Masters Theses (Completed Theses are Available as pdf files)
| Undergraduate Student Theses Directed (*Honors Thesis) | ||
| Student | Title | Dates |
| Gillen Curren | Heavy metals in estuarine food webs | 2021-2022 |
| Leah Eastment | A finished mug of coffee, and unfinished story: Caffeine in estuarine waters | 2020-2021 |
| Gabriella Giordano | “Heavy metals in surficial soils and mussel tissue in Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts” | 2019-2020 |
| Stephanie Batog | “Carbon dioxide gas evasion from streams in Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern Arkansas” | 2018-2019 |
| Keegan Ruscheinski | “The greenhouse gas balance of a constructed wetland” | 2018-2019 |
| Olivia Cacciatore | “Riparian vegetation and stream nutrient content; possible remediation using artificial floating islands” | 2017-2018 |
| Mikala Jordan | “Gas exchange between the aquatic portion of tidal marsh ecosystems and the atmosphere” | 2017-2018 |
| Danielle Radomile | “Well-pads, pipelines, and roads as land use changes in the Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing region” | 2015-2016 |
| John O’Connor | “Sediment accretion rates and carbon burial in Barnegat Bay, NJ” | 2015 |
| Brian Donnelly | “Iron reduction rates along salinity gradients in mid-Atlantic and Louisiana estuarine systems” | 2015 |
| *Michelle Velez | “Heavy metal contamination in vegetables grown in urban gardens” | 2013-2014 |
| Michele Wiedersum | “Radium-226 as a potential indicator of surface water contamination from hydraulic fracturing wells in Northeast Pennsylvania” | 2012-2013 |
| Michael Lang | “Denitrification in tidal marshes along a salinity gradient in the Delaware River Estuary: Implications of salt water intrusion for an important ecosystem service” | 2012-2013 |
| Jennifer Roche | “A comparative analysis of green insulation techniques” | 2012-2013 |
| Margaret Garcia | “A path to remediation: The effects of crude oil on salt and freshwater marsh sediment” | 2012 |
| Cynthia Troy | “Effects of salinity, toxicity, moisture and temperature stress on nitrous oxide production in agricultural soils” | 2012 |
| Nicole Poletto | “An assessment of heavy metal accumulation history in the Delaware River Estuary” | 2011-2012 |
| Andrew Galtieri | “The dispersal of radioisotopes due to routine nuclear power plant operation” | 2011-2012 |
| Angela Bagnasco | “New urbanist development plan in West Philadelphia” | 2010-2011 |
| Tatjana Prsa | “Impact of rising sea levels and salinity intrusion on the metabolic activity and community composition of sulfate reducing bacteria in tidal freshwater marsh sediments” | Fall 2008 |
Academic Year Independent Studies Directed
| Student | Title | Dates |
| Chrissy Polakiewicz | VURF: Radioactive contamination along the Raritan River, NJ. | 2024 |
| Kamara Staples | “Irrigation techniques to reduce water consumption” | 2021 |
| James Dunbar | “Mosquito and West Nile Virus dynamics in Fairfax County, Virginia” | 2021 |
| Matthew Russell | “Change in nutrient concentration in streams in Eastern Pennsylvania” | 2020 |
| Samantha Huffman | “Biochar application for soil remediation and plant growth” | 2019 |
| Diana Lampasona | “Tidal marsh elevation and wetland mapping using an unattended aerial vehicle” | 2017 |
| Thomas Boland | “Land use and water quality in headwater streams” | 2017 |
| Arielle Massillon | “Sediment availability and tidal marsh accretion rates” | 2017 |
| Paige McNamara | “Fecal coliforms in a constructed wetland” | 2017 |
| Mary Rose Makoski | “Methane oxidation along salinity gradients in two estuaries” | 2016 |
| Naomi Ng | “The role of advertising in promoting environmental consciousness” | 2016 |
| Kevin Corbusier | “Sediment Import/Export Analysis of Shad Creek, Plum Island, MA” | 2015 |
| Matthew Hanagan | “Quantifying Aquaponics: The Effect of Blue Tilapia on Plant Biomass Production” | 2015 |
| Sarah Petro | “Analysis of growth and violations in hydraulic fracturing activity in Northeastern PA” | 2015 |
| Gerard Ondrey | “Salinity and nitrous oxide: The effects of road salts on N2O production in Villanova University’s constructed wetland” | 2015 |
| Andrew Hotchkiss | “Evaluating hydraulic fracturing impacts on baseflow in streams in the Marcellus Shale region” | 2015 |
| Emma Chudwick | “Community Supported Agriculture and Urban Food Deserts” | 2015 |
| Emeka Ndichie | “Mortality of ghost shrimp during a simulated oil spill and dispersant application” | 2014 |
| Connor Supple | “Examination of N and P concentration in Eastern PA watersheds with varying land-use” | 2013 |
| John Devine | “The effects of hydraulic fracturing on the conductivity of streams in the Susquehanna River Watershed” | 2013 |
| Molly Haggerty | “Ecosystem services in a constructed wetland: Sediment retention and denitrification dynamics” | 2013 |
| Andrew Bigelow | “Analysis of How Changes in Transportation Habits can alter Carbon Dioxide Emissions” | 2013 |
| Christofer Denny | “Fracking Up the Susquehanna” | 2013 |
