wright state university college of science and mathematics
Environmental Health and Sciences PhD Program
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Photo fo Gwyn Isenhouer and Kathryn Barto
Gwyn IsenhouerKathryn Barto

Contragulations to Gwyn Isenhouer & Kathryn Barto

They have been awarded GRO fellowships ("Greater Research Opportunities") from the US EPA. These fellowships, which provide stipend, tuition, and research funds, are highly competitive. The figure is less than 10% funding rate--and so for two of them to come to Wright State in one year is outstanding--as, to be sure, are the students who have earned them.

Ms. Isenhouer's topic is "Expression of microbial genes involved in the reductive dehalogenation of PCE and its degradation products in a PCE-contaminated constructed wetland."

Ms. Barto's topic is "Allelopathy as an invasive mechanism for the plant Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard): Implications for restoration"

 


Biological Sciences

Name Year Advisor
Barto, Kathryn 2002 Don Cipollini
Research Interests: I am studying the effects of compounds produced by the invasive plant Garlic Mustard on symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi associated with the roots of other plants
 
 
Devlin, Shawn 2005 Yvonne Vadeboncoeur
Research Interests: I am interested in Carbon cycling in lakes, in particular, the role of Benthic Algal contributions to whole lake food webs, the role of bacteria in regulating benthic productivity and how the microbial loop integrates terrestrial Carbon sources and, in lake production in food webs.
 
Duell, David 2002 James Amon
Research Interests: I am interested in anaerobic degradation of chlorinated ethenes in wetlands.
 
Ferguson, Chad 2002 Dan Krane
Research Interests: My research centers on levels of genetic diversity in populations of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) and how these data may be predictive of the long-term sustainability of studied populations.
 
Heath, Jeremy 2007 John Stireman
Research Interests: I am studying the adaptive radiation of a group of gall midges, Asteromyia spp. (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera) on their goldenrod host plants. Complex interactions between these midges, host-plant defenses, parasitoid wasps, and a mutualistic fungus instrumental in gall formation may be spurring rapid evolutionary diversification. Understanding the ecology and evolution of this system will provide insight into the process of speciation and may aid in the sustainable control of invasive plants and agricultural pests.
 
Isenhouer, Gwyn 2003 Stephanie Smith
Research Interests: My proposed research is focused on the development of real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assays to monitor and quantitate the expression of microbial genes involved in the reductive dehalogenation of PCE and its degradation products in a PCE-contaminated constructed wetland
 
Milks, James 2004 James Runkle
Research Interests: I am interested in the processes involved in reforestation and impacts of reforestation on local ecosystem processes. I am also interested in general forest dynamics and the population and community ecology of mammals.
 
Moreno, Mauricio 2007 Thomas Rooney
Research Interests: I am interested in finding if there is a potential influence of white-tailed deer in the infection of roots of the genus Carex (Cyperaceae family) by AM fung.
 
Simpson, Karen 2006 Mike Blum
Research Interests: I am interested in the evolutionary and ecological effects of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems. I plan to use molecular data to find a genetic explanation for the success of a particular alien species and determine how this success affects other species in the non-native range.
 
Tumburu, Laxminath 2005 Michele Wheatly
Research Interests: Crustacean Physiology. Specifically, calcium ion regulation in crustaceans in response to environmental changes.

Department of Chemistry

Name Year Advisor
Bose, Sweta 2002 Steve Higgins
Research Interests: Mineral growth and dissolution kinetics in real time under constant chemical conditions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables the observation of mineral surface features to the nanoscale level. I am studying one of the important naturally occurring mineral systems – the sulfate system. A project has been done on the dissolution of Celestite (SrSO4) and at present I have focused on studying another sulfate mineral – Barite (BaSO4). The aim is to study the growth processes and kinetics of the mineral in presence of an impurity- (CrO42-) which if present in the natural systems could be of real concern.

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Name Year Advisor
Chatterjee, Sumantra 2004 Doyle Watts
Research Interests: Measuring evapotranspiration on a regional scale-a cost-effective approach
 
Name Year Advisor
Edward Council, III 2002 Dennis Darby, Old Dominion College and Steven Higgins (co-director)
Research Interests: My research centers on paleoclimatic interpretations based on the provenance of ice rafted detritus in Arctic Ocean sediments. It is hoped this data will support Pleistocene stratigraphic correlation in areas where other technique are ineffective.
 
Custer, Kevin 2006 Allen Burton
Research Interests: My research is looking at the effects of Nickel spiked sediments in situ on benthic communities, indigenous aquatic insects, and selected USEPA surrogate organisms.  Nickel flux and sediment chemistries will also be examined to look at fate and effects of Nickel over time in situ.  These compartments will help determine the toxicity and bioavailability of Nickel to these selected groups organisms.
 
 
Kirandeep Dhami 2007
Research Interests:
 
Guin, Arijit 2002 Robert Ritzi
Research Interests: The goal of my research is to quantify the three-dimensional interconnectivity of highly permeable open-framework gravel zones within braided river deposits using percolation theory.
 
Kapo, Katherine 2004 Allen Burton
Research Interests: Watershed ecology and the development and use of various GIS spatial analysis techniques in quantitative environmental risk assessments.
 
 
Powell, Christina 2005 Abinash Agrawal
Research Interests: My research interests are in pollution control. My background is in atmospheric sciences but I am hoping to do research in groundwater.
 
Ramanathan, Ramya 2003 Robert Ritzi
Research Interests: My research interests include modeling reactive solute tranport using stochastic as well numerical approaches. Currently, I am using geometric and geostatistical approaches linking stratal architecture to plume spreading.
 
Sarah Tritschler 2007
Research Interests: My research interests include studying the biogeochemistry of constructed wetlands for the purpose of groundwater contamination remediation.
 

Department of Phamacology and Toxicology

Name Year Advisor
Kannanayakal, Thomas 2003 James McDougal
Research Interests: My research interest is to understand expression of Biomarkers in response to environmental stress using Bioinformatics tools
 
Salisbury, Richard 2004 Courtney Sulentic
Research Interests: Using molecular tools to understand and define environmentally mediated immune suppression

Department of Physics

Name Year Advisor
Smigelski, Jeffrey 2003 Sarah Tebbens
Research Interests: