Laboratory Policies (click to open)
Lab Members
Ken Czapla, Postdoctoral Scholar
Ken is a postdoctoral researcher examining the impacts of wildfires on nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions. He is interested in biogeochemistry and microbial ecology across a variety of ecosystems to examine how human activities impact natural environments and global climate. He completed his Ph.D. in 2020 at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William & Mary, focusing on salt marsh carbon and nitrogen cycling, and did a postdoc at Stanford (2020–2023) researching nitrogen cycling in South San Francisco Bay benthic sediments
Chloe Reid, Research Specialist
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Chloe received her B.S. degree in Environmental Sciences with a focus in Soil Science from UCR in March 2022. She is interested in how environmental stressors, anthropogenic activities, and changes in nutrient availability might affect soil microbial processes and biogeochemical cycling.
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Aral C. Greene, Ph.D. student
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Aral graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Ecology and Evolution from UCSB. She has worked as a field technician in the Arctic and as an intern for the TRACE project in El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. In addition to leading research projects on soil greenhouse gas emissions, she is also studying nutrient cycling in a rainfall manipulation experiment. Her research interests include soil biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling.
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Elizah Stephens, Ph.D. Student
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Elizah is studying how wildfires change soil nitrogen cycling and microbial community processes, as well as investigating the functional roles that pyrophilous microbes may play in greenhouse gas emissions in post-fire environments.
Elizah was awarded funding from CalFire to pursue her research interests. |
Jamie Irby, Ph.D. Student
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Jamie graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science, and a minor in Computer Science. In her undergrad, she worked as a research assistant in a soil health lab, and now continues her love of soil and the environment pursuing her PhD blending stable isotopes with soil N cycling. She likes to game (sports and PC), try new food, and hang out with her tuxedo cat all day.
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J Kemner, Ph.D. Student
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J is a PhD student exploring the seasonal effects of prescribed burns on soil carbon cycling in coniferous systems, with an aim to understand management techniques that help keep carbon in the ground. Before joining the lab, he completed his B.S. in Environmental Science at Iowa State University, his M.S. in Forest Resource Management at West Virginia University, and worked as a soil laboratory technician at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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Undergraduate students
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Tony Calma, NSF REU Ellen Nguyen Yareli Olazabal, NSF REU Danni Ortiz, Undergraduate Research Assistant |
Past lab members
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Dr. Alex Krichels, postdoc 2019-2023, now a Research Ecologist at the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research station. Felix Osuna-Lopez, UC Natural Reserves Internship Demiana Dannoun, UCR Undergraduate Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program Sharon Zhao, B.S. 2020, NSF REPS Fellow 2021-2022, is now a Laboratory Research Technician at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Johann Püspök, M.S. 2021, is now a Plant Ecologist with the Federal Institute for Forest Research, Vienna Jacob Velasquez (undergraduate research assistant 2021) Karen Argumedo (undergraduate research assistant 2020) is pursuing an M.S. degree at Cal State L.A. Nikki Shelton (undergraduate research assistant 2020) is now an undergraduate student at UCLA Heather Haro (undergraduate research assistant 2020) is pursuing an M.S. degree at University of San Francisco Kobe Luu (undergraduate research assistant 2018) is at Wichita Sate pursuing a graduate degree |
