Current ESM Students

Adhikary, Gita Bhushal

Advisor: Lal
Office: CELS 230A
Degrees: MS in Sustainability Science
Affiliations: CESAC, Environmental Economics & Policy Lab (EEPL)

Gita Bhushal Adhikary’s research interests lie in current environmental issues, including flood resilience, human-wildlife conflict, ecological stressors, and conservation of biodiversity. She is interested in community institutions such as community forest user groups and their involvement in flood resilience. She hopes to devote her life towards achieving a sustainable future and healthy environment for the generations to come.

Adomako, Ohene

Advisor: Borgerson 
Degrees: BS in Natural Resources Management (Concentration in Wildlife and Range Management); MA in Marine Policy and Management;  MS Sustainable Environmental Management

Ohene Adomako’s research interests lie in social–ecological systems. His current research examines how perceived and actual zoonotic disease risks influence wild meat consumer behavior, with a focus on the ecological, socioeconomic, cultural, and behavioral determinants of zoonotic and foodborne disease risk in two biodiverse regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ahmed, Arif

Advisor: Schuler
Degrees: BS in Agriculture; MS in Agroforestry and Environmental Science

Arif's research interests involve the consequences of agrochemical residues on freshwater ecosystems.

Aseperi, John

Advisor: Feng
Degrees: BS in Environmental Management and Toxicology; MS in Environmental Science

My research interests focus on urban toxic metal contamination, using environmental data analysis and modeling to support risk-informed urban planning and remediation.

Bergen, Nicole

Advisor: Wu
Degrees: BA in Biology/Teacher of Students with Disabilities; MS in Biology (Concentration in Ecology and Evolution)

My previous research was regarding the effectiveness of culverts for amphibian crossing. I am interested in continuing to look at the effectiveness of culverts and the impact of roads on amphibian migration.

Chakraborty, Purna

Degrees: BS in Fisheries; MS in Marine Bioresource Science

My research interest covers marine animals. I have been working with morphology since my master’s research work. I am still stick to morphology. I am now working with the morphological variation of clinging jellyfish. Through morphology, I want to decode the mystery of the clinging jellyfish’s relationship with the environment. Broadly, if I am saying my research interest is marine animals, morphology, ecology, and biodiversity.

Daiek, Shane

Advisor: Lorenzo-Trueba
Degrees: BS Marine Affairs; MS Earth & Environmental Science
Affiliations: Lorenzo-Trueba Lab, West Orange High School

Shane's research is aimed at better understanding of coastal processes, in order to better manage anthropogenic influences on marine environments. His research seeks to understand how planning and management practices can limit the negative effects that result from increased development in coastal areas, including evaluation of the roles of federal, state and local government and organization in drafting policy.

Dyson, Eshariah

Advisor: Goodey
Office: CELS 230A
Degrees: BS/MS Chemistry and Biochemistry

My research focuses on investigating the behavior of metal contaminants in urban soils and developing novel remediation techniques for contaminated soil.

Eke, Chima

Advisor: Ophori
Degrees: BS in Civil Engineering (Water Resources Engineering Specialization); MS in Water Supply Engineering

My research interests is modelling the movement of contaminants in groundwater.

Epstein, Natalie

Advisor: Aardema
Degrees: BS in Biology; MS in Biology (Concentration in Ecology and Evolution)

My research interest is in entomology, specifically vector biology. My research will focus on epigenetic responses of the mosquito Culex pipiens f. molestus to environmental stressors.

Ghimire, Monika

Advisor: Passchier
Degrees: BS and MS in Environmental Science

My research interest involves climate studies. I will be conducting paleoclimatological research using geological archives.

Fowler, Michael

Advisor: Lal
Office: CELS 306
Ext: x3456
Degrees: BA in Environmental Studies with a Geography minor and concentration in Geographic Information Systems & Cartography; MS in Sustainability Science

Mike's research focuses on technoeconomic and life cycle analyses of bioenergy production through switchgrass and sugarcane bagasse in U.S.

