Faculty Listed by Foundation
Environment, Health & Society
Isabella Alcaniz (*currently not accepting students)
ialcaniz@umd.edu
web site
Environmental and climate politics, international financial mechanisms for climate change, social network analysis, the state in the global south, and Latin American politics
Andrew Baldwin (*currently not accepting students)
baldwin@umd.edu
web site
Wetland plant and ecosystem ecology; wetland restoration; applied wetland science; outreach and education in wetland ecology and restoration
Lee Blaney (*currently not accepting students)
blaney@umbc.edu
web site
Fate and transport of emerging contaminants in natural and engineered systems; environmental detection of pharmaceuticals or treatment processes aimed at removing pharmaceuticals from drinking water/wastewater matrices
Walter R. Boynton (*currently not accepting students)
boynton@umces.edu
web site
Estuarine whole systems ecology, nutrient budgets, eutrophication, sediment nutrient dynamics, environmental policy
Kaye L. Brubaker
klbrubak@umd.edu
web site
Physical hydrology; numerical modeling; stream and estuary water-quality modeling; water vapor transport; hydroclimatology; land-atmosphere interactions
Mark S. Castro
mcastro@umces.edu
web site
Atmosphere-biosphere interactions, greenhouse gas fluxes, global environmental changes, effects of atmospheric deposition and human activities on nutrient dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems, the composition of the atmosphere
Mark Cochrane (*currently not accepting students)
mark.cochrane@umces.edu
web site
Understanding spatial patterns, interactions and synergisms between the multiple physical and biological factors that affect ecosystems; climate change, human dimensions of land-cover change and the potential for sustainable development; the drivers and effects of disturbance regime changes resulting from various forms of forest degradation, including fire, fragmentation and logging as well as the mitigating effects of forest and land management.
Emily Cohen (*currently not accepting students)
emily.cohen@umces.edu
web site
Understanding animal migration biology in the context of the full annual cycle; using field, lab, and remotely sensed data integrated with rigorous quantitative tools to: address fundamental questions about migration biology, understand how and why migration is changing and migratory species are declining, and develop tools for the inclusion of stopover and airspace habitats into conservation and management efforts for migratory species.
Victoria J. Coles
vcoles@umces.edu
web site
My research connects the environment and ecology of marine, estuarine and coastal systems. I use remote sensing and modeling approaches to understand the links between climate, ecosystems, and people. Recent projects include predicting zooplankton distributions from space, and understanding their role in an eddying ocean, connecting human and natural systems around the Chesapeake Bay, understand extreme events, and connecting Big Data and AI/ML in environmental science.
Shiladitya DasSarma
sdassarma@som.umaryland.edu
web site
I have spent many years studying the evolutionary biology of microorganisms growing in extreme environments and the effects of environmental stressors on cells. My research ranges from microbial genomics to the impacts of saline waters in climate change to vaccine development against tropical diseases. My interests include climate education, having co-authored a Climate Introduction and A Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change. I received MIT’s MacVicar Award for climate leadership and I serve as UMB’s Representative to the MEES Program.
Eric Davidson (*currently not accepting students)
edavidson@umces.edu
web site
Biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, including the effects of management, land use change, and climatic change on soil C and N stocks, trace gas emissions from soils, and leaching of plant nutrients to streams and groundwater. Current study areas include the Brazilian Amazon Basin and Cerrado region and the forests of New England.
