Jeffrey A. Cunningham
Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Former Students and Advisees
Akers, D Bradlee (Brad).
M.S., University
of South Florida (USF), 2014.
Thesis title: Lead (Pb) contamination of water drawn from
pitcher pumps in eastern Madagascar.
Last status update
(June 2020):
Brad is an Environmental Engineer (GS-13) in the Air Regulatory Management
Section of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (Region
4, Atlanta).
Office telephone
number: (+1) 404-562-9089. E-mail: akers.brad@epa.gov
Allen, Whitney (co-advised by Prof A Ashmawy). M.S.,
USF, 2005.
Whitney’s name is now
Whitney A Stevens.
Thesis title: Relationship between plasticity ratio and
hydraulic conductivity for bentonite clay during exposure to synthetic landfill
leachate.
Last status update
(June 2020):
Whitney earned her PE license after graduation.
In 2013, she began managing
the Tampa office of the engineering firm Ardaman & Associates, where she is now
an Assistant Vice President and still serves as the Tampa Branch Manager.
E-mail: wstevens@ardaman.com
Carr, Benjamin. B.S. (with honors), USF, 2020.
Honors Thesis title: Complexation-enhanced rejection of
N-nitroso-dimethylamine (NDMA) during membrane treatment.
Last status update
(January 2022):
Ben is a PhD student in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California (San Diego). He is working in the laboratory of Dr
Nate Slade, studying the impacts of nitrates on the phase state of organic
aerosols.
Cone, Margaret. M.S., USF, 2013.
Thesis title: Effects of solvent composition and hydrogen
pressure on the catalytic conversion of 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene to
cyclohexane.
Last status update (July 2022): Margaret spent
about 7 years working in the field of air quality, in both West Virginia and
Oklahoma. For some of that time she
worked as an Environmental Specialist for Cardinal Engineering (part of
the Enviro Clean group) in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Margaret then worked as
a research assistant with the Environmental
Research & Education Foundation (EREF), one of our country’s top
research organizations dedicated to solid-waste management. As of the time of this update, Margaret is a
Project Engineer with Weaver Consultants Group.
Fadel, Ziad. M.S., Texas A&M
University (TAMU), 2005.
Thesis title: Stochastic modeling of transport and
degradation of reactive solutes in heterogeneous aquifers.
Last status update (June 2020): Ziad has worked in
structural engineering, construction development, and project management in
Lebanon and Qatar. Currently he is a
Project Manager for IMAR in Beirut,
Lebanon.
Goldman, Josh (co-advised by Prof L Donald Duke). M.S.,
USF, 2007.
Thesis title: Relationship between biofilm removal and membrane
performance using Dunedin reverse osmosis water treatment plant as a case
study.
After graduating from USF, Josh
completed his PhD at the University of New Mexico
under the guidance of Prof Kerry Howe. He also earned his PE license.
Last status update (June 2020): Josh
worked for several years for CDM Smith
in the Denver area, then joined the Metro
Wastewater Reclamation District as a staff engineer. (Josh described his job to me and it sounds
really fun!)
Grabo,
Ian. M.S., USF, 2022.
Thesis
title: Formation of trihalomethanes during chlorination at South
Cross Bayou Advanced Water Reclamation Facility, Pinellas County, Florida.
Hawasli, Hania.
M.S., USF, 2021.
Thesis title: Effects of nitrate on arsenic mobilization during aquifer storage and
recovery.
Last status update (December 2021):
Hania is working as an Engineer Intern for Hillsborough
County Public Works. She works with
the transportation engineering group.
Judah, Lauren (co-advised by Prof
J Mihelcic). M.S., USF, 2022.
Thesis title: Assessment and
prevention of bacterial regrowth in stored household water in eastern coastal
Madagascar.
Last status update (May 2023):
Lauren is working on Everglades restoration for NorthStar. She had planned to join the Peace Corps in
Peru after graduation, but unrest in Peru in early 2023 let to a delay (but not
a cancellation!) of that plan.
Kalivoda, Mark.
M.S.,
USF, 2017.
Thesis title: Assessment and modeling of three
decentralized resource recovery systems in the cayes of the Belize Barrier Reef.
