M.S. Graduates

Click on a graduate's name to find out what he or she is doing today.


Darin Albrecht
Year: 2005
Co-Advisors: Erik Brown and John Swenson
Thesis Title: Geochemical fingerprinting and the role of the Nemadji River in sediment transport within western Lake Superior


Chad Anderson
Year: 2008
Advisor: Ken Brooks and Joe Magner
Project Title: Ditch environmental metrics: An assessment of physical, chemical and biological data in southern Minnesota ditches.


Jesse Anderson
Year: 1997
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: A comparison of temporal trends in ambient and compliance trace element and PCB data in Pool 2 of the Mississippi River, 1985-1995


Stanley Asah
Year: 2002
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: The stoichiometry of detrital processing and detritivore food quality preferences in a cold spring stream


Brooke Asleson
Year: 2007
Addvisor: Ray Hozalski and John Nieber
Thesis Title: The development and application of a four-level rain garden assessment


Madeline Banschbach
Year: 2008
Co-Advisors: Jim Anderson and Jim Perry
Thesis title: An Evaluation of Soil Properties and Efficiency of an Infiltration Basin


Sylvia Barry (Musielewicz)
Year: 2000
Advisor: Tom Johnson
Thesis Title: Paleoclimate signals from Lake Malawi sediments


Benjamin Bertsch
Year: 2002
Advisor: Howard Mooers
Thesis Title: Groundwater flow modeling and the delineation of wellhead protection areas, Cass County, Minnesota


Adam Birr
Year: 2000
Advisor: Dave Mulla
Thesis Title: An assessment of phosphorous vulnerability at mutiple scales


David Blumer
Year: 2007
Advisor: Ray Newman
Thesis Title: Using hot water to kill Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L) fragments


Meghan Brown (Smith)
Year: 2002
Advisor: Donn Branstrator
Project Title: A 2001 survey of crustacean zooplankton in the western arm of Lake Superior


Tara Carson
Year: 2002
Advisor: Paul Bloom
Thesis Title: The effect of sediment nutrient variation, water depth and emergent aquatic perennials on wild rice (Zizania palustris) production at the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge


Yi-Wen Chiu
Year: 2006
Advisor: John Nieber
Project Title: Establishing standardized procedure for ecological engineering projects in Taiwan


Yvette Christianson
Year: 2008
Advisor: Lorin Hatch
Project Title: Application of flow duration curves on an urbanized stream


Jeffrey Christopherson
Year: 2001
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Thesis Title: Hybrid poplar plantation effects on frost depth and snow distribution on agricultural lands in northwestern Minnesota


Leah Class
Year: 2002
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Towards Watershed Development: Two case studies of soil erosion and participatory development in northwest India


Christopher Clipper
Year: 2007
Advisors: Ken Brooks and John Nieber
Project Title: Subsurface tile drainage from perennial crops and a corn-soybean rotation in south-central Minnesota


Brent Dalzell
Year: 2000
Advisor: Prasanna Gowda
Thesis Title: Modeling and evaluation of non-point source pollution in the lower Minnesota River Basin


David Davis
Year: 1998
Advisor: Dave Mulla
Thesis Title: Simulation of tile drainage flow and nitrate loss from a clay loam soil


Pamela Davis
Year: 1998
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Invertebrate communities on large woody debris in the St. Croix River


Erin Day (Cox)
Year: 2000
Advisor: Pat Brezonik
Thesis Title: Landsat 5 & 7 as tools for monitoring water quality


Holly Swanson Dolliver
Year: 2007
Advisor: Satish Gupta
Thesis Title: Using Quantitative Landscape Modeling and Scientific Visualization to Characterize Soil Hydrologic Dynamics.


