Master’s Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2026

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Summary: Rivers were historically considered pipelines, but as our understanding of these systems grew, the mutualistic relationship between the river and its surrounding areas became clear. My research focuses on river and floodplain interactions, specifically floodplain carbon storage. I collected pre-restoration floodplain soil cores at three mountain headwater streams that are slated for restoration to improve lateral floodplain connectivity with the channel. I am hydraulically modeling these stream’s floodplain reaches to determine the flood extent of various flows. By combining the models with spatial quantification of floodplain carbon, I will assess the relationship between flooded area and floodplain carbon storage.