Student News

Sheila Amenumey received her Ph.D. in August 2009. Her dissertation was: “Meta-Analysis as a Statistical Tool for Evaluating the Hydrologic Effects of Subsurface Drainage Design and Water Table Management.” Amenumey was advised by Gary Sands and Bruce Wilson.

Robert Dietz presented “Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in Corbicula clams record spatial variation in aquatic DIC and nutrient sources in a Japanese lake,” at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, October 16–21, 2009. Dietz is advised by Dan Engstrom.

Andrea Grygo received her M.S. in August 2009. Her thesis was: “Using GIS to Examine Potential Relationships Between Landscape Variables and Mercury Levels in Fish from Superior National Forest, Minnesota.” Grygo was advised by Howard Mooers and Donn Branstrator.

Derrick Passe presented “The Gift of Clean Water, Simajhuleu, Guatemala,” at the Engineers without Borders-Midwest Regional Conference in Ames Iowa, October 25–27, 2009. Passe is advised by John Gulliver.

Thomas Pevan presented “Biological, chemical and physical parameters that affect cyanobacteria in Upper Lake St.Croix,” at the St. Croix River Research Rendezvous, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, October 20, 2009. Pevan is advised by Stephanie Guildford.

Bridget Seegers received her M.S. in August 2009. Her thesis was: “Lake Superior Zooplankton Community Grazing and Its Implications for the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum.” Seegers was advised by Robert Sterner.

Jonathon Thornburg received his M.S. in August 2009. His thesis was: “Temporal and Spatial Variability in Nitrate and Water Quality Parameters of Subsurface Drains in an Agriculture Stream.” Thornburg was advised by Paul Capel.

Water Resources Students in Action (WRSIA) president Jill Coleman Wasik organized and WRSIA hosted the first annual WRS Student Symposium on October 24, 2009 at the St. Croix Watershed Research Station. Current students and recent graduates of the program gave presentations about their research, ranging from how sulfate deposition affects methylation events in peatlands, to the environmental fate of endocrine disrupting compounds, to the reconversion of restored wetlands in the southern prairie pothole region. Students also met Deb Swackhamer, and some enjoyed the beauty of the St. Croix River Valley with an afternoon hike. About 22 students, from both the Duluth and Twin Cities campuses, attended the event.

Shannon L. Wing received her M.S. in September 2009. Her thesis was: “Classifications of Ravine Morphometrics in the Minnesota River Basin Using GIS-based Terrain Analysis.” Wing was advised by David Mulla.