| Allison Pepper | “The effects of hydraulic fracturing on surface water in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale region: An analysis of heavy metals and major ions” | 2013 |
| Stefan Goodridge | “The green economy” | 2011 |
| Andrew Gordon | “Gamma-emitting radioisotope contamination of drinking water in the Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction area of Northeastern Pennsylvania” | 2011 |
| Michael Mangiante | “Land-use effects on phosphorus and nitrogen dynamics during a storm event in a Pennsylvania stream” | 2011 |
| Kara Chatham | “Examining the impact of Mount Pinatubo ash on seawater micronutrient concentrations” | 2011 |
| Eric Au | “Effects of saltwater intrusion on bio-available organic matter in marsh soils” | 2011 |
| Luis Dominguez | “Observing concentrations of nitrates and phosphates in the Rio Grande at dams from the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado to the American Dam, El Paso, Texas” | 2011 |
| Si Xue Lin | “Land use and mutualism: investigating intercropping pairs” | 2011 |
| Michael Patson | “Mineralization in two wetlands” | 2011 |
| Neil Mehta | “The microbial degradation of crude oil in fresh and saltwater marsh soils” | 2011 |
| Justin Stephens | “Acidification dynamics of mountaintop peatlands in response to N, SO42-, and Fe deposition in the Endless Mountains region, PA” | 2010-2011 |
| Justin Meschter | “Delivery of sediments and heavy metals to tidal marshes along the Delaware River Estuary” | 2009 |
| Michael Gill | “Minor-watershed phosphate and nitrate levels as a function of population density in Chester County, PA” | 2009 |
| Angela Bagnasco | “Childhood environmental education: A study on the effects of a zoo on environmental awareness” | 2009 |
Summer Field & Laboratory Internships Directed
| Student | Title | Dates |
| Christine Polakiewicz | VURF: Radioactive contamination along the Raritan River, NJ. | 2023 |
| Tenley Ransom | Heavy Metals in Honeybees Along an Urban to Rural Gradient in the Philadelphia Region | 2023 |
| Kamara Staples | Evaluating irrigation approaches to maximize plant growth and minimize water loss | 2021 |
| Gillen Curren (Beckman Scholar) | Heavy metals in trophic food-webs of three U.S. East Coast estuaries | 2019 and 2020 |
| Leah Eastment | Caffeine concentrations in Plum Island Sound | 2019 |
| Keegan Ruscheinski | Greenhouse gas exchange in a constructed wetland | 2018 |
| Lloyd Willis | Saltwater intrusion in the Delaware River estuary | 2018 |
| Gabriel Benson | REU Intern on NSF Funded Research Project | 2018 |
| Diana Lampasona | VURF: Creating digital elevation models and vegetation classification systems to determine marsh response to sea level rise in Plum Island, MA | 2017 |
| Mikala Jordan | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2017 |
| Madisen Dimacale | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2017 |
| Arielle Massillon | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2016 |
| Mikala Jordan | VURF: “The Response of Estuarine Metabolism to Changes in Tidal Marsh Elevation due to Sea Level Rise” | 2016 |
| Olivia Cacciatore | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2016 |
| Diana Lampasona | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2016 |
| Danielle Radomile | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2015 |
| Brian Donnelly | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2015 |
| Mary Rose Makoski | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2015 |
| Kevin Corbusier | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2015 |
| Gerard Ondrey | Summer Internship | 2014 |
| Stephanie Dantos | Summer Internship | 2014 |
| Molly Haggerty | Summer Internship on PA Sea Grant Funded Research Project | 2013 |
| Brain Donnelly | Summer Internship on PA Sea Grant Funded Research Project | 2013 |
| Julie Joyce | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2012 |
| Michael Lang | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2012 |
| Molly Haggerty | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2012 |
| Alejandra Gonzalez | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2012 |
| Cynthia Troy | GEV: “Increased nitrous oxide production by microbial denitrifiers brought about by stress due to salinity, pH, toxicity and moisture in estuarine and agricultural soils” | 2011 |
| Eric Au | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2011 |
| Justin Walsh | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2011 |
| Margaret Garcia | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2011 |
| Justin Stephens | VURF: “Acidification dynamics of mountaintop peatlands in response to N, SO42-, and Fe deposition in the Endless Mountains region, PA” | 2010 |
| Melanie Pingoy | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2010 |
| Neil Mehta | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2010 |
| John Ufferfilge | Summer Internship on NSF Funded Research Project | 2010 |
| Michael Patson | VURF: “Impact of sea level rise and salt water intrusion on plant growth and seed-bank recruitment in oligohaline marshes of the Delaware River Estuary” | 2009 |
| Justin Meschter | Summer Internship | 2009 |