Johanna Duffy

Undergraduate Institution: SUNY Cobleskill, BT in Wildlife Management

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MPS in Environmental Science, Wetland and Water Resources

Email: jeduffy@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: I am pursuing a MPS degree in Wetland and Water Resources. I currently work as an Environmental Scientist at a consulting firm. Through my profession, I regularly deal with wetland and water ecosystems, from mapping and collecting data, to quantifying possible impacts, to mitigating and restoring the viability of these important environments. I graduated in December 2003 from SUNY Cobleskill with a BT degree in Wildlife Management. All wildlife requires four basic habitat components for healthy populations, one of these being water. Though wildlife is my first love, I wanted to gain expertise in a related, but slightly different study discipline, while remaining in the general category of natural resources. Between graduation at SUNY Cobleskill and moving to Syracuse, I worked with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection studying black bear populations and with the Environmental Division at the Fort Drum Military Installation as a Wetland Biology Technician.

Rosemary Fanelli, Graduated May 2007

Rosemary is now working at the Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University.

Undergraduate Institution: SUNY Brockport, BS in Environmental Earth Science

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MS in Hydrology and Watershed Management

Email: rfanelli@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: I am pursuing an MS degree in watershed hydrology and management at SUNY- ESF, with a focus on groundwater-surface water interactions (hyporheic exchange) in a semi-arid region (Wyoming). While streams and rivers were once considered mere conduits in which water was transported –unaffected- downstream and out of the watershed, it is now known that near-stream zones can provide housing for a variety of microbial communities in interstitial spaces within their sediments. Respiration of these microorganisms can result in biogeochemical cycling and potential for changes in overall surface water chemistry. My research seeks to understand how geomorphic features in a streambed can influence hyporheic exchange. I use biogeochemical analysis of hyporheic water and temperature dynamics in the streambed to describe the variability of exchange in the presence of different geomorphic features, such as small anthropogenic dams and riffle/pool complexes.

I received my bachelor’s degree in environmental earth science from SUNY Brockport where I studied geomorphology, hydrology, wetland science and GIS applications in natural resource management. I decided to pursue an advanced degree in water resource science not only because hydrology is, essentially, the confluence of so many disciplines I was interested in pursuing, but because the quantity and quality of our surface waters play such a large role in the health of whole societies and ecosystems. I plan to pursue a career in water resource science in order to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of hydrologic processes, their role in stream ecosystem productivity and how to minimize human impact on these systems.

Simply put, "A river is but a memory of the land through which it flows."

Ken Hubbard

Undergraduate Institution: SUNY Binghamton, BS in Environmental Science

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MS in Hydrology and Watershed Management

Email: kahubbar@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: I am pursuing a MS degree in watershed hydrology and management. I graduated in December 2003 from Binghamton University with a BS degree in Environmental Studies. From October 2003-present I have been employed by a private environmental consulting firm, assessing and remediating petroleum impacts to soil and groundwater. My research at SUNY ESF will be centered on exploring surface water/groundwater interactions in Red Canyon Creek, Wyoming. While at Binghamton University, I completed an undergraduate research project in conjunction with an MS student. We conducted three simulated flood events on a stream with an in-stream reservoir equipped with a manual flood gate. The floodgate was opened in order to release the water from the reservoir and simulate stream response to storm surges, to quantify total suspended solids (TSS) flux and movement within the stream and how a natural wetland complex between two sampling locations could moderate peak discharge and sediment flux. I hope to further explore the science of hydrologic processes during my graduate course study and research at SUNY ESF

Lisa Kurian

Undergraduate Institution: Slippery Rock University, BA in Environmental Geoscience

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MS in Hydrology and Watershed Management

Email: lmkurian@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: While at ESF I will be working towards my M.S. in Forest Hydrology and Watershed Management. I graduated with my B.A. in Environmental Geoscience from Slippery Rock University in 2004. I came into this program as a research assistant for a funded project, "The Impact of Changing Climate on Winter Nitrogen Export From a Forested Watershed of the Adirondack Mountains." My thesis work will be a section of this larger research project. Specifically, I will be collecting soil water, groundwater, stream and snow samples from December until there is no snow pack and chemically analyzing these samples. My objective is to understand how nitrate is influenced by hydrological factors and climate in forested watersheds during the winter.

Thomas Sesto

Undergraduate Institution: Seton Hall, BS in International Relations

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MPS in Hydrology and Watershed Management

Email: trsesto@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: I am currently pursuing an M.P.S. in forest hydrology and watershed management. Ultimately I would like to be involved with projects related to soil and water conservation and rural water supply in developing countries. In 2004 I completed my undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University with a B.S. in International Relations. I was drawn to study water resources because of its potential to improve lives and its important role in economic development. Before coming to ESF I spent time working for New York State Parks and the AmeriCorps program. I look forward to starting classes and discovering what areas of hydrology interest me most.

Rachel Tucker

Undergraduate Institution: University of Evansville, BS in Environmental Science

Graduate Degree Sought at ESF: MS in Hydrology and Watershed Management

Email: retucker@syr.edu

Statement about Graduate Program: I am pursuing an M.S. in hydrology and watershed management. I received a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Evansville in May 2007. I decided to pursue a degree in hydrology, because my work and research experience as an undergraduate helped me to realize that my educational interests lie in the application of environmental science to physical processes. As an undergraduate, I worked as an EHS intern for a paint manufacturing facility, worked as a lab technician in an entomology lab at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, and conducted ecological field and lab research in Oneonta, NY. While I enjoyed these experiences, I discovered that I am more interested in the environmental impacts that humans have on physical processes, particularly the quality and flow of rivers and streams