2015 NAGT-USGS Interns

Stuart Baker, Kent State University
Science Mentor: Erin Berryman
Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Project: Soil respiration following wildfire in ponderosa and lodgepole pine forests of the Southern Rocky Mountains

John Barefoot, University of North Carolina
Science Mentor: Laura Clor
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Photogrammetry of active thermal areas at Cascades Volcanoes

Jeremy Brizendine, University of Missouri
Science Mentor: Marci Robinson
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: Microfossil indicators of Pliocene paleoenvironments, Bay of Bengal

Christopher Borjas, University of Texas at Arlington
Science Mentor: Gavin Hayes
Location: Golden, Colorado
Project: Extending and updating global models of three-dimensional subduction zone geometry

John Brotherton, Western State Colorado University
Science Mentor: James Kuwabara
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Benthic processes affecting solute transport through Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

Taylor Canada, University of Texas at Austin
Science Mentor: Gerard Butch
Location: Troy, New York
Project: Surface-water and ground-water networks

Carissa Chambers, Sul Ross University
Science Mentor: Gregory Noe
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: The effect of floodplain geomorphology on nutrient biogeochemistry and water quality

Matthew Cheney, Cedarville University
Science Mentor: Jamie Shanley
Location: Montpelier, Vermont
Project: WEBB Program environmental data collection and interpretation

Jeremy Cordova, California State University, Fullerton
Science Mentor: Walter Mooney
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Earthquake hazards in the Central and Eastern U.S.

Mindi Curran, Humboldt State University
Science Mentor: Erik Beever
Location: Bozeman, Montana
Project: Investigating factors determining the niche of the American Pika in the Rocky Talus Slopes: merging ecology, biogeography, climate and geology

Benjamin Davidson, California State University, Long Beach
Science Mentor: Jeffrey Chaplin
Location: South-Central Pennsylvania
Project: Geochemical processes and pesticides in vulnerable aquifers

Davis DeFord, Northern Illinois University
Science Mentor: James Vallance and Cynthia Gardner
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Project: A tale of two volcanoes: mapping, stratigraphy, and hazards assessment at Cascade Volcanoes, Glacier Peak and Mount Shasta

Shannon Fasola, St. Norbert College
Science Mentor: Lind Gee and David Croker
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Field technician

Tyler Fritz, University of Texas at Austin
Science Mentor: Craig Johnson and Matthew Emmons
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Analysis of stable isotopes in geological, hydrological, and biological materials; developing new automated devices and methods

Shane Fussel, University of Florida
Science Mentor: Jeffrey Chaplin
Location: Pike County, Pennsylvania
Project: Geochemical processes relating to resource extraction

Ryan Gableman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Science Mentor: Walter Mooney
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Earthquake hazards in the Central and Eastern U.S.

Leia Gaten-Slahor, San Francisco State University
Science Mentor: John Nimmo
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Modeling and measurement of unsaturated zone flow processes

Joseph George, Middle Tennessee State University
Science Mentor: Rich Sheibley
Location: Tacoma, Washington
Project: Effects of stormwater on the water quality, biota, and habitat of small streams in Puget Sound

Jennifer Godbout, Colgate University
Science Mentor: Robin Stewart
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Investigations into the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of selenium and mercury in the San Francisco Bay Estuary

Aaron Gross, University of North Carolina
Science Mentor: Kristen Hart
Location: Davie, Florida
Project: Sea turtle movements and habitat-use

Kristyn Hill, University of Nebraska
Science Mentor: Miriam Jones
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: The fate of carbon in permafrost soils

Robert Quinn Hull, Oberlin College
Science Mentor: Denis LeBlanc
Location: Northborough, Massachusetts
Project: Cape Cod toxic substances hydrology field research

James Ingraffia, California State University, Northridge
Science Mentor: Shane Detweiler
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Geological and geophysical studies of the San Andreas Fault System

Mark Korte-Nahabedian, University of California, Santa Barbara
Science Mentor: Jacob Lowenstern
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: GIS of gas and heat flux from the Yellowstone volcanic system

Jordan Kovash, Western Washington University
Science Mentor: Jonathan Stock
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Field hydrology of historic landslides to improve storm-driven landslide hazard forecasts in the San Francisco Bay area

Joseph Krienert, Southern Illinois University
Science Mentor: Geneva Chong
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Project: Plant phenology monitoring: data analysis and applications to assess habitat

