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M.S. Graduates

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

Darin Albrecht
Year: 2005
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: The stoichiometry of detrital processing and detritivore food quality preferences in a cold spring stream

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

Sylvia Barry (Musielewicz)
Year: 2000
Degree Plan: A
Addvisor: Tom Johnson
Thesis Title: Paleoclimate signals from Lake Malawi sediments

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

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

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

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

Tara Carson
Year: 2002
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
Advisor: John Nieber
Project Title: Establishing standardized procedure for ecological engineering projects in Taiwan

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

Jeffrey Christopherson
Year: 2001
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
Advisor: Jim Perry
Project Title: Towards Watershed Development: Two case studies of soil erosion and participatory development in northwest India

Christopher Clipper
Year: 2007
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Prasanna Gowda
Thesis Title: Modeling and evaluation of non-point source pollution in the lower Minnesota River Basin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gretchen Gettel
Year: 1998
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Macroinvertebrate communities of an agricultural river basin at reach, watershed, and ecoregion scale

Kim Grosenheider
Year: 2006
Degree Plan:
Advisor: Paul Bloom
Thesis Title:

Karl Hammers
Year: 2000
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Anderson
Thesis Title: Evaluation of recirculating sand filters in Minnesota

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

Heather Hendrixson
Year: 2002
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Heinz Stefan
Thesis Title: The effect of environmental and physiological variables on the growth of submersed macrophytes in lakes

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

Patty Hoch-Melluish
Year: 1997
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
advisor: Deb Swackhamer
Thesis Title: Microbial facilitation of contaminant transfer in the Lake Superior foodweb

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

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

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

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

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

Anthony Kaster
Year: 2001
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Erik Brown
Thesis Title: Nutrient budgets of urban lakes in Virginia, Minnesota

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

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

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

Randy Lehr
Year: 2003
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Bruce Vondracek
Thesis Title: The Survival and Blood Chemistry Response of Walleye Sander Vitreus to a Simulated Live-Release Fishing Tournament

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

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

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

Ryan Miller
Year: 1999
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: B
Advisor: Frances Homans
Project Title: Spatial temporal analysis of causes and impacts of changes in stream flow in the Kihansi catchment

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

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

Leif Olmanson
Year: 1997
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Tyson Oschner
Project Title: Improving the accuracy and field practicality of a thermo-time domain reflectometry sensor

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

Jeremy Pavlish
Year: 2004
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Josef Werne
Thesis Title: Holocence environmental change as recorded in the sedimentary organic geochemical record in Lake Superior

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kari Rolf
Year: 2005
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Infiltration trench assessment: Using in-situ beach sand to protect water quality

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

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

Erica Schram
Year: 2008
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Larry Baker
Thesis Title: A comparison of phosphorous sources and fate in eleven Minnesota watersheds

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

Adam Sealock
Year: 2007
Degree Plan: A
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

Shannon Skally
Year: 2004 M.S.
Degree Plan: B
Advisor: Ken Brooks
Project Title: Hydroacoustic Surveys: Repeatability in Lakes of Varying Vegetative Structure

Helga Madrigal Solis
Year: 2007
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
Advisor: Larry Baker
Project Title: The influence of biological factors on the effectiveness of alum treatments

David Stark
Year: 2001
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Ray Newman
Thesis Title: Effects of riparian zones on aquatic communities in an agricultural setting

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

Jeffrey Strom
Year: 2007
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree: Plan B
Advisor: Carl Richards
Thesis Title: Development of macroinvertebrate biocriteria for streams of Minnesota's Lake Superior watershed

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

Jennifer Swenson (Olson)
Year: 2005
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Patch dynamics of two stream macrophytes: Growth, response to disturbance, and sediment bound phosphorus detention

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

Jason Ulrich
Year: 2005
Degree Plan: B
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

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

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

Valerie Were
Year: 2007
Degree Plan: A
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
Degree Plan: B
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
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: The classification and prediction of macroinvertebrate communities to the upper St. Croix River Basin

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

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

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

Mindy Zapp (Granley)
Year: 2004
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Nutrient and sediment loads and storage in a peri-urban trout stream

Jeremy ZumBerge
Year: 1999
Degree Plan: A
Advisor: Jim Perry
Thesis Title: Influence of local riparian cover and basin runoff potential on benthic invertebrate communities in the Minnesota River Basin