Current Graduate Students
Abaye Abebe
Advisor: Rob Payn
abayeabebe@gmail.com
From: Ethiopia
Research Area: Understanding hydrologic storage patterns in snow-dominated intermountain watersheds
under current and future climate
Adam Abdur-Rahman
M.S. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Sophie Von Fromm
Email: adam.abdurrahman@montana.edu
From: Baltimore, Maryland
Research Area: Soil carbon dynamics
Misc: Harvard Forest REU '25 participant. || ESA Mid-Atlantic Conference Poster Presenter '25, '26. || ESA SEEDS Chapter President '24-'26
Gracelyn Abel
Advisor: Joao Souza
Email: gracelyn.abel@student.montana.edu
From: Kalispell, Montana
Research Area: Studying the effects of planting date, termination timing, species, planting density,
and cereal intercropping on legume cover crop growth and soil nitrogen for Montana
organic vegetable farms.
Publications: Abel, Gracelyn & Ebel, Roland. (2023). A guide to anaerobic digestion for small farms.
Jared Adam
Ph.D. Ecology & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: William Wetzel
jared.adam@montana.edu
From: Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
Research Area: Mountain Entomology and Ecophysiology: Foothills-alpine annual plant physiological
tolerance to simultaneous abiotic (e.g., drought) and biotic (e.g., insect herbivory)
stressors and the role arthropod predators play in the trophic cascade.
Publications: Google Scholar
Other: Personal Website || Github
Hezekiah Afolabi
Advisor: Adam Sigler
hezekiahabiola@gmail.com
From: Nigeria
Research Area: Solute Transport and Groundwater Quality.
Celia Almodobar
Advisor: Joao Souza
almodobar.celia@gmail.com
From: Nantucket, Massachusetts
Research Area: Soil remediation - Impacts of long-term fertilization and the effects different lime
applications
Awards/Grants: Nantucket Garden Club Scholarship (2021-2025) || George A. Fowlkes Environmental Studies Scholarship (Conservation Foundation) (2022,
2024) || Nantucket Anglers Club Scholarship (2021-2025) || Madaket Admiralty Club Scholarship (2022) || Coffin School Scholarship (2021, 2022, 2025)
Paden Allsup
Advisor: John Knowles
paden.allsup@student.montana.edu
From: Salt Lake City, Utah
Research Area:
Publications: Allsup, P., Abbott, B., Brown, B., and Giraud-Carrier, C. 2025, Reservoir
Computing Solutions for Streamflow Modeling and Prediction. || Abbott, B., Underwood,
K., Seybold, E., Kincaid, D., Hamshaw, S., Lee, R., Rizzo, D., Brown, B., Toolin,
R., Chorover, J., Li, L., Sayedi, S. S., Hill, S., Lewis, G., Wood, R., Aanderud,
Z., Brahney, J., Nixon, R., Wang, W., Allsup, P., Flox, C., Perdrial, J., 2024, Ecological
resilience in the Anthropocene is rooted in Earth stewardship, Submitted, awaiting
review.
Claire Anderson
Advisors: Cathy Zabinski & Jane Mangold
claire.anderson6@student.montana.edu
From: St Paul, Minnesota
Research Area: Understanding the effects of traditional and novel annual grass management on vegetation
and soil mineralization in invaded Montana grasslands
Awards/Grants: Nielsen Graduate Research Assistantship
Andrew Bobst
Advisor: Rob Payn
albobst@hotmail.com
From: Butte, Montana
Research Area: Evaluating the Groundwater Mediated Effects of Enhanced Groundwater Recharge
Publications: See PDF
Grants/Awards: 2026 - John C. Frye Award: from the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the American
Association of State Geologists (AASG) for the best environmental geology publication
by GSA or a state geological survey. 2026 – Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology – Distinguished Researcher Award
Other: I have worked as an Environmental Consultant in the Philadelphia area, as a Hydrologist
and Fluids Geologist for the BLM in the Miles City Field Office in eastern Montana,
and currently work as a Hydrogeologist in the Groundwater Investigations Program for
the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in Butte, MT. I received a BA in Geology
from the University of Minnesota at Morris (1997), and a MA in Geological Sciences
from the State University of New York at Binghamton (2000).
