Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2026-2027

Ph.D. Student, Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

Research Summary: My research studies how solar energy development affects native plant communities in grasslands. Solar panels create areas of more shade and moisture that change how plants grow and establish. I am restoring native grasses under and around solar panels and comparing them to areas without panels to better understand how the environmental heterogeneity caused by the panels influences plant communities. This work helps identify ways solar energy sites can be managed to support both clean energy production and biodiversity. The goal is to help design solar developments in an ecologically informed and sustainable way.

Advisor: Melinda Smith and Alan Knapp