Faculty Listed by Foundation
Earth & Ocean Science
Andrew Baldwin
baldwin@umd.edu
web site
Wetland ecology; plant community dynamics of coastal marshes and mangroves; disturbance and regeneration ecology of wetland vegetation; wetland seed banks; influence of sea level rise on coastal wetlands; community and ecosystem processes of created and restored wetlands; nutrient effects on wetland plant communities
Neil V. Blough (*currently not accepting students)
neilb@umd.edu
web site
Methods for detecting and identifying free radicals in condensed phases; impact of (photo)oxidative reactions on the transformation and fate of organic & inorganic compounds in natural waters and biological systems
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
James Carton
carton@umd.edu
web site
Exponential growth in the power of computers and richness of observational coverage is revealing how the ocean and sea ice systems exchange heat, mass, and momentum with the atmosphere to produce weather and climate. These same tools are just beginning to explore how ocean circulation and the biological processes that carry out half of the planet's photosynthesis are able to sequester 20-30% of the excess carbon dioxide that humans release into the atmosphere each year. The ocean's growing contributions to the global economy; including fisheries, recreation, and waste disposal; are adding to the stresses on these systems with unanticipated consequences. The ocean climate lab exploits the power of these new computational and observational tools to explore the science of ocean/sea ice variability, interactions with atmosphere and land, and how human activities are changing the ocean/sea ice systems.
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
Feng Chen (*currently not accepting students)
chenf@umces.edu
web site
Ecological interaction among marine viruses, bacteria and phytoplankton; phylogenetic diversity and molecular evolution of marine microbes; whole cell or in situ molecular detection; functional genes and microbial genome
Paulinus Chigbu
pchigbu@umes.edu
web site
Fisheries ecology; influence of variations in climatic factors on water quality and biota; culture of rotifers and copepods for use in rearing marine fish larvae; trophic dynamics in marine and freshwater environments; zooplankton ecology
Victoria J. Coles (*currently not accepting students)
vcoles@umces.edu
web site
Physical and biological response and feedbacks to climate variability and change; Observation and modeling of ocean circulation and ventilation, biogeochemical tracer, and ecosystem cycling
Lee Cooper
cooper@umces.edu
web site
Interdisciplinary aspects of biogeochemistry and ecology, including stable and radioisotope composition of organic materials and natural waters; aquatic plant physiology; high latitude oceanography and hydrology
Jeffrey C. Cornwell
cornwell@umces.edu
web site
Sediment biogeochemistry; burial of sediment and associated chemical constituents; nutrient exchange in sediment; influence of tidal marshes on ecosystem N and P balances
Jacob Cram
jcram@umces.edu
web site
I am a microbial ecologist whose research focuses on entire microbial communities. I am interested both in which organisms are present and in how those those organisms affect and in turn are shaped by their environment. My group observes micro-organisms in their native environments through molecular biology techniques and microscopy. We also use statistical and mechanistic models to integrate data and better understand microorganisms in their environments, as well as perform experiments to see how entire communities respond to perturbations.
Thomas Cronin
cronin@umbc.edu
web site
Visual ecology, especially of marine invertebrates with a concentration on crustacean visual neuroscience
Kausik Das
kdas@umes.edu
Understanding of the capillary and wetting dynamics on under-sea bio-solid substrates, the role of viscous bio-films on contact line dynamics to reveal the micro-scale information of the under-liquid wetting transition, and use it into developing macroscopic tools and techniques to i) develop tools for characterization of under-water pollutant plumes and its impact on marine ecosystems; ii)Develop surfaces which will simultaneously behave as superhydrophobic (water repellant) and superleophobic (oil repellant); (iii) Develop efficient under-water structures with antifouling properties; iv) Develop novel micro-fluidic devices for mixing/demixing.
Andrew Elmore (*currently not accepting students)
aelmore@umces.edu
web site
Land use and land cover change; ecohydrology; biogeochemistry; remote sensing and spatial analysis; effects of urban development and agriculture on stream ecosystems; impact of climate change om forest phenology and biogeochemistry
Keith N. Eshleman
keshleman@umces.edu
web site
Watershed and wetlands hydrology; groundwater/surface water interactions; biogeochemical processes in upland and wetland ecosystems; hydrochemical modeling; ecosystem interactions with land use change
Clara Fuchsman (*not currently accepting students)
cfuchsman@umces.edu
web site
The Fuchsman lab studies how biological organisms (bacteria, viruses, zooplankton) affect biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. Low or zero oxygen waters are our speciality, but we are also interested in oxygenated systems for comparison.
