTS

CURRENT STUDENTS AND THEIR RESEARCH

Doctoral Students:

Francisco Suarez Poch, Ph.D. Candidate: Design and testing of solar pond evaporators for water quality mitigation at Walker Lake. Funded by the DOE.

Jazmin Aravena, Ph.D. Candidate: Development of process-level root water uptake models based on computed microtomography.  Funded by the National Science Foundation

Masters Students:

Sue Burak, MS Candidate:  Snow thermal dynamics

Michaela Woendel, MS Candidate (BOKU, Austria): Thermal property variation and snow temperature evolution using fiber optic temperature sensing.

Jeff Kinder, MS Candidate. Optimization of well locations for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony.

Mark Hausner, MS Candidate. Development of Raman spectra temperature sensing for distributed soil moisture estimation. Funded by the National Park Service

Lucas Williamson. MS. Candidate. Fiber optic temperature sensing in soils. Funded by the University of Nevada, Reno

RECENT GRADUATE STUDENTS:

Ronald Parrett:  Identification of nitrogen accumulation mechanisms in arid regions. MS. 2009. Ron is currently just finishing up and working for Newmont Mining.

David Prudic: Development of coupled groundwater/surface water modeling of ephemeral channels with applications to the Humboldt River System. Ph.D. 2008. Currently on the faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Edmund Baffoe-Twum: Using InSAR derived land subsidence to infer storage coefficients of fractured and porous media during dewatering. MS 2007. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Kent State University.

William Albright: Monitoring and modeling of alternative landfill closure caps. Ph.D. 2005. Currently with Desert Research Institute

Jena Green: Nutrient Dynamics beneath a storm water detention facility. M.S. 2004. Currently with the U.S. Geological Survey

Geoff Webb: Unsaturated transport processes in gold heap leach mining. M.S. 2003. Currently with Golder and Associates in Calgary.

Christian Kroft,. Well head protection delineation by Bayesian Methods in Spanish Springs Nevada. M.S.2003. Currently with Washoe County Water Utilities Division.

Stephanie Kampf: Measurement of energy balance components on the Salar de Atacama M.S.2002. Stephanie is an an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University.

Jeff Gamlin: Sources and distribution of arsenic in Honey Lake Valley, California.  M.S 2002. Geoff is working with CH2MHill in southern California.

David Decker: Solute Mobilization and Transport of Arsenic and other Oxyanions from Spent Heap Leach Mining Activities. Funded through the NSF/EPA Water and Watersheds Program Ph.D. 2001. Dave is a researcher at the Desert Research Institute in Reno.

Peter Hartsough: Quantifying Paleorecharge through Vadose Zone Tracer Profiles. Funded through the National Science Foundation. M.S. 2001. Peter is a post-doctoral fellow at UC-Davis.

Fred Ramsing: The Role of Submarine Ground Water Discharge in Lake Tahoe. M.S. 2001. Fred is working for a hydrogeology consulting firm in southern California.

Clay Cooper: The Role of Double Diffusion in Subsurface Solute Transport. Funded by U.S. Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences. Ph.D. 2000.. Clay is an Assistant Research Professor at the Desert Research Institute in Reno.

Joseph Leising: Evaporative Forcing of Brine Convection and its Relation to Alteration Minerals. Maki Fellowship. .Ph.D. 2000. Joe is a hydrogeologist with the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas.

Brian Andraski: Water Balance Studies at an Arid Low Level Waste Disposal Site. Funded through the U.S. Geological Survey. Ph.D. 1998. Brian is a research hydrogeologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Carson City, Nevada.

William Albright: The Role of Soil Amendments to Modify the Hydraulic Properties of Potential Waste Cover Soils at the Nevada Test Site. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy-Nevada Operations Office. M.S. 1995. Bill is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in hydrogeology at UNR.

David Decker: Modeling the Behavior of Cyanide Breakthrough in Heap Leach Rinsing Operations. Funded by the U. S. Bureau of Mines Mineral Institute Program. M.S., 1996. Dave is a post-doctoral researcher at the Desert Research Institute in Reno.

Karen Font: Geochemical Modeling of the Owens Dry Lake Ground Water System. Funded by the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District. M.S. 1995. Karen is working  the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality in Portland.

Scott Kranz: Measurement of Evaporative Flux from Owens Dry Lake. Funded by the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District. M.S. 1995. Scott is a consulting hydrogeologist in Portland, Oregon.

Vijay Chekuri: The Role of Fracture Coatings in Controlling Water Imbibition in Fractured Tuff. Funded by State of Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office. M.S. 1995.

Joseph Leising: The Role of Ground Water Convection in Controlling Potassium Metasomatism. M.S. 1994. Joe is a hydrogeologist with the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas.