The 2026 John Kyle Spencer 5K kicked off Family Day at the Odum School on Saturday, Feb. 21. Congrats to Gideon Zemedhun, who studies computer science, and Charles Wu, who majors in statistics, economics and management information systems, took first and second place.
Irene Sánchez González is fascinated by freshwater mussels. Originally from Spain, Sánchez came to Arkansas State University for a master’s degree and developed an interest in mussels and fish. She thought mussels would be easier to study, she jokes, because they don’t move much. “I was wrong,” she said. “But, at some point, I realized that I really love working with mussels. I found them fascinating and I realized I am somehow good at identifying them.”
The River Basin Center and American Rivers collaborated on an important update to an influential report on headwaters. Drawing on hundreds of studies published since the original report, Where Rivers Are Born documents how small streams and wetlands slow floodwaters, recharge groundwater, trap sediment, and naturally cleanse pollution before it reaches downstream rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources.
A paper by RBC affiliate and Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources Professor Jaivime Evaristo points to interaction between the Okefenokee Swamp and the Upper Floridan Aquifer, refuting a widely held belief that the swamp is isolated from the aquifer below. Using isotopic and hydraulic evidence, Evaristo shows that the Hawthorn Formation between the two bodies isn’t as impermeable as some think.
The John Spencer River Run 5K and Nature Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31 beginning at 8 a.m. The event is held each year at the Odum School of Ecology in memory of John Kyle Spencer, a graduate student at Odum and the River Basin Center who dedicated his research to urban streams, freshwater ecology, conservation and ecological restoration.
Nandita Gaur works in the Crops and Soil Science Department of the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, but her degrees all are in engineering.
“I am a civil engineer, and my PhD was in bio and ag engineering. Even though I trained in the realm of engineering, my heart’s always been at engineering’s intersection with the natural environment and its human dimension.” Gaur’s research focuses on using remote sensing and geophysics to understand soil physics.
Through nearly a decade of awarding funds to graduate students, the John Spencer Grant program has enabled students from across the University of Georgia to conduct research touching on all aspects of water resources. Here are a few of the students and what they are up to today.
Michael Baker completed two master’s degrees—forestry and natural resources and then statistics—before starting a PhD at Warnell. He plans to graduate in May.
The research for his PhD focused on a state-listed species of freshwater mussel, called the Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) that lives along the East Coast of the US and Canada.
Chalfin came to the University of Georgia as staff, not as a student.
Chalfin’s research involves describing the habitat use and modeling the distribution of the Etowah Bridled Darter, a species that first was described four years ago and named Percina freemanorum in honor of ecologists Bud and Mary Freeman.
Originally from Ghana, Kwaku Asiedu came to the U.S. to work toward a master’s degree in geology through the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. His research used Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), computational modeling, and borehole geophysical logging to better understand subsurface fracture characteristics and their influence on groundwater recharge and aquifer connectivity.