Islam, Md Shahnul

Advisor: Feng
Office: CELS 306
Degrees: BS and MS in Environmental Science

Md Shahnul's research interests include monitoring toxic metal contamination of surface water, soil, and sediment, as well as their environmental risk assessment.

Ibukun, Bayonle

Advisor: Alo
Office: CELS 306
Degrees: B.Tech in Meteorology; M.Tech in Meteorology

I am interested in Hydrological and climate modeling.

Lentine, Nicolina

Advisor: Goodey
Office: CELS 306
Degrees: BA in Environmental Studies and Sustainability, minor in Chemistry; MS in Environmental Science

Nicolina Lentine's research interests are in Environmental Science and Chemistry. She specifically wishes to focus on soil pollution and how it impacts soil composition and plant growth. She hopes to build off her previous work at Villanova University and expand it into something wonderful at MSU.

Lu, Fan

Advisor: Schuler
Degrees: BS in Civil Engineering; MS in Environmental Science

My research focuses on developing and optimizing innovative solutions for safeguarding public health through the removal of emerging contaminants. My core expertise lies in the treatment of trace organic pollutants in drinking water and, specifically, the challenge of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)—the "forever chemicals." I am driven by the urgent need to translate cutting-edge scientific discovery into practical, scalable engineering solutions for water security.

Luong, Trang

Advisor: Lal
Degrees: BS Sustainability Science
Affiliations: CESAC, Environmental Economics & Policy Lab (EEPL), PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies

Trang's research focuses on the effects of economic activities, notably the tourism industry, on the environment of Vietnam, and how sustainable development may mitigate the adverse effects of tourism. This work will contribute to the body of knowledge and play a role in Vietnam's economic development while protecting its environment.

Magro Machado, Karina

Advisor: Schuler
Degrees: BS in Chemical Engineering; MS in Cosmetic Science; MS in Sustainability Science, Sustainability Leadership Concentration

My research interests focus on evaluating the environmental impacts of consumer products, particularly cosmetics, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and water footprint analysis, with an emphasis on sustainability, resource efficiency, and environmental management practices.

Noriega Monsalve, Cristian

Advisor: Wang
Degrees: Bachelor of Engineering, Topographic Engineering; MS in Data Science

Cristian Camilo Noriega Monsalve holds a B.S. in Topographic Engineering from Francisco José de Caldas District University in Bogotá, Colombia. His undergraduate studies focused on geospatial data analysis, including GPS positioning, geology, road geometry design and localization, and real-world land surveying and cartography. He later earned an M.S. in Data Science from Montclair State University, with an emphasis on data mining and machine learning, and applied research in offshore wind farm geolocation and spatial energy analysis.

Cristian’s research interests lie at the intersection of data science, environmental systems, and intelligent automation. His current research focuses on collaborative robotics for the disassembly of electronic waste and electric vehicles, with an emphasis on sustainability, human-centric system design, and circular-economy principles. More broadly, his work aligns with the emerging paradigm of Industry 5.0, integrating artificial intelligence, data-driven modeling, and human-in-the-loop approaches to support sustainable and socially responsible industrial systems.

Nsingi, Joseph Mayala

Advisor: Cui
Degrees: BS in Applied Geology and MS in Applied Geology (Petroleum Geoscience) at the University of the Western Cape
Office: CELS 306

Mayala is a PhD student working on carbon emission and sequestration rate after a large CO2 pulse from the Siberian Traps volcanism. In his Master's, he studied foraminiferal biostratigraphy and depositional environment of the Drilled Early Cretaceous Succession in Durban Basin, East Coast, South Africa using well cuttings, conventional cores, seismic data and well logs. In his BS (Honours), he did facies analysis of clastic sediment of well Jc-B1 Durban Basin, East Coast of South Africa using well logs and conventional cores in addition to Interactive Petrophysics (IP) to investigate facies variations within the well Jc-B1 of the Offshore Durban Basin.

Polius, Krishna

Advisor: Feng

Ferdinand, Rolih
Degrees: BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering; MS in Sustainability Science

My doctoral research focuses on the design, optimization, and siting of polygeneration (CCHP+) energy systems to support next-generation infrastructure such as data centers and urban district energy networks. I integrate geographic information systems (GIS), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), and AI/ML-based energy modeling to evaluate technical performance, economic viability, emissions, and resilience across brownfield and greenfield development pathways.

