Graduate Students

Madelyn Maffia – PhD Student
Madelyn is delving into the intricate realm of large wood (LW) restoration projects within riverine environments. Her research takes place in an Oregon coastal watershed that underwent basin-wide restoration efforts, introducing more than 700 LW pieces into the stream. Her primary research goals revolve around examining the effects of LW introductions on stream hydraulics, alterations to the stream's geometry, and the long-term population dynamics of coho salmon, a species that relies on these coastal headwater streams.

Jansen Ivie – MS Student
Jansen’s research is focused on assessing the effects of the 2020 Archie Creek Wildfire on water quality, fish habitat, and native fish populations in Hinkle Creek near Roseburg, OR. In addition, we have historical data from our study watersheds that will enable us to compare the effects from wildfire to forest harvesting. Read more about the original Hinkle Creek Paired Watershed study.

Researchers

Alex Foote – Aquatic Ecologist, NCASI
Alex works on the Riparian Alternatives study, which aims to understand the role of increasing light to headwater stream ecosystems via alternative riparian buffers on small streams in the Oregon Coast Range. Currently he is focusing on examining whether alternative buffers create higher variability in stream light and the influence this has on stream temperature moving downstream.

Undergraduate Students

Emma Legault – Undergraduate Student
Emma was a stream field technician on the Riparian Alternatives field crew for the 2023 season and loved getting paid to be outside in nature! As a third year Ecological Engineering Honors student, she is analyzing the effects of wood additions between pre and post treated river restoration projects.

Former Lab Group Members

Ashley Sanders - MS Student
Ashley graduated in 2023 and is now a faculty research assistant (FRA) in the Fish Behaviorscapes Lab in the Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at OSU.

Nicole Miller - Undergraduate Student
Nicole graduated from her program and completed her honors thesis in 2023. She is now a seasonal technician for natural resources projects.

Keeley MacNeill – Post-doc
Dr. MacNeill is now an instructor at University of Nebraska.

Allison Swartz – PhD Student
Dr. Swartz completed her degree in 2022 and is currently living in New Mexico working remotely as a post-doc researcher with scientists at OSU, NCASI, and USFS.

Sandra Villamizar
Dr. Villamizar is now an assistant professor at the Industrial University of Santander.

Cedar Mackaness – Undergraduate Student
Cedar is currently a middle school teacher in Prineville, OR with his sights set on graduate school in the near future.

Cameron Watson – Undergraduate Student
Cameron works as a computational biologist in the Goecks Lab at OHSU.

Samantha Cargill - MS Student
Sami completed her MS degree in winter 2019 and is currently a Ph.D. student in the College of Earth Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) at OSU.

Matt Kaylor - Ph.D. Student
Dr. Kaylor graduated in Spring 2019.  He is currently a Fisheries Scientist at the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)

Alvaro Cortes - Undergraduate Student
Alvaro completed his Sr. Thesis in May 2018 and graduated in June 2018. He is currently an MS student in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University

Emily Heatson - MS Student
Emily completed her MS degree in June 2017.  She is currently an aquatic ecologist for the USGS.

Brian VerWey - Undergraduate Student
Brian completed his OSU Honors thesis in December 2015.  He is currently a research technician in the Phytoplankton Ecophysiology Lab at OSU

Heather Bechtold - Post-doc
Dr. Bechtold (co-advised with Dr. Emma Rosi) worked on a collaborative project between OSU and Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.  Heather is currently an Associate Professor at Lock Haven University