Last status update (June 2020): Mark passed the PE
exam in 2018. He worked for a couple
years for GSE Engineering and
Consulting Inc., then moved to Intertek-PSI. Mark is based in their Miami office but is
currently living in Peru (!) and working remotely.
Kassouf, Helene.
M.S., 2016; Ph.D., 2021.
Dissertation title: Efficient management of nitrogen and phosphorus at centralized water
reclamation facilities.
Thesis title: Formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) as
disinfection by-products (DBPs) when treated municipal wastewater is
disinfected with sodium hypochlorite.
Last status update (December 2021): Helene has just started
a full-time job as a Wastewater Process Specialist with Black & Veatch. She is semi-based in the Tampa office but
works with a nationwide group within B&V.
E-mail: kassoufh@bv.com
Kayabas, Murat.
M.S., USF, 2021.
Thesis title: Building and characterizing a lab-scaled
aquifer storage and recovery system.
Last status update (Sept 2021): Murat is working as
a hydrogeologist in his native country of Turkey. Murat works in the Monitoring and Water
Information System unit within the General Directorate of Water Management.
Kim, Won-Seok.
Ph.D.,
USF, 2011.
Dissertation title: Biodegradation of bisphenol-A and
17β-estradiol in soil mesocosms under alternating aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic
conditions.
Last status update (June 2020): Won-Seok is a Research Professor
in the Nuclear Environmental Laboratory (NEL) at Pohang University of Science
and Technology (POSTECH) in Korea. He works on
investigating the fate, transport, and remediation of nuclear materials in the
environment for the Division of
Advanced Nuclear Engineering (DANE) at POSTECH. He works
closely with Professor Wooyong
Um.
E-mail: wkim23@postech.ac.kr
Kumar, Ram (co-advised by Prof S Campbell). Ph.D.,
USF, 2019.
Dissertation title: Effects of reservoir conditions and trace
co-contaminant gases on geological carbon sequestration.
Last status update (June 2021): Ram is a Postdoctoral Research
Fellow in the Energy
Geosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Lin, Alex (co-advised by Prof S Ergas). M.S.,
USF, 2012.
Thesis title: Precipitation of phosphate minerals from
effluent of anaerobically digested swine manure.
Last status update (August 2022): Alex works for the
Water Department for the City of Tampa, in Distribution & Consumer Service.
E-mail: alex.lin@tampagov.net
Lobos, Aldo (co-advised by Prof VJ Harwood). M.S.,
USF, 2017.
Thesis title: Bioleaching potential of filamentous fungi
to mobilize lithium and cobalt from spent rechargeable Li-ion batteries.
Last status update (June 2024): Aldo has just
successfully defended his PhD dissertation, which he completed at USF in the
Department of Integrative Biology under the supervision of Valerie (Jody) Harwood.
Mendoza, Itza.
Ph.D.,
TAMU, 2007.
Dissertation title: Effects of pore-scale velocity and
pore-scale physical processes on contaminant biodegradation during transport in
groundwater: Modeling and experiments.
Last status update (June 2020): Itza is an
Assistant Professor in the Department of
Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas
A&M University.
Website: https://public-health.tamu.edu/eoh/faculty/mendoza-sanchez.html
Morrison, Erin.
M.S.,
USF, 2017.
Thesis title: Can we re-use “single-use” solid phase
extraction cartridges?
Last status update (June 2020): Erin works for Jacobs in their Tampa office. For the past year-and-a-half or so, she has
been working on power projects, Smart Grid projects, and solar power design.
E-mail: Erin.Morrison@jacobs.com
Okwen, Roland.
Ph.D.,
USF, 2009.
Dissertation title: Enhanced CO2 storage in confined
geologic formations.
Last status update (June 2020): Roland is a
Reservoir Engineer for the Illinois
Prairie Research Institute and the Illinois
State Geological Survey, based in Champaign, Illinois.
Orner, Kevin (co-advised by Prof JR Mihelcic). Ph.D.,
USF, 2019.
Dissertation title: Removal and recovery of nutrients from
wastewater in urban and rural contexts.
Last status update
(July 2021):
Kevin is about to begin a faculty position as an Assistant Professor in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at West Virginia
University.