Jarrett Bowman
Advisor: Joao Souza
jarrett.bowman@student.montana.edu
From: Missoula, MT
Research Area:Soil Nutrient Management
Publications:Henriques, W. S., Bowman, J., Hall, L. N., Gauvin, C. C., Wei, H., Kuang, H., Zimanyi,
C. M., Eng, E. T., Santiago-Frangos, A., & Wiedenheft, B. (2025). Structures reveal
how the Cas1-2/3 integrase captures, delivers, and integrates foreign DNA into CRISPR
loci. Structure, 33(12), 2058-2070.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2025.09.007
Peter Bugoni
Advisor: Jack Brookshire
peterbugoni@gmail.com
Research Area: Renovating Monocultures of Exotic Cool-Season Grass Seedings to Diverse Multifunctional Ecosystems
M.S. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Ricardo Pinto and Tim Seipel
helton.camara@montana.edu
From: Brazil
Research Area: Precision Agriculture, Agricultural Technology, and Weed Management
Laissa Cavallini
Advisor: Bob Peterson
laissa.cavallini@montana.edu
From: Brazil
Research Area: Invasive species risk assessment
Publications: Open PDF
Ceili DeMarais
Advisor: Anna Schweiger
ceili.demarais@student.montana.edu
From: Winona, Minnesota
Research Area: Assessing the use of imaging spectroscopy in landscape-scale biodiversity modeling
as well as foliar ecophysiology
Grants and Awards: Crawford Fellowship ‘26, Montana View Fellowship ’26
Devanshi Het Desai
Advisors: Tim Seipel & Paul Nugent
devanshi.desai@student.montana.edu
From: Gujarat, India
Research Area: Integrated Weed Management in Montana Agroecosystems
Publications: Precision Ag Update News Article on Strategies for Precision Herbicide Application
During Summer Fallow December 2025 - Northern Agricultural Research Center | Montana State University
Awards/Grants: WSSA Travel Enrichment Experience Award 2026 || People’s Choice Three-minute Thesis competition at the College of Agriculture, Montana
State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA || Second position in poster contest at the
Western Society of Weed Science (WSSA) annual conference 2025 held in Tucson, Arizona,
USA || Montana Grains Foundation Scholarship 2025 || Second position in poster contest
at the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) annual conference 2025 held in Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. || Graduate Student Travel Award to attend the Weed Science
Society of America (WSSA) annual conference 2025 held in Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada
Arpan Dey
Advisor: Shivali Banerjee
Email: arpan.dey@student.montana.edu
From: Bankura, West Bengal, India
Research Area: "My research work will concentrate on developing better and more sustainable ways
to transform agricultural waste and crop residues into useful, impactful, and high-value
products. I specialize in designing simple and practical solutions to assist farmers
in making the best use of the resources they already have, particularly in semi-arid
regions. Through this investigation, I intend to diminish waste and environmental
impact while also providing new options for farmers and advancing a more sustainable
future and circular bioeconomy."
Publications: PDF of Publications
Awards/Grants:Graduate Teaching/Research Assistantship (GTA/GRA)
Other: LinkedIn || Research Gate || Orcid
Mary Farina
Advisor: Scott Powell and Jennifer Watts
mary.farina@student.montana.edu
From: Rhode Island
Research Area: Terrestrial carbon flux modeling in Arctic-Boreal regions
Publications:Open Publications PDF
Awards/Grants: Crawford Wildlife Habitat Graduate Fellowship (Montana State University; 2025 – 2026)
|| NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students (Montana State University; 2025)
||Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (NASA FINESST;
2020 – 2023).
Tim Gentry
Advisor: Jack Brookshire
timothy.gentry@student.montana.edu
From: Portland, Oregon
Research Area: “imaging spectroscopy for detection of soil and foliar biogeochemical processes”
Eliza Gillilan
Advisors: Tony Hartshorn & Bill Kleindl
eliza.gillilan@student.montana.edu
Research Area: Evaluating the success of beaver mimicry restoration
Raeya Gordon
Advisor: Adam Sigler
raeya.gordon@student.montana.edu
From: Cincinnati, Ohio
Research Area:Quantifying deep percolation and soil water storage on irrigated fields
Brett Griesbaum
Advisors: Paul Nugent
brett.griesbaum@montana.edu
From: Palmyra, Missouri
Research Area: My research focuses on using remote sensing, field sensors, and machine learning to
better understand soil moisture and water use in agricultural and rangeland systems.