Larisa LaMere, Rice University
Science Mentor: Isa Woo and Susan De La Cruz
Location: Olympia, Washington
Project: Assessing foodweb connectivity and carbon sequestration within the Nisqually River Delta

Kristiana Lapo, Pacific Lutheran University
Science Mentor: Katherine Skalak
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: Hydrologic technician/geologic technician

Madeline Lewis, Indiana University
Science Mentor: Steve Kirby, Carl Wentworth, and Victoria Langenheim
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Investigations of Serpentinites and associated rocks along the San Francisco Peninsula

Leslie Logan, University of Wyoming
Science Mentor: Albert Hofstra
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Melt and fluid inclusion analysis in resource investigations

Evan Martin, University of Wyoming
Science Mentor: Mary Hodges
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
Project: Geologic mapping in the southwestern part of the Idaho National Laboratory site

Joshua Messenger, Montana Tech of the University of Montana
Science Mentor: Perry Jones
Location: Mounds View, Minnesota
Project: Assessing the influence of natural copper-nickel bedrocks on water quality

Brian Meyers, University of Oregon
Science Mentor: Michael Lisowski
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Project: Geodetic monitoring of Cascade Range Volcanoes and Yellowstone

Nikolas Midttun, University of Washington
Science Mentor: Katherine Scharer
Location: Pasadena, California
Project: Imagery analysis and fault slip rate studies, Southern California

Savannah Miller, Clemson University
Science Mentor: Thomas Imbrigiotta
Location: Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Project: Fate and transport of biodegrading chlorinated solvent contaminants in fractured rock aquifers

Katherine Morgan, Western Washington University
Science Mentor: Darcy McPhee
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Geophysical investigations related to geothermal, mineral, water resources and other natural hazards

Aaron Olson, Oregon State University
Science Mentor: Daniel Cain
Location: Menlo Park, California
Project: Ecological impacts of metal mines on stream ecosystems

Matthew Olson, Brigham Young University
Science Mentor: Isabelle Cozzarelli
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: Transport of contaminants in groundwater

Katherine Pappas, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Science Mentor: John Lane
Location: Storrs, Connecticut
Project: Applied hydrogeophysics research

Dolan Paris, Humboldt State University
Science Mentor: Alena Leeds
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Utilization of portable seismic instrumentation to assess site response and seismic hazard

Candice Passehl, Fort Lewis College
Science Mentor: Cal Ruleman and Shannon Mahan
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Utilizing Quaternary geochronology to unravel Pleistocene geomorphic histories

Marcel Peliks, University of California, Santa Cruz
Science Mentor: Benjamin Pauk
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Project: Geophysical instrumentation and monitoring support of Cascade Range Volcanoes

Daniel Roberts, University of Oklahoma
Science Mentor: Meagan Eagle Gonneea
Location: Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Project: Carbon storage in coastal salt marsh ecosystems after restoration

Clay Robertson, Kansas State University
Science Mentor: Rich Sheibley
Location: Tacoma, Washington
Project: Effects of stormwater on the water quality, biota, and habitat of small streams in Puget Sound

Nicole Rocco, Oregon State University
Science Mentor: Amanda Demopoulos
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Project: Characterizing the ecology of deep-sea invertebrate communities associated with Caribbean Seamounts

Samuel Schoenmann, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Science Mentor: Cliff Hupp and Ed Schenk
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: Hydrological technician

Benjamin Stark, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Science Mentor: Rex Baum
Location: Golden, Colorado
Project: Geohydrologic monitoring and characterization of landslide and debris flow source areas

Bryanna Sudman, Minnesota State University
Science Mentor: Donald Sweetkind
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Digital geologic map compilation in the northern Sacramento Valley, the Sierran Foothills, and the California Coast Ranges

Laura Sugano, Illinois State University
Science Mentor: James Paces and Mark Hudson
Location: Denver, Colorado
Project: Evaluating Pleistocene and mid-continent climate, hydrologic, and paleoseismic records using speleothems from caves in Arkansas, Missouri, and Indiana

Colby Thrash, Clemson University
Science Mentor: Claire Tiedeman
Location: Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Project: Groundwater flow and contaminant transport in fractured-rock aquifers

Erik Tvinnereim, Iowa State University
Science Mentor: Nancy Simon
Location: Reston, Virginia
Project: Age dating with chiral amino acids

Scott Walker, Colorado State University
Science Mentor: Gregory Boughton
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Project: Wyoming groundwater-quality monitoring network