Patricia M. Glibert
glibert@umces.edu
web site
Transformations and fate of nitrogen in marine and estuarine systems; ecology of phytoplanktons; effects of eutrophication; growth and physiology of harmful algal bloom species
Michael Gonsior (*currently not accepting students)
gonsior@umces.edu
web site
Molecular diversity of natural organic matter; disinfection by-products; effluent organic matter characterization; marine debris and its impact on the world's oceans; natural organic matter in extreme environments; biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine
Jacqueline Grebmeier
jgrebmei@umces.edu
web site
Pelagic-benthic coupling on continental shelves, benthic ecology, invertebrate zoology, contaminant distributions, high latitude oceanography
Lora A. Harris
harris@umces.edu
web site
Systems ecology; theoretical ecology; primary producers from phytoplankton to macrophytes; ecosystem modeling
Andrew Heyes (*currently not accepting students)
heyes@umces.edu
web site
Biogeochemistry, trace metal chemistry, fate of human derived chemicals
Anson Hines (*currently not accepting students)
hinesa@si.edu
web site
Marine and estuarine invertebrate and fish population biology and community ecology
Edward D. Houde (*currently not accepting students)
ehoude@umces.edu
web site
Fisheries science and management; recruitment mechanisms; effects of environment on reproductive success of fishes; ecology of marine and estuarine fishes, especially early-life stages
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.
Joe Jurisa
jjurisa@umces.edu
web site
I am a physical oceanographer mainly focused on mixing and transport processes in estuarine and coastal systems. My research focuses on understanding the mixing and transport processes driving the water mass transformation in the estuarine and coastal regions as these processes ultimately control the fate of freshwater and the water mass structure on the continental shelf. I develop novel analytical tools and utilize numerical models along with observational oceanographic and meteorological data in an attempt to capture and advance the understanding of the underlying physical processes.
K. Halimeda Kilbourne (*currently not accepting students)
kilbourn@umces.edu
web site
Paleoclimate and Paleooceanography; causes of past climate variability and its implications for future climates, geochemical records of biogenic carbonates, learning from the geologic record of environmental change.
Laura Lapham (*currently not accepting students)
lapham@umces.edu
web site
Methane biogeochemistry, marine methane seeps, gas hydrates, Arctic permafrost, sediment biogeochemistry, carbon and nitrogen cycling, sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, anaerobic methane oxidation
Ming Li
mingli@umces.edu
web site
My research spans several areas in oceanography, including estuarine and coastal dynamics, turbulence, sea level rise, and regional impacts of climate change. I am also actively engaged in interdisciplinary research to address pressing environmental problems such as hypoxia, ocean acidification, and harmful algal blooms.
Slava Lyubchich
lyubchich@umces.edu
web site
Time series analysis, forecasting, applied statistics, non-parametric inference, bootstrap, environmental modeling, random networks
Sairah Malkin
smalkin@umces.edu
web site
Biogeochemistry and microbial ecology, particularly in sediment environments; benthic ecology; coastal and large lakes ecology. Current projects are investigating the ecology of sulfur oxidizing bacteria in coastal marine systems.
Eric B. May
ebmay@mail.umes.edu
web site
Effects of environmental contamination and habitat degradation on aquatic animal health; use of biochemical and metabolic indicators to determine the response of fish to injurious agents of conditions; establishment of clinical methods for non-lethal testing
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
mitchelm@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
William Nardin
wnardin@umces.edu
web site
We have 2 new projects and I am looking for candidates with engineering background to work on quantify metric's design of coastal restoration projects. Those projects involve mostly modeling and some fieldwork. Knowing how to pilot a drone is preferential.
David M. Nelson (*currently not accepting students)
dnelson@umces.edu
web site
Ecosystem responses to natural and human-induced variations in climatic and environmental conditions; study of plants and microbes in geologic and modern settings utilizing isotopic, paleoecological, genomic and biogeochemical tools
Elizabeth North
enorth@umces.edu
web site
Fisheries oceanography with emphasis on shellfish in estuaries; Three-dimensional habitat and particle trajectory modeling; Carbon capture with microalgae; Stakeholder-driven research
Judith O'Neil (*currently not accepting students)
joneil@umces.edu
web site
Harmful Algal Bloom dynamics; plankton nutrient and trophodynamics; Cyanobacteria ecophysiology
Andrea Pain
apain@umces.edu
web site
My research links terrestrial and coastal processes by looking at the quantity and quality of water flowing from land to sea, including both stream runoff and groundwater. Streams and groundwater both contribute carbon and nutrients to the coast but vary in composition due to differences in how they flow through the landscape. I am interested in how terrestrial processes impact the quantity and quality of freshwater delivery to the coast and implications for ecological and biogeochemical processes in coastal regions, particularly in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.