Shrestha, Kripa

Advisor: Lal
Degrees: BS and MS Environmental Science

In my previous role as Research Associate-Ecosystems at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, I worked on diverse topics such as Climate change, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Water Resource Management, Landslide Risk Assessments and Watershed Management Planning. Continuing my work and following my interest, I will be conducting my research focused on Nature-based solutions for DRR synergizing it with sustainable energy. As a Graduate Research Assistant, I will be working in Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center (CESAC) on offshore wind energy and its impact on recreational fisheries.

Shrestha, Sarahana

Office: CELS 306
Degrees: BS Environmental Science and BA Environmental Planning & Management from State University of New York at Plattsburgh; MS Sustainability Science from Montclair State University

Sarahana's MS thesis research focused on the role of gender in the use of natural resources with an aim to improve the efficacy of both conservation and gender equity through tailored policy suggestions which consider the complex interactions between identity and natural resource use. Her current doctoral research is on energy equity, to address the gaps that exist in the field of energy equity and access to clean energy using machine learning techniques by studying the socioeconomic and regional differences in and within communities.

Umeh, Odera Richard

Advisor: Ophori
Office: CELS 306
Degrees: BS in Applied Microbiology; MS in Environmental Microbiology; PGD in Environmental Education

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in New Jersey's ground and drinking water systems, developing advanced detection and transport modeling frameworks, and evidence-based remediation strategies.

Vafaie, Sepideh

Advisor: Forgoston
Office: CELS 230A
Degrees: MS in Civil-Structural Engineering
Ext: x3456

During my master's, I worked on applying X-let transforms (such as wavelet, curvelet, contourlet, and shearlet transform) to detect damages. Now, I will work to better understand the extinction of species in food webs and the susceptibility of the food web to invasive species. This research will utilize topics from applied mathematics, dynamical systems, environmental science, and structural health monitoring.

Vyas, Nisarg

Advisor: Lal
Degrees: BS in Environmental Science; MS in Environmental Science and Management

Nisarg’s research focuses on the intersection of advanced analytics and systems decarbonization, with a primary emphasis on the healthcare sector. By leveraging quantitative and sustainability frameworks, he seeks to optimize operational efficiencies and reduce environmental impact. His broader research aims to develop scalable, interdisciplinary solutions applicable across various sectors navigating the transition toward a more resilient and sustainable future.

Vu, Anvy

Advisor: Lal
Degrees:: BS in Environmental Science; MPH Specialization: Epidemiology

Anvy's research is aimed at achieving a sustainable occupational environment for developing communities. This is an issue that requires attention to many environmental management perspectives and adopting an interdisciplinary approach. Natural science, business, and social science perspectives work in unison to solve these complex problems. Her research fosters understanding of how pollutants affect human populations and the natural environment. This work consists of the identification and quantification of immediate and long-term patterns. She utilizes geospatial technology (GIS) and related geostatistical methods, and the stratification of disturbance levels in unhealthy environments.

Wu, Tina

Advisor: Cui
Office: CELS 230A
Degrees: BS & MS in Geology

Qingting (Tina) Wu’s previous research explored the productivity patterns during the Quaternary in the eastern equatorial Pacific using foraminifera. Her current research focuses on the dynamic climate and biogeochemistry of the P-Tr extinction event and Cenozoic using Earth system modeling, as well as the tropical ocean lithium and boron isotopes. She aims to enhance the understanding of paleoclimatology, especially the effect of massive carbon dioxide emission and sequestration on the ecosystem.

Zaheer, Naima

Advisor: Goodey

Research interests: Reclamation of metal contaminated soil using phytoremediation techniques.

Zhang, Andy

Advisor: Jain
Degrees: BA in English and Foreign Affairs; MBA

Andy's research interests involve environmental and climate policy, with a focus on aviation emissions, policy design, and the effectiveness of regulatory approaches across industries.