Clifton Cottrell (School of Public Policy)
Advisor: Dr. Rosina Bierbaum
Clifton Cottrell is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Public Policy studying indigenous climate resilience. He is concerned with how a tribe’s legal status impacts its capacity to build resilient, food secure communities. He hopes to adapt the interdisciplinary knowledge gained as a Global Steward to indigenous food-energy-water problems throughout the Chesapeake region.

Sijal Dangol (CMNS)
Advisors: Dr. Fernando R. Miralles-Wilhelm, Dr. Xin Zhong Liang
Sijal Dangol is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in UMD. He is working on coupling of surface and groundwater model to advance our understanding of food-energy-water nexus. Sijal’s research interests include modeling the interaction between climate, land use change and hydrology.

Dietrich J. Epp Schmidt (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Stephanie Yarwood
Dietrich Epp Schmidt is an environmental microbiologist interested in understanding the impact that human land management decisions have on ecological outcomes. He grew up wanting to work in restoration ecology, but realized that agriculture is one of the single most impactful land uses. Dietrich studies agricultural systems in the hopes that he can help to mitigate human environmental impacts, and help humanity move towards a sustainable equilibrium with our supporting ecosystem. 

Cortney Gustafson (BSOS)
Advisor: Dr. Klaus Hubacek
Cortney Gustafson is a fifth year Ph,D candidate in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland studying hydro-socioeconomic systems modeling. She  earned her Masters in Environmental Sciences from the Florida International University and recently participated in the Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP) at the International Institute of Applied System Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria. She hopes her research will lead to better understanding regarding the interactions and feedbacks between our water resources, economic production and social structures.

Vitaly Kholodovsky (CMNS)
Advisor: Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang
Vitaly Kholodovsky is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. He originally came to the United States from Ukraine. Vitaly received the Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from Dnepropetrovsk University, Ukraine. His research interests include analysis and modeling of extreme weather events and their impact on FEW systems, comparative model validation and spatial forecast verification.

Xingchen Liu (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Shirley Ann Micallef
Xingchen Liu is a Ph.D. student studying food safety in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland. She received her Master’s degree in Food Engineering from China Agricultural University. Her research focuses on identifying the phytochemicals that can limit the growth of human pathogens on the surface of leafy greens under extreme weather events.

Suraj Panthi (SPH)
Advisor: Dr. Amir Sapkota
Suraj Panthi is a third year PhD student in the environmental health program at the school of public health. He is a CONSERVE scholar advised by Dr. Amir Sapkota and is interested in environmental exposure studies. His current research involves  the detection and quantification of pharmaceutical and personal care products in non-traditional water sources using the advanced analytical instrumentation (LC-MS/MS). 

Manashi Paul (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Masoud Negahban-Azar
Manashi Paul is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Department of Environmental Science & Technology. She is a CONSERVE Scholar and a Research Assistant working on the Water Security and Sustainability Lab under the supervision of Dr. Masoud Negahban-Azar. Manashi’s research focuses on sustainable water reuse in agricultural watersheds to sustain water and food security. She uses hydrological modeling, GIS, and statistical analysis to solve problems that will help stakeholders involved in the implementation of water reuse programs.

Carlton Poindexter (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Stephanie Lansing
Carlton Poindexter is a doctoral student in the department of environmental science and technology. His research is generally focused on the various uses and implementations of anaerobic digestion as a valuable waste treatment technology and energy producer. His current focus is on antimicrobial resistance and thermal based waste/ wastewater management technology. This research seeks to determine ecological mechanisms involved in the occurrence and transmission of antibiotic resistant genes and  antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Richard Remigio (SPH)
Advisor: Dr. Amir Sapkota
Richard Remigio is a doctoral student at the Maryland Institute of Applied Environmental Health advised by Dr. Amir Sapkota. He is currently interested in characterizing the effects of acute environmental exposure on vulnerable populations. In addition, he is also interested in understanding public health as an ecosystem service when developing climate resilience plans. Richard earned graduate degrees from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and Stanford University in environmental health sciences and environmental engineering and science, respectively.

Rahat Sharif (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Mitchell Pavao Zuckerman
Rahat Sharif is a Ph.D student in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland – College Park. She received her B.S. In Environmental Economics and Management and a Masters of Environmental Science and Management at the University of Rhode Island. She is working under the supervision of Dr. Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman looking at the impact of design on the function and provision of ecosystem services in Stormwater Green Infrastructure. Outside of her work she likes to play trombone in various ensembles and swim laps in the pool.

Sultana Solaiman (AGNR)
Advisor: Dr. Shirley Micallef
Sultana Solaiman is a third year PhD student in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. Her research focuses on the virulence and diversity of an understudied human pathogen, Aeromonas spp. in the USA.