Graduate Students in Hydrogeology

Graduates

David Butler, M.S. 1999 (B.S., Geology, University of Kentucky)
Thesis topic: Assessment of potential trichloroethene biodegradation in wetland soils, McCracken County, Kentucky
Post-UK employment: Kentucky Division of Waste Management, 1999 - 2000; Smoothstone Systems Inc., 2000 - 2003; Voltaic Commerce, 2003 - present

Danita Maynard LaSage, Ph.D. 2004 (B.S., Geology, Eastern Kentucky University; M.S., Environmental Quality Science, University of Alaska-Anchorage)
Dissertation topic: Natural attenuation along a first-order stream receiving contaminated ground-water discharge
Post-UK employment: Department of Earth Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University, 2001 - 2007; Kentucky Division of Mine Permits, 2007 - present

Todd McFarland, M.S. 2003 (B.S., Chemistry, University of Kentucky)
Thesis topic: Characterizing sediment transport during storm flow through an Inner Bluegrass karst aquifer
Post-UK employment: Shield Environmental, 2003 - 2006; AMEC Earth and Environmental, 2006 - present

Sunil Mehta, Ph.D. 2000 (B.Sc., Geology, Chemistry, and Zoology, University of Jodhpur [India]; M.Sc., Geology, University of Poona [India]; M.