I combine satellite imagery, field measurements, and environmental data to develop
tools that monitor changing conditions across landscapes and support more informed
irrigation and land-management decisions. More broadly, my work aims to translate
advances in precision agriculture and environmental monitoring into practical tools
that improve water-use efficiency and agricultural productivity.
Awards/Grants:Montana Space Grant Consortium Fellowship, 2024
Karolyn Hilquist
Advisor: Jack Brookshire & Dave McWethy
karolyn.hilquist@student.montana.edu
From: Evergreen, Colorado
Research Area:My research focus is on the effects of fire on conifer encroached grasslands. Specifically, how plant communities
and soil biogeochemical cycling respond to different types, severity, frequency, and
time since fire.
Nicklas Kiekover
Advisor: Adam Sigler
nicklas.kiekover@montana.edu
From: Shepherd, Montana
Research Area: Risk assessment of emerging contaminants
Jackson Kohn
Advisor: Stephanie Ewing
jackson.kohn@student.montana.edu
From: Athens, Ohio
Research Area: Cropping systemns and soil health
Publications:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10534-024-00629-7 , https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00948
Lauren Kremer
Advisor: Tim Covino
lauren.kremer@student.montana.edu
From: Fort Collins, Colorado
Research Area: Watershed biogeochemistry and ecohydrology with a focus on carbon cycling in mountain
headwater streams
Christian Larson
Advisors: Lisa Rew
christian.larson@montana.edu
From: Salt Lake City, Utah
Research Area: My research focuses on restoring Montana rangelands that have been impacted by plant
invasions. This broad goal can be separated into three separate projects that address
different threats to Montana rangelands.
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w3maHTIAAAAJ&hl=en
Sophia Lattes
Advisor: Fabian Menalled & Mac Burgess
sophia.lattes@student.montana.edu
From: Boulder, Colorado
Research Area: Integrating tools, timings, and cover crops for organic weed management in vegetables
Publications:https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1715791
Awards/Grants:WSARE graduate student grant awardee 2025 || MSU 3-minute thesis winner 2025
Amelia Lewis
Advisor: John Knowles
amelia.lewis@student.montana.edu
From: New Haven, Connecticut
Research Area: Watershed hydrology, specifically surface water/groundwater interactions in headwater
streams.
Publications: https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061794
Awards/Grants: NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) || Crawford Wildlife Habitat Graduate
Fellowship
Other:LinkedIn
Charlie Lewis
Advisor: Joao Souza and Chengci Chen
charles.lewis5@student.montana.edu
From: Ashland, Missouri
Research Area: Dry Bean Nitrogen Fertilizer Optimization
Publications: "Deep soil nitrate storage is greater under irrigated than non-irrigated and uncultivated
agricultural lands" - Ali Ashrafi, Erik S. Krueger, Charles T. Lewis, Tyson E. Ochsner. In collaboration
with Oklahoma State University.
