Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
in Integrated Environmental Sciences

Jay Banner
Banner's research and teaching interests center on Earth surface processes with the goal of understanding the interactions that occur between the atmosphere-land-ocean systems, and how these interactions are preserved in the geologic record. Avenues of investigation include the origin and evolution of carbonate rocks, groundwater, surface water, and the oceans. These subjects are explored using a range of approaches that include field studies, petrography, isotope and trace element geochemistry, geochronology, and modeling. Examples of research projects using these approaches are studies of cave deposits as records of the links between climate change and hydrology, studies of carbonate rocks as records of the chemistry of ancient oceans, and studies of modern aquifers in urbanizing environments. These projects are detailed below.

Jack Sharp
Dr. Sharp's hydrogeological research covers flow in fractured rocks, thermohaline free convection, fracture skin effects, regional flow in carbonate rocks, hydrology of arid and semi-arid zones, subsidence and coastal land loss, effects of urbanization, and alluvial aquifers. Jack has long-term interests in the hydrogeology of sedimentary basins and hydrological processes in ore deposit formation.

Dan Bolnick
Dan is interested in understanding the evolutionary consequences of ecological interactions: in particular, he studies the evolution of niche breadth, the maintenance of ecological variation, and speciation. To address these topics, Dan combines empirical work (both field and lab studies), comparative phylogenetics, and theory/simulations. While most of his empirical work uses various Teleost fishes as a study system, Dan is more interested in questions than particular systems, so he tend to use different taxonomic groups to address different questions.

Christine Hawkes
Ecology has traditionally been an aboveground field of study, both conceptually and practically. Yet the more we explore belowground, the more evidence we have that soil microorganisms are fundamental to the functioning of aboveground communities and ecosystems. Christine's current research is aimed at a mechanistic understanding of how plant-microbe interactions affect community and ecosystem processes. She is also interested in how these relationships will be influenced by alterations in climate, land-use, and species invasions. Recently Dr. Hawkes has begun using exotic species invasions as model systems, as they provide both novel interactions and a range of interaction histories. Because her research integrates several areas of ecology, she combines a wide range of techniques, including DNA-based microbial community analyses, stable isotopes, and large-scale plant community manipulations.

Randal Linder
Randal's research focuses on three areas: the evolution of complex character traits in a phylogenetic context, the genetic architecture of species, and genetic maternal effects in seeds. He uses modern molecular techniques, computer modeling, and traditional experimental approaches. Randal primary work is the evolution of angiosperm seed-oil composition. He studies the selective forces that have generated the wide variety of oils in seeds, especially the balance between saturated and unsaturated oils. Linder is also involved in a project with Dr. Loren Rieseberg of Indiana University to develop simulation models that test how different levels and types of selection affect the genetic architecture of hybrids and populations experiencing introgression. Finally, Randal is using Brassica rapa (a wild mustard) as a model system to test how maternal effects influence the fitness and performance of seeds.

Ben Hodges
Ben is the faculty supervisor for the Environmental Fluid Mechanics group. Prior to joining UT, he was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Western Australia (1997-2000) under the direction of Prof. Jörg Imberger. Ben completed his Ph.D. in 1997 at Stanford University under the supervision of Prof. Robert L. Street in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His expertise is in fundamental environmental fluid mechanics in stratified flows. One of Ben's principle interests is in improving models of estuaries, lakes and ocean mixing processes.

James W. McClelland
Jim’s interests are in the effects of human activity on water, carbon, and nutrient fluxes from land to sea; responses of estuarine and coastal food webs to changes in land-derived resources; and the use of natural tracers to follow water and water-borne constituents across the land-sea interface.