Christine Dolph
Year: 2008
Advisor: Bruce Vondracek
Project Title: Reducing Uncertainty and Bounding Variability of Stream Ecosystem Indicators


Michael Donahue
Year: 2006
Advisor: Josef Werne
Project Title: Inferred sulfate reduction rate and associtated sulfur isotope fractionation from the Caraico Basin


Jean Doyle
Year: 2004
Advisor: Marvin Bauer
Thesis Title: Impervious surface area classification of the Twin Cities using tasseled cap transformation and regression estimation


Martin DuSaire
Year: 2003
Advisor: John Baker
Thesis Title: Using 2D resistivity surveys to describe variability of soil depth and corn yield


Jodi Elfering (Hreha)
Year: 2003
Advisor: Dave Biesboer
Thesis Title: Improving the design of roadside ditches to decrease transportation related surface water pollution


Sara Eliason
Year: 2000
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Assessment of natural resources professional continuing education needs


Katherine Erdman (Huser)
Year: 2008
Advisor: Patrick Brezonik
Thesis Title: Using High-resolution Satellite Imagery for Aquatic Vegetation Surveys


Laurie Fairchild
Year: 2004
Advisor: Dorothy Anderson
Project Title: Private landowner perspectives affecting retention of restored wetlands


Mary Kay Fox
Year: 1999
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Biomonitoring and best management practices (BMP's) in northern Minnesota: Implications for riparian management


Keith Fredrick
Year: 2003
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Impacts of forestry Best Management Practices on water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates


Peter Gessel
Year: 2001
Advisor: Neil Hansen
Thesis Title: Variable-rate land application of liquid hog manure: Effects on contaminant persistence and transport


Gretchen Gettel
Year: 1998

Advisor: Anne Hershey
Thesis Title: A comparison of food-web matrix properties in top-down controlled Arctic lakes with geomorphically constrained fish assemblages


Anne Gleason (Dovciak)
Year: 1999
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Macroinvertebrate communities of an agricultural river basin at reach, watershed, and ecoregion scale


Kim Grosenheider
Year: 2006
dvisor: Paul Bloom
Thesis Title:


Larry Gunderson
Year: 2009
Advisor: Dave Mulla
Thesis Title: Relationships Between Watershed Characteristics, Agroecoregions, Ecoregions and Sediment Levels in Minnesota


Karl Hammers
Year: 2000
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Thesis Title: Critique of the Minnesota offsite wetland mapping convention used by the Hennepin Soil and Water Conservation District


Sara Heger Christopherson
Year: 2001
Advisor: Jim Anderson
Thesis Title: Evaluation of recirculating sand filters in Minnesota


Erik Heinen
Year: 2002
Advisor: Jim McManus
Thesis Title: Carbon and nutrient cycling in Lake Superior


Heather Hendrixson
Year: 2002
Advisor: Bob Sterner
Thesis Title: Stoichiometry of freshwater fish in relation to allometry and phylogeny, and the role of skeleton in fish stoichiometry


William Herb
Year: 2004
Advisor: Heinz Stefan
Thesis Title: The effect of environmental and physiological variables on the growth of submersed macrophytes in lakes


Wendy Hieb
Year: 2005
Advisor: Randall Hicks
Thesis Title: Identifying the sources of E. coli bacteria in Lake Superior watersheds


Patty Hoch-Melluish
Year: 1997
Advisor: Pat Brezonik
Thesis Title: A framework for assessing the effects of urbanization on the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area rivers and streams


Matthew Hudson
Year: 2004
advisor: Deb Swackhamer
Thesis Title: Microbial facilitation of contaminant transfer in the Lake Superior foodweb


Melinda Huff
Year: 2006
Advisor: Donn Branstrator
Thesis Title: Trophic state and food web evaluation of two urban, connected lakes in notrheastern Minnesota


Jeri Huggins
Year: 2008
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Spatial and short-term temporal variation of campus groundwater quantity and quality


Ethan Jahnke
Year: 2001
Advisor: Bruce Wilson
Thesis Title: Modeling the impacts of urban development on a trout stream using an ArcView/ SWAT interface


Amanda Janet
Year: 2008
Advisor: John Nieber
Project Title: Wood Creek channel enlargement and total phosphorus export to Medicine Lake, Plymouth MN


Anne Jefferson
Year: 2002
Advisor: Pat Brezonik
Project Title:Early tertiary and modern hydrological environments of the Stenkul Fiord Area, Ellesmere Island, Canada


Brian Johnson
Year: 2004
Advisor: Jim Cotner
Thesis Title: Sulfate reducing bacteria and the role of nutrients in mercury methylation in sediments of Spring Lake, Minnesota


Stephanie V. Johnson
Year: 2008
(and J.D.)
Advisor: Gary Sands
Project Title: Assessing the barriers to and potential for wetland restoration in agricultural watersheds.


