The River Basin center is proud to announce that Christian Swartzbaugh, Kwaku Asiedu, Michael Baker, Bryson Hilburn, Anuja Mital, Luciana Iannone Tarcha and Laura Naslund have been awarded John Spencer Research Grants for 2024.
Swartzbaugh, a PhD student at Odum, received funding to continue his research on minnows, an oft-overlooked species that plays a key role in the diet of freshwater fish.
Asiedu’s proposal, “Assessing Aquifer Connectivity and Recharge Sites using Electrical Resistivity Tomography in Dougherty County, Southwest Georgia”, looked at the effects of agricultural development on groundwater stores and investigated a more efficient method for the replenishment of surface water. He received full funding.
Baker received funding in order to more accurately assess populations of freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled species groups in the world. He hopes, through his research, to fill in the gaps of scientific knowledge of this critically understudied organism.
PhD student Bryson Hilburn received funding to study the distribution of fishes along the Brevard Fault, a 700-km long fault line extending from Virginia to Alabama.
Anuja Mital received funding to travel from Atlanta to Assam, India, to conduct research funded by a National Geographic Explorer Grant to study the effects of flooding on communities along the Brahmaputra River.
Luciana Iannone Tarcha received funding to investigate the efficacy of Nature-based solutions in preventing flood damage in Brazil.
Laura Naslund received funding to study the effects of dam removal on carbon emission and storage at two field sites: the Glines Canyon Dam in Washington and Veazie Dam in Maine.
The John Spencer Research grants were inaugurated in 2016 with a generous donation from Kathleen Amos in memory of her son, John Spencer, a beloved master’s student at the River Basin Center and Odum School of Ecology. Ongoing support for these annual awards comes from donations. Applications are open to all graduate student affiliates of the River Basin Center.