Cathlyn D. Davis (Stylinski) (*currently not accepting students)
Cathlyn.Davis@umces.edu
web site
Environmental science education and scientific inquiry in precollege classrooms; remote sensing and plant ecophysiology
William Dennison
dennison@umces.edu
web site
Coastal ecosystem ecology; ecophysiology of marine plants; bioindicators in nearshore environments; assessing ecosystem health
Katharina Engelhardt (*currently not accepting students)
kengelhardt@umces.edu
web site
Effects of species richness on wetland ecosystem functioning and services; community ecology and ecosystem ecology
J. Edward Gates
egates@umces.edu
web site
Wildlife, habitat and landscape ecology; habitat fragmentation and alteration, connectivity, edge effects and boundary dynamics; habitat suitability for vertebrate species
Reginal M. Harrell (*currently not accepting students)
rharrell@umd.edu
web site
Environmental and bioethics; conservation and restoration ecology; breeding genetics and hybridization; stress physiology of vertebrates
Lora A. Harris (*currently not accepting students)
harris@umces.edu
web site
Estuarine ecosystem science, community-based participatory research, restoration trajectories
Maggie Holland
mholland@umbc.edu
web site
My scholarly interests rest, at a most fundamental level, on the intersections between rural livelihoods, land use dynamics, governance, and conservation strategies. To date, the majority of my research has situated itself in Latin America, with an added layer of focus on forests. Since 2017, I have engaged in research with colleagues in Mozambique, focused both on protected areas and community engagement, as well as a newer line of work on urban agriculture and green spaces. I collaborate actively with economists, geographers, conservation biologists, as well as conservation and development practitioners. The common thread in this interdisciplinary effort is a commitment to developing research that not only contributes to academic discourse, but also is relevant and practical, informing a specific policy or management dialogue.
Matthew Houser (*currently not accepting students)
mhouser@umces.edu
web site
Dr. Matthew Houser is an environmental sociologist who conducts interdisciplinary research programs to inform the development of “policy and engagement strategies toward increasing the short- and long-term resilience of managed ecosystems and human communities to environmental change.” Dr. Houser has a joint appointment at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory and The Nature Conservancy’s Chesapeake Bay Agriculture Program which is a partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) to build and execute collaborative projects that will advance their collective goals in regenerative agriculture and sustainable agricultural landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Ali B. Ishaque
abishaque@umes.edu
web site
Environmental chemical stressors (organic, inorganic and microplastics). Fatty acid markers, stable isotope ratios and mercury concentrations to understand trophic relationships and how food web changes in relation to environmental factors and climate variability.
Paul T. Leisnham
leisnham@umd.edu
web site
Population and Community ecology; Invasion ecology; Vector ecology; Entomology; Coupled Human-Natural Systems; Socio-Ecology
Javier Lloret
jlloret@umces.edu
web site
Lloret is an ecosystem scientist with a background in marine sciences, ecology, and hydrology. His research focuses on the ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal wetlands and estuaries. Understanding the controls on coastal ecosystem functioning is critical because wetlands and estuaries play disproportionately important roles in the global cycling of elements such as carbon and nitrogen. These systems also provide economically valuable services to human societies.
He uses a combination of fieldwork, laboratory, mesocosm, and landscape-scale experiments, innovative biogeochemical tracers, and ecosystem modeling to quantify the pathways, transformations, and fate of pollutants in seagrass and algal beds, salt marshes, mangrove forests, and other shallow estuarine habitats. His work not only aims to evaluate the effects of human disturbances on these systems, but also inform management strategies, guide the development of better environmental policies, and contribute to the preservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems.
Slava Lyubchich (*currently not accepting students)
lyubchich@umces.edu
web site
Time series analysis, forecasting, applied statistics, non-parametric inference, bootstrap, environmental modeling, random networks
Andrew J. Miller (*currently not accepting students)
miller@umbc.edu
web site
Surface-water hydrology and fluvial geomorphology; interaction between flow patterns and boundary conditions imposed by geometry; effects of human activities on watershed hydrology and river channels
Carys Mitchelmore
mitchelmore@umces.edu
web site
Investigating molecular, biochemical and cellular responses of aquatic organisms to inorganic and organic pollutants; determining species-specificity; biochemical pathways and toxic effects; applying and developing novel biomarkers to existing and emerging environmental problems
Jennifer L. Mullinax (Murrow) (*currently not accepting students)
wildlife@umd.edu
web site
Applied spatial wildlife ecology, with emphasis on habitat modeling, habitat use and selection, and animal movements in suburban and urban ecosystems; conflict resolution and conservation planning in natural resources
Judith O'Neil (*currently not accepting students)
joneil@umces.edu
web site
Harmful Algal Bloom dynamics; plankton nutrient and trophodynamics; Cyanobacteria ecophysiology
Magdalene Ngeve
mngeve@umces.edu
web site
Dr. Magdalene Ngeve is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) - Horn Point Laboratory. She is a global change biologist whose research centers on understanding the impacts of global change drivers—such as sea level rise, climate change, pollution, and habitat fragmentation—on the distribution of genetic and species variation across landscapes, and how species are responding to environmental change. Her work integrates field, laboratory, and computational tools, drawing on concepts from ecology, genetics, geography, bioinformatics, and modeling. She is also deeply interested in how stakeholder knowledge can be integrated with scientific insights to improve conservation, management, and restoration of degraded ecosystems and to help mitigate biodiversity loss
Margaret Palmer (*currently not accepting students)
palmer@umces.edu
web site
Stream community and ecosystems ecology; restoration ecology; stream ecosystem structure and function; influence of land use, hydrology and geomorphology on health of running-water ecosystems
Karen L. Prestegaard
kpresto@umd.edu
web site
Sediment transport and depositional processes; mechanisms of streamflow generation and their variations with watershed scale, geology and land use; hydrology of coastal and riparian wetlands
Allison Reilly (*currently not accepting students)
areilly2@umd.edu
web site
Our work relevant to MEES looks at climate adaptation of infrastructure, particularly in coastal Maryland. We've explored housing, road, power systems, and onsite wastewater treatment.
