DENIN ENVIRONMENTAL FELLOWS
Bridging science and society
Next Recruitment: 2026
DENIN’s Environmental Fellowship connects graduate student research to relevant environmental issues through academic and career development opportunities.
From left, current Environmental Fellows Michael Powers, Hanan Abou Ali, Ross Klauer and Jason Geiger
The DENIN Environmental Fellows Program supports doctoral students carrying out environmentally relevant research at the University of Delaware. The goal of the program is to help prepare students whose scientific research and interests demonstrate a clear link to societal needs and benefits. We anticipate that, over time, DENIN Fellows will pursue diverse careers across academia and the public and private sectors and develop into the next generation of environmental leaders.
DENIN Fellows are selected to function as a team for two years and work together in ways that complement their primary academic programs. Fellows participate in and lead a select number of DENIN events and activities each year, including symposia and seminar series. DENIN provides opportunities for networking with domestic and international scientists and leaders, as well as for professional development in areas such as effectively communicating science. Fellows may also propose new initiatives.
Fellows are selected by a committee of internal and external reviewers. The fellowships include a $10,000 annual stipend. Fellowships are paid over a two-year period, as long as the Fellow remains in good standing academically. DENIN Fellows may not have concurrent RA or TA positions.
Current Fellows
Hanan Abou-Ali earned her Bachelor degree from Lebanese International University and a Master’s from Idaho State University. Under the direction of her advisor. Dr. Kyle Davis, Assistant Professor of Geography and Spatial Sciences, her research involves remote mapping and machine learning of crop growth patterns in Nigeria, with the goal of helping smallholder farmers optimize crop yield and economic return while minimizing environmental impact.
Jason Geiger earned a Bachelor degree from Gannon University. His research with his advisor, Dr. Paul Imhoff, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is testing a more sustainable method that leaves the soil in place. Geiger is using a chemical that modifies the crystallization habit of the salts in the produced waters and allows them to form on top of the soil where they can be easily removed.
Ross Klauer earned a Bachelor degree in chemical engineering from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. His research under the direction of Dr. Mark Blenner and Dr. Kevin Solomon, both Associate Professors in Chemical and Bbiomolecular Engineering, is examining the breakdown of common plastics in the guts of mealworm larvae. He hopes to identify enzymes and microorganisms important in this process and ultimately build a bioreactor containing microorganisms that produce the enzymes that break down plastic.
Mike Powers conducts research under the direction of Dr. Michael O’Neal, Professor of Geological Sciences, using satellite data and field measurements to map the occurrence of permafrost in the Andes. The area contains cultural heritage sites of indigenous people, and several new copper mines are proposed in the area. He hopes the work will help balance concern for preserving the region’s permafrost and rock glaciers as drinking water reserves with more environmentally friendly copper mining.
Past Fellows
Bradie Crandall earned a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. Under the direction of his advisor, Dr. Feng Jiao, Robert Grasselli Development Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, his research focused on taking pollutants like the carbon dioxide that’s causing climate change, and the nitrates that are polluting our drinking water in Delaware, and turning these pollutants into valuable chemicals. He aimed to build an electrolyzer to convert nitrates into sustainably produced ammonia, which can be turned into fertilizer.
Christy Li earned duel degrees in Earth and Environmental Science and Math from Lehigh University. Her research with Dr. James Pizzuto, Professor of Earth Sciences, studied the transport and removal of mercury-absorbed fine sediment in the South River in Virginia through the development of a sediment transport model. She aimed to determine how long it would take the river to clean out these contaminated sediments without human interference and is hoping to help convey the dangers of mercury-tainted fish to the local population.
R. Alan Mason earned duel degrees in Earth Sciences and Music Education from Ohio State University. His work with his advisor, Dr. Tobias Kukulka, Professor, School of Marine Science and Policy, showed that plastics tend to aggregate into tidelines—where two currents or water masses converge—and form a patchy, irregular distribution in the bay. Mason aimed to develop analytical models to better understand what drives plastics movement in Delaware Bay. Understanding the movement of plastics through the bay helps people more efficiently remove them from the water, target beach cleanups, and stop plastics from reaching the bay in the first place.
Dannielle Pratt earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Syracuse University. With her advisor, DENIN Director Dr. Holly Michael, she studied sea level rise along the Delmarva Peninsula. By understanding the drivers and mechanisms of hydrologic change, doctoral students like Dannielle can work to develop response strategies to prepare coastal communities for the future.