Anthony Kaster
Year: 2001
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Project Title: Predicting the effect of hybrid poplar trees on a water budget, Pomme de Terre Watershed, Minnesota


Julie Klejeski
Year: 2004
Advisor: Erik Brown
Thesis Title: Nutrient budgets of urban lakes in Virginia, Minnesota


Carie Kowalski (Szalay)
Year: 1998
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in the St. Croix River: Population status and tentative steps toward a recovery plan


Marian Kramer
Year: 2009
Advisor: Erik Brown
Thesis Title: Holocene Climate and Environmental Change from White Owl Lake Sediments, White River Plateau, Colorado


Brittany Kruger
Year: 2009
Advisor: Elizabeth Minor
Thesis Title: Effect of Organic Matter Type and Salinity on Dissolved Organic Matter Isolation via Ultrafiltration and Solid Phase Extraction


Winfried Ksoll
Year: 2006
Advisor: Randall Hicks
Thesis Title: Fecal coliform bacteria in Lake Superior epilithic periphyton communities


Jeramy Kulesa
Year: 2009
Advisor: David Mulla
Project Title: Influence of changing climate on flows in the Minnesota River at Mankato, Minnesota


Matthew Laudon
Year: 2004
Advisor: Bruce Vondracek
Project Title: The importance of terrestrial arthropods to trout in Valley Creek, Minnesota


Cadice Lavelle
Year: 2009
Advisor: Peter Sorensen
Project Title: Laboratory Simulation of the Possible Effects of Environmental Estrogens on the Reproductive Health of Free-Ranging Adult Fathead Minnows


Randy Lehr
Year: 2003
Advisor: Deb Swackhamer
Thesis Title: Use of estrogen equivalents to explain vitellogenin induction in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to a complex wastewater effluent


John Loomis
Year: 2008
Advisor: Bruce Vondracek
Thesis Title: The Survival and Blood Chemistry Response of Walleye Sander Vitreus to a Simulated Live-Release Fishing Tournament


Bruce Ludewig
Year: 2009
Advisor: Jay Austin
Thesis Title: Upwelling in Idealized Stratified Lakes


David Mickelson
Year: 2000
Advisor: John Nieber
Thesis Title: The effect of agricultural tile drainage on flood events in the Minnesota River Basin


Janell Miersch
Year: 2000
Advisor: Jay Bell
Project Title: Out of the creek: A wastewater decision case


Stefanie Miklovic
Year: 2002
Advisor: Susan Galatowitsch
Thesis Title: Effects of road salt on glacial marshes


Ryan Miller
Year: 1999
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Thesis Title: Hydrologic effects of wetland drainage and land use change in a tributary watershed of the Minnesota River Basin: A modeling approach


Maureen Minister
Year: 2004
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Water quality monitoring to demonstrate accountability for storm water management: The Sarita wetland at the University of Minnesota as a case-study


Millicent Mrema
Year: 2007
Advisor: Frances Homans
Project Title: Spatial temporal analysis of causes and impacts of changes in stream flow in the Kihansi catchment


Caitrin Mullan
Year: 2009
Co-Advisors: Dorothy Anderson & Larry Baker
Project Title: Assessing Scenic Quality of Urban Waterways: Creating a foundation for developing a comprehensive scenic resource management tool for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area


James Musielewicz
Year: 2002
Advisor: Erik Brown
Thesis Title: Estimates of sediment transport in conjunction with the Keweenaw current using copper mine tailings as a sediment tracer


James Noren
Year: 2002
Advisor: Patrick Brezonik
Project Title: The effects of a change in withdrawal operations at Eau Galle Reservoir, Wisconsin (USA)


Heather Offerman (Johnson)
Year: 2006
Advisor: Satish Gupta
Thesis Title: Assessing river water quality trends in the Minnesota River Basin


Leif Olmanson
Year: 1997
Advisor: Dwight Brown
Project Title: Satellite remote sensing of the trophic state conditions of lakes in the Twin Cities metropolitan area


Ole Olmanson
Year: 2007
Advisor: Tyson Oschner
Project Title: Improving the accuracy and field practicality of a thermo-time domain reflectometry sensor


Eric Otto
Year: 2006
Advisor: John Nieber
Project Title: Two methods to evaluate the potential negative impact of stormwater BMPs on roadway infrastructure