Halley Mastro
Advisor: Stephanie Ewing
halley.mastro@student.montana.edu
From: New Paltz, New York
Research Area: Permafrost and periglacial systems
Publications: View PDF
Sharmin Akter Mim
Advisor: Shivali Banerjee
halley.mastro@student.montana.edu
From: Bangladesh
Research Area: Agricultural Bioprocessing, Circular Bioeconomy
Grants/Awards: Graduate Research Assistantship
Hayley Oakland
Advisor: Geoff Poole
hayley.oakland@gmail.com
From: Seattle, Washington
Research Area: Stream and groundwater hydrology and ecosystem metabolism
Publications: Open PDF
Awards/Grants: MSU Graduate School Professional Advancement Grant 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 // MSU College of Agriculture travel grant 2024, 2025, 2026 // MSU LRES student travel award 2024, 2025 // Society for Freshwater Sciences Endowment Award, Mulholland Fund for Biogeochemical Research, 2023 // Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Dept. (Montana State University) Graduate Fellow, 2020-2021 // Maryland Sea Grant, Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Fellow, 2017 – 2019
Henry Osei
Advisor: Anish Sapkota
From: Ghana
Research Area: Remote sensing and irrigation management
Publications: Improving the transferability of SAR-derived vegetation indices for crop monitoring, Priest Lake Water Resources: Investigating the Influence of Spatiotemporal Ice Coverage
Trends on Water Temperature in Priest Lake, Texas and Georgia Agriculture: Assessing the Drivers of Cotton Quality and Yield for
Improved Crop Forecasting in the Southern United States
Pushpa Pandey
Advisor: Paul Nugent
pushpa.pandey@student.montana.edu
From: Nepal
Research Area: quantifying the effect of residue management on soil properties and yield in Montana
cropping systems using precision agriculture techniques
Awards/Grants: Western SARE Graduate student Fund 2025 || Montana Grain Foundation Award 2025 || COA
3 Minute Thesis runner up 2026
Kristen Powell
Advisor: Andrew Felton
Kristen.powell@student.montana.edu
From: Minnetonka, Minnesota
Research Area: Grassland phenology, ecohydrology, and belowground root dynamics
Awards/Grants: Western SARE “Evaluating the role of disturbance in determining forage root phenology in a Montana
semi-arid rangeland” -Crawford Wildlife Habitat Graduate Fellowship 2026
Azin Rashed
Advisor: Scott Powell and Kristen Intemann
azin.rashed@student.montana.edu
From: Iran
Research Area: Wildland Fire, Air Quality, and Geospatial Environmental Analysis
Publications: Manuscript in preparation on the impacts of prescribed fire and wildfire on PM₂.₅
air quality across Montana.
Ryan Robertson
Advisor: Jane Mangold
ryan.robertson3@student.montana.edu
From: Missoula, Montana
Research Area: Noxious Weed Management in Wild and Range Environments
Olivier Rugenera
M.S. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Anish Sapkota and Paul Nugent
olivier.rugenera@montana.edu
From: Rwanda
Research Area: Impacts of geofencing on soil health
Ellie Sheik
M.S. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Uri Menalled
Email: ellinor.sheik@student.montana.edu
From: Pennsylvania
Research Area:My research will focus on measuring soil health in cropping systems and integrating
farmers' needs and perspectives into agricultural science.
Publications:Forcella F., Sheik E., Zavada, M., & Bernards, M. (2025). Pollen loads of insects
caught in cultivated fields of oilseed pennycress.The Great Lakes Entomologist,58(1). DOI:https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.2502
Other:I completed my undergraduate degrees in Geography and Environmental Studies at Vassar
College in New York. After a year of working with soils at The Cary Institute of Ecosystem
Studies (NY), and The Land Institute (KS), I will be joining Dr. Uriel Menalled’s
agroecology lab as a master’s student.
Mil Smith
Advisor: Tim Covino
amelia.smith2@student.montana.edu
From: Indiana
Research Area: Undecided
Damian Stoy
M.S. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Jane Mangold
Email: damian.stoy@montana.edu
From: Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania
Research Area: Weed ecology and management with an emphasis on establishing native plants in brome
infested areas
Select Presentations: Assessing Herbicide Resistance in Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) to Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibitors and ACCase Inhibitors — Western Society of Weed
Science, 2026 || Carrier Volume Effect on Glufosinate Efficacy — Western Society of
Weed Science, 2026
Other: I have a B.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences and a professional background in plant ecology,
integrated weed management, and natural resource management working for various federal
land management agencies. My current work combines applied weed science research with
outreach focused on practical weed management.
Jackson R Strand
Ph.D. Ecology & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Bob Peterson
jackson.strand@montana.edu
From: Twin Cities, Minnesota
Research Area: Biological control of invasive toadflax species in Montana using three species of
weevils.