Osborn, Claire.
M.S.,
USF, 2011.
Claire’s name is now Claire Stapley.
Thesis title: Catalytic hydrodehalogenation and
hydrogenation of halogenated aromatic organic contaminants for application to
soil remediation.
Last status update (July 2021): Claire previously
worked as an engineer for Geosyntec
Consultants and as a Project Manager for Gannett Fleming. In 2019, Claire moved to the Southwest Florida Water Management
District (SWFWMD or “Swiftmud”), but she will soon be making another move
to the Department of Environmental Quality
for the state of North Carolina.
Panczer, Robert.
M.S.,
USF, 2014.
Thesis title: Soil remediation using solvent extraction
with hydrodehalogenation and hydrogenation in a semicontinuous system.
Last status update (June 2020): Bobby worked as a
remediation engineer for AKRF, but then he
moved into the computing and information technology side of things, and in 2020
he started a new job with a small company called Google.
Shapiro, Deanna. B.S. (with honors), USF, 2011.
De’s name is now
Deanna Hamilton.
Honors Thesis title: Removal of phosphate from wastewater during
vertical, down-flow, sand filtration.
Last status update
(June 2021):
De worked for about 7 years for MWH (now part of Stantec), in both Ohio and Florida
offices, but a few years ago she moved to Black
& Veatch. She is in the Tampa
office at Black & Veatch.
Sutton, John (co-advised by Prof S Ergas). M.S.,
USF, 2019.
Thesis title: Chemolithotrophic denitrification of
nitrate-contaminated groundwater using sulfur-bearing minerals.
Last status update (March 2024): John recently had
his Professional Engineer (PE) licensure approved by the Florida Board of
Professional Engineers! He works for Kimley-Horn in St. Petersburg, Florida,
as part of their surface water/resiliency group.
Thomas, Mark. M.S., USF, 2010.
Thesis title: Geochemical modeling of CO2
sequestration in dolomitic limestone aquifers.
I lost touch with Mark shortly after his
graduation and wedding. I would love to
hear what he is doing these days! Mark,
if you see this, please get back in touch with me!
Ticknor, Jonathan.
M.S.,
USF, 2012.
Thesis title: Analysis and remediation of chlorinated
hydrocarbons in environmental media.
Last status update (June 2020): Jonathan sold his
cyber-security start-up company to Cybraics
in 2016. After a few years as Chief Data
Scientist for Cybraics, he moved in 2019 to become Chief Data Scientist for ThunderCat Technology.
Wee, Hun-Young. Ph.D., TAMU, 2007.
Dissertation title: Remedial extraction and catalytic
hydrodehalogenation for treatment of soils contaminated by halogenated
hydrophobic organic compounds.
Last status update (June 2020): After many years
with Doosan Hydro Technology (now SafBon
Water Technology), Hun-young moved to LG
Electronics. He spent about two
years in their Seoul (Korea) office, and now he is managing the EESH (Energy,
Environment, Safety, and Health) team at an LG facility in Huntsville, AL, that
manufactures solar panels for residential and commercial use.
Wolf, Hillary. B.S. (with honors), USF, 2010.
Honors Thesis title: Pharmaceuticals in the environment: Possible strategies to prevent
pharmaceuticals from entering waterways in the United States.
Last status update
(June 2020):
Hillary spent about 7 years with the Office
of Environmental Health, Florida
Department of Health in Sarasota County (also called the Sarasota
County Health Department). About a year
ago, she moved to Hillsborough County (FL) Public Schools, where she is a Grant
Coordinator.
Zahid, Fizza. Ph.D., USF,
2021.
Dissertation title: Impact of grain morphology on the temporal
evolution of interfacial area during multi-phase flow in porous media.
Status update (June
2023):
Fizza has just accepted a faculty position at the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore
in her home country of Pakistan. While
waiting for that position to begin, she is also teaching some Environmental
Engineering classes as a visiting professor at the University of the Punjab in Lahore. (Fizza was supported by the Fulbright
foundation during her PhD study at USF, and the idea of the Fulbright
foundation is that scholars who come to the USA to study will bring their
expertise back to their native countries – which is exactly what Fizza is
doing!)