Jeremy Pavlish
Year: 2004
Advisor: E. Calvin Alexander
Thesis Title: Effects of sub-water table mining on the hydrogeology of a sand and gravel aquifer feeding a Clay County, Minnesota, calcareous seepage fen


Keeley Pearson-Johnson
Year: 2005
Advisor: Josef Werne
Thesis Title: Holocence environmental change as recorded in the sedimentary organic geochemical record in Lake Superior


Barbara Peichel
Year: 2002
Advisor: Sue Galatowitsch
Project Title: A protocol for prioritizing wetland habitat restoration in the St. Louis River Watershed


Jonathan Pundsack
Year: 2000
Co-Advisors: Richard Axler and Randall Hicks
Thesis Title: Pathogen removal by alternative wastewater treatment systems


Andry Ranaivoson
Year: 1998
Thesis Title: Tillage effects on sediment and runoff losses under a corn-soybean rotation


Heidi Rantala
Year: 2005
Advisor: Howard Mooers
Thesis Title: Landscape evolution and a relict fish community, North Shore, Alaska


Kara Raymond
Year: 2009
Co-Advisors: Nick Jordan and Bruce Vondracek
Thesis Title: The Effects of Rotational Grazing Systems and Continuous Grazing Systems and Continuous Grazing Systems on Stream Channels and Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Driftless Area Ecoregion


Natasha Reed (Devoe)
Year: 2000
Advisor: Jim Anderson
Project Title: Wetland assessment using the MnRAM method: A comparison of outcomes for calibration


Mark Riedel
Year: 1997
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Thesis Title: Relationships between landuse and clay stream channels in the Nemadji watershed


Kari Rolf
Year: 2005
Co-Advisors: Jeff Strock and David Mulla
Thesis Titlte: Implications of alternative versus conventional farming practices on soil physical properties and nonpoint source pollution


Wesley Saunders-Pearce
Year: 2003
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Infiltration trench assessment: Using in-situ beach sand to protect water quality


Brennon Schaefer
Year: 2006
Advisor: John Nieber
Thesis Title: Simulation of storm runoff using the gridded surface subsurface hydrologic analysis (GSSHA) Model


Della Schall (Young)
Year: 2008
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: SWAT: A management tool for understanding phosphorus transport in the Spring Lake Watershed


Erica Schram
Year: 2008
Co-Advisors: Jim Perry and Deb Swackhamer
Thesis Title:Nitrogen budgets for University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus water resources management and community outreach


Johanna Schussler
Year: 2005
Advisor: Larry Baker
Thesis Title: A comparison of phosphorous sources and fate in eleven Minnesota watersheds


William Sea
Year: 1999
Advisor: Ken Davis
Project Title: Fluxes in a heterogeneous terrain in a northern forest


Adam Sealock
Year: 2007
Advisor: Len Ferrington Jr.
Thesis Title: An investigation of disturbance, sampling methods, the river continuum concept, and hydroseres in Hardwood Creek a ditched Stream in Minnesota, USA


Bridget Seegers
Year: 2009
Advisor: Robert Sterner
Thesis Title: Lake Superior Zooplankton Community Grazing and Its Implications for the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum


Shannon Skally
Year: 2004
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Project Title: Hydroacoustic Surveys: Repeatability in Lakes of Varying Vegetative Structure


Helga Madrigal Solis
Year: 2007
Advisor: John Nieber and Jacques Finlay
Thesis Title: Identification and quantification of source waters to streamflow using hydrograph separation and End Member Mixing Analysis, in a paired watershed setting, Southeastern Minnesota.


Kevin Springob
Year: 2005
Advisor: Larry Baker
Project Title: The influence of biological factors on the effectiveness of alum treatments


David Stark
Year: 2001
Advisor: Howard Mooers
Project Title: Application of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation within a geographical information system for the Munising Bay Watershed, Munising, Michigan


Joseph Stauffer
Year: 1998
Advisor: Ray Newman
Thesis Title: Effects of riparian zones on aquatic communities in an agricultural setting


Brandon Stephens
Year: 2008
Advisor: Elizabeth Minor
Thesis Title: DOM characteristics along the continuum from river to reservoir: a Comparison of Freshwater and Saline Transects


Scott Stockhaus
Year: 2000
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Project Title: Comparisons of nutrient export among switchgrass, hybrid poplar, wheat, and aspen in northwest Minnesota


