RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Research
Climate Change and Soil Organic Matter Stability
My dissertation research is focused on the how small scale mechanisms of soil carbon stability affect our measurements of global soil carbon pools. I hope to further our understanding of how these mechanisms will respond to the environmental impacts of climate change, specifically increasing global temperature, elevated atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gasses, and changing precipitation regimes. I am fascinated by the belowground physiological response of plants and microbes to environmental changes, such as alterations in root exudation or microbial carbon use efficiency, and how these effect the stability of different pools of soil organic matter.
My dissertation research is focused on the how small scale mechanisms of soil carbon stability affect our measurements of global soil carbon pools. I hope to further our understanding of how these mechanisms will respond to the environmental impacts of climate change, specifically increasing global temperature, elevated atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gasses, and changing precipitation regimes. I am fascinated by the belowground physiological response of plants and microbes to environmental changes, such as alterations in root exudation or microbial carbon use efficiency, and how these effect the stability of different pools of soil organic matter.
Forest Fragmentation in Ethiopia (2013-2019)
In my senior year at Colgate University I had the opportunity to join a group of five faculty traveling to Bahir Dar, Ethiopia to study the ecology of Ethiopian Church Forests. After spending three intense weeks in the field, I joined Dr. Catherine Cardelus' lab at Colgate and conducted an independent study of the soil nutrient status of these forests. I continued this research after graduation and was able to return to Ethiopia in 2016 as a field technician. Having collected three years of soil, litter and foliar data from over 30 forests, we are now in the process of pulling together a full data set for publications.
In my senior year at Colgate University I had the opportunity to join a group of five faculty traveling to Bahir Dar, Ethiopia to study the ecology of Ethiopian Church Forests. After spending three intense weeks in the field, I joined Dr. Catherine Cardelus' lab at Colgate and conducted an independent study of the soil nutrient status of these forests. I continued this research after graduation and was able to return to Ethiopia in 2016 as a field technician. Having collected three years of soil, litter and foliar data from over 30 forests, we are now in the process of pulling together a full data set for publications.
Organometallic Catalysis (2012-2014)
As a sophomore at Colgate University I joined the lab of Dr. Anthony Chianese and spent three years designing and testing organometallic catalysts for hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions. In the lab I synthesized novel CNC pincer ligands, conducted stoichiometric analysis of catalytic cycles and tested new catalysts for efficacy. This work resulted in two publications and a poster presentation at the national American Chemical Society conference.
As a sophomore at Colgate University I joined the lab of Dr. Anthony Chianese and spent three years designing and testing organometallic catalysts for hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions. In the lab I synthesized novel CNC pincer ligands, conducted stoichiometric analysis of catalytic cycles and tested new catalysts for efficacy. This work resulted in two publications and a poster presentation at the national American Chemical Society conference.