Cindy Palinkas
cpalinkas@umces.edu
web site
Continental-margin sedimentation; formation and preservation of sedimentary strata in the geological record; deposition and accumulation of fluvial sediment in the coastal ocean
James J. Pierson (*currently not accepting students)
jpierson@umces.edu
web site
Zooplankton ecology; how individual behaviors affect population dynamics; how zooplankton individuals and groups function within an ecosystem; microplastic distribution and transport in estuaries; broadening participation in geoscience and ocean science.
Allen Place (*currently not accepting students)
place@umces.edu
web site
Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that permit organisms to adapt to unique diets, environments, and interactions (symbiosis); genomics of toxic dinoflagellates; and using aragonite to mitigate agricultural nutrient production
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
Martin Rabenhorst
mrabenho@umd.edu
web site
Genesis, morphology and classification of hydromorphic soils, particularly non-tidal wetlands and coastal marshes; pedogenesis and resource inventory of subaqueous soils
Michael R. Roman
roman@umces.edu
web site
Biological oceanography; zooplankton ecology
Lawrence P. Sanford (*currently not accepting students)
lsanford@umces.edu
web site
Coastal and esturaine physical oceanography; fine sediment transport mechanics, geophysical boundary layers, turbulence, surface and internal waves
Johan Schijf
schijf@umces.edu
web site
Aqueous geochemistry of trace metals, especially the rare earth and alkaline earth elements; uptake of trace metals by aquatic plants; trace metal coordination by siderophores and other biogenic organic ligands; using tree cores as archives of environmental metal pollution; environmental impacts of fossil energy production; physical chemistry of seawater; geochemistry of marine anoxic basins; inductively coupled plasma mass and atomic emission spectrometry; electrochemistry and potentiometric titration; ion chromatography
Greg Silsbe
gsilsbe@umces.edu
web site
Biological oceanography with an emphasis on the role of phytoplankton in the global carbon cycle. Satellite remote sensing; phytoplankton physiology; African Great Lake limnology.
Lori Staver (*currently not accepting students)
lstaver@umces.edu
web site
The common denominator in my work has been the role of nitrogen in aquatic plant ecology. I am most interested in how to build resilience into restored coastal habitats, given that most of these sites are impacted to some degree by eutrophication, and are also on the front lines of climate change and sea level rise. I am currently collaborating with others on biogeochemistry, restoration genetics, geomorphology, and the application of facilitation theory to vegetation establishment methods in tidal marsh restoration.
J. Court Stevenson (*currently not accepting students)
court@umces.edu
web site
Coastal zone resources and water quality management; ecology of marsh and sea grass systems; effects of sea-level rise on wetlands and coastal shorelines; environmental history of Chesapeake Bay and its watershed
Diane Stoecker (*currently not accepting students)
stoecker@umces.edu
web site
Biological oceanography & plankton ecology, microzooplankton; Mixotrophy (alternate modes of nutrition) in the plankton
Stephanie Stotts
snstotts@umes.edu
web site
Dr. Stephanie Stotts is Associate Professor of Forest Ecology and faculty lead for UMES' Urban Forestry Program. Dr. Stotts is a dendroecologist with expertise in tree and root response to changing environmental conditions
Cathlyn D. Stylinski
cstylinski@umces.edu
web site
Environmental science education and scientific inquiry in precollege classrooms; remote sensing and plant ecophysiology
R. Dwi Susanto
dwisusa@umd.edu
web site
Quantitative study of oceanography in the tropical Indo-Pacific region using in situ observation and remote sensing approaches, including the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) monitoring; Upper ocean circulation and processes (ocean currents, upwelling, tidal mixing, air-sea interactions, internal waves, marine heat waves) and their impacts on marine primary productivity; Ocean renewable energy
Jeremy M. Testa (*currently not accepting students)
jtesta@umces.edu
web site
Coastal marine ecology, including eutrophication, nutrient cycling, and dissolved oxygen dynamics; interactions between biological, chemical, and physical processes in coastal ecosystems using a combination of experimental efforts, historical data analysis, and coupled biogeochemical-hydrodynmaic modeling studies to examine these aspects of estuarine and coastal aquatic science.
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
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.
Jian Zhao
jianzhao@umces.edu
web site
I am a physical oceanographer seeking to understand multi-scale oceanic processes and their roles in the global climate system. My approach is observational, using both traditional and modern innovative instrument platforms – such as autonomous underwater vehicle– coupled with numerical modeling, to explore fundamental physical processes.