Jeffrey Strom
Year: 2007
Advisor: Erik Brown
Thesis Title: Seasonal evolution of dissolved gas concentrations in western Lake Superior: Implications for respiration, primary production and carbon cycling


Kevin Stroom
Year: 1999
Advisor: Carl Richards
Thesis Title: Development of macroinvertebrate biocriteria for streams of Minnesota's Lake Superior watershed


Luke Stuewe
Year: 2006
Advisor: David Mulla
Thesis Title: Agricultural nitrogen and phosphorous mass-balances in south-central Minnesota


Jennifer Swenson (Olson)
Year: 2005
Advisor: John Nieber
Thesis Title: Infiltration as a stormwater management technique: A catalog and inventory of infiltration practices in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and ground water mounding beneath a regional infiltration basin


Shandor Szalay
Year: 1999
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Patch dynamics of two stream macrophytes: Growth, response to disturbance, and sediment bound phosphorus detention


Philip Talmage
Year: 2000
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Relation of instream habitat and physical conditions to fish communities of agricultural streams in the northern Midwest


Jonathon Thornburg
Year: 2009
Advisor: Paul Capel
Thesis Title: Temporal and Spatial Variability in Nitrate and Water Quality Parameters of Subsurface Drains in an Agriculture Stream


Jason Ulrich
Year: 2005
Advisor: Bruce Wilson
Project Title: Analysis of stream health indicators for TMDL assessment in the Minnesota, St. Croix and Upper Mississippi River Basins of Minnesota


Dana Vanderbosch
Year: 2009
Advisor: Sue Galatowitsch
Thesis Title: Revegetating Lakeshores in Urban Landscapes


David VanderMeulen
Year: 2001
Advisor: John Pastor
Thesis Title: Plant litter quality and decomposition in northern peatlands


Scott Walz
Year: 2009
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Thesis Title: Water Budget of a Restored Minnesota Wetland


Binke Wang
Year: 1996
Advisor: Bruce Wilson
Project Title: Topographic parameterization of a watershed in China using GRASS GIS package


Jill Coleman Wasik
Year: 2008
Advisor: Dan Engstrom
Thesis Title: Chronic Effects of Atmospheric Sulfate Deposition on Mercury Methylation in a Boreal Wetland: Replication of a Global Experiment


Chris Wennen
Year: 2009
Co-Advisors: Bill Arnold & Ray Hozalsk
Thesis Title: Application of a Wireless Sensor Network for Urban Water Quality Management: Pollutant Loading in Stormwater Ponds


Valerie Were
Year: 2007
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Monitoring non-point source pollution using the reference condition approach: A case-study from the Minnesota River Basin


Jeffrey Werner
Year: 2004
Co-advisors: Bill Arnold and Kris McNeill
Project Title: The aquatic photochemical kinetics of three acidic pharmaceuticals: Ibuprofen, clofibric acid and mefenamic acid


Marcey Westrick
Year: 2000
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: The classification and prediction of macroinvertebrate communities to the upper St. Croix River Basin


Melissa Wilson
Year: 2008
Co-advisors: John Moncrief and Carl Rosen
Thesis title: Crop Productivity and Nitrate Leaching in Coarse-Textured Soils as Affected by the Use of Polymer Coated Urea and Deep Tillage


Shannon Wing (Belmont)
Year: 2009
Advisor: David Mulla
Thesis title: Classifications of Ravine Morphometrics in the Minnesota River Basin Using GIS-based Terrain Analysis


Martijn Woltering
Year: 2008
Co-advisors: Josef Werne and Thomas Johnson
Thesis Title: Late Pleistocene temperature history of southeast Africa: A TEX86 temperature record from Lake Malawi


Joshua Woodward
Year: 2002
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: The role of spatial scale in describing fish communities: Testing the watershed-agroecoregion intersection


Yuhu Yan
Year: 2004
Advisor: Mike Sydor
Project Title: Remote sensing reflectance measurements and analysis in the Western arm of Lake Superior


Mindy Zapp (Granley)
Year: 2004

Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Nutrient and sediment loads and storage in a peri-urban trout stream


Jeremy ZumBerge
Year: 1999

Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Influence of local riparian cover and basin runoff potential on benthic invertebrate communities in the Minnesota River Basin