Christopher Swan (*currently not accepting students)
cmswan@umbc.edu
web site
Steam community and ecosystem ecology; riparian biodiversity and stream processes; urban riparian-steam ecology
Stephen Tomasetti (*currently not accepting students)
sjtomasetti@umes.edu
web site
Global change ecology with emphasis on warming, deoxygenation, and acidification; Shellfishes and biogenic habitats; Resilience and climate-adapted habitat restoration; Aquaculture and sustainable coastal food systems; Socio-ecological systems
Alba Torrents (*currently not accepting students)
alba@eng.umd.edu
web site
Chemical transformations and sorption of organic pollutants; environmental fate of toxic chemicals; applications of spectroscopic techniques to environmental systems
Kate Tully
kltully@umd.edu
web site
Research interests: agroecology; nutrient and carbon cycling in plant-soil-water systems; soil health, environmental impacts of agriculture; sustainable agricultural systems; impacts of agriculture on Chesapeake Bay water quality; impacts of sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion on coastal farmlands.
Yan Waguespack
yywaguespack@umes.edu
web site
Lethal and sublethal responses of early life-stages of winter flounder to habitat contamination in their natal estuaries; sublethal physiological effects of heavy metal on ecologically key marine and aquatic organisms by using 31P NMR, AAS and ICP-AES; characterization of high molecular weight mucin-like glycoconjugates from fish models; heavy metal and polyaromatic hydrocarbon investigations on sediment along Maryland coastal bay, and heavy metal contaminants' effect on SAV plant along Maryland coastal bay; phyto remediation of TNT, DNT and other contaminants
Lisa Wainger (*currently not accepting students)
wainger@umces.edu
web site
Risk analysis and decision support tools for prioritizing natural resource management options; invasive species risk assessment; wetland restoration prioritization; ecological and economic indicators for communicating relative costs and benefits of natural resource change
Raymond R. Weil (*currently not accepting students)
rweil@umd.edu
web site
Soil ecology; plant-soil relationships; soil fertility; soil quality; environmental impacts of agricultural systems; nutrient and carbon cycling; cover crops in sustainable cropping systems; soil management.
Claire Welty
weltyc@umbc.edu
web site
Transport processes in aquifers; mathematical modeling of groundwater flow and transport in porous and fractured media; application of stochastic methods to interpreting groundwater problems; design and analysis of field-scale hydraulic and tracer tests
Justine Whitaker
jwhitaker@umes.edu
web site
I use molecular tools to answer ecological and evolutionary questions about imperiled and invasive species.
Michael Wilberg (*currently not accepting students)
wilberg@umces.edu
web site
Stock assessment; dynamics of exploited populations; harvest policy development and application; statistical model selection and averaging
Meng Xia
mxia@umes.edu
web site
Numerical modeling of estuarine and coastal ocean, such as hydrodynamic modeling and plume dynamics; water quality modeling and bio-physical interaction; wave-current coupling and nearshore circulation
Xin Zhang
xzhang@al.umces.edu
web site
Environmental science and policy, coupled human and natural systems, biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nitrogen, earth system modeling, atmospheric-biosphere interactions.