Publications: https://jackson-strand.com/qmd/publications/publications.html
Awards/Grants: https://jackson-strand.com/qmd/cv/cv.html#honors-awards
Other:https://jackson-strand.com
Emma Tate
Ph.D. Ecology & Environmental Sciences
Advisor: Stephanie Ewing
tate30@purdue.edu
From: West Lafayette, Indiana
Research Area: Environmental microbiology and the Biogeochemistry of methane, nitrogen, and sulfur
cycling
Publications: Tate, E. et al., in preparation; Genomic evidence for diverse nitrite dependent methane-oxidizing Candidatus Methylomirablis ecotypes associated with varying riparian groundwater biogeochemistry
Awards/Grants: Extreme Biofilm NSF-NRT Program Fellow, Montana State University (2023-2025) || Big
TenPostgraduate Scholarship Recipient, Purdue University (2023)
Raqib Valli
Advisor: Anna Schweiger
raqibvalli@montana.edu
From: Nairobi, Kenya
Research Area: Imaging Spectroscopy, LiDAR, Landscape Ecology
Publications: 1. Oliver, R. Y., Pollock, L., Yanco, S., Valli, R., et al. (n.d.). Seven reasons we need movement-based indicators in global policy. Nature Biodiversity Reviews. 2, 467–479 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00173-x || Van Leesten, W., Vogel, T. & Valli, R. (n.d.). Tracking the evolution of tropical riverbed morphology using UAV photogrammetry. Physical Geography. || Winowiecki, L. A., Valli, R., Bargues-Tobella, A., Takoutsing, B., Ahmad, M. N., Ademola, D. A., Ateku, D.,
Bayala, J., Chacha, R., Magaju, C., Mwangi, L., Onkware, B., Robinson, N., Toure,
I., Trautman, S., Weullow, E., & Vågen, T.-G. (n.d.). Toward a global monitoring
framework of soil and rangeland health: Building on 20 years of the LDSF. Drylands, 3, e25, 1–8 https://doi.org/10.1017/dry.2026.10040
Awards/Grants: 2025 Crawford Wildlife Habitat Scholarship || 2024 Smithsonian Graduate Research Fellowship.
|| 2023 Yale School of the Environment Dean’s Excellence Scholarship || 2022 Andrew
Sabin Environmental Fellowship || 2022 University of Florida Projects for Peace Grant
|| 2021 Yale School of the Environment Merit Scholarship
William Weinberg
Advisor: Andrew Felton
t62z299@msu.montana.edu
From: Mojave Desert
Research Area: Dryland plant phenology & Global Change
Publications: Orefice, J., Smith, M. M., Weinberg, W. C., & Batcheler, M. (2025). Carbon dynamics
of silvopasture systems in the Northeastern United States. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 6995. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91268-6 || Weinberg, W. C., Suoja, J. R., Kerhoulas, L. P., Maberry, R. J., Lee, C. A., Baston,
D. S., & Marshall, S. E. (2021). PHYTOPHTHORA RAMORUM FOLIAR INFECTION REDUCES LEAF-LEVEL
PRODUCTIVITY IN TANOAK AND CALIFORNIA BAY: A PILOT STUDY FROM REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK. Madroño, 68(2). https://doi.org/10.3120/0024-9637-68.2.99
Awards/Grants: Instructional Innovation Grants
Carson Williams
Advisor: Andrew Felton and Anna Schweiger
carson.williams3@student.montana.edu
From: Boulder, Colorado
Research Area: Microwave remote sensing of soil moisture
Rennie Winkelman
Advisor: Andrew Felton
rennie.winkelman94@gmail.com
From: St Ignatius, Montana
Research Area: Large Herbivore Effects on Soil Carbon
Awards/Grants:Crawford Wildlife Habitat Fellow
Joel Wise
Advisor: Tim Covino
joel.wise@student.montana.edu
From: Bozeman, Montana
Research Area: Undecided
Robert Wyatt
Advisor: Bob Peterson
rjw@nwnatural.com
From: Aurora, Oregon
Research Area: Risk Management at Superfund Sediment Sites
Madelyn Zack
Advisor: Anna Schweiger
madelyn.zack@student.montana.edu
From: Minnesota
Research Area: Environmental & physiological regulation of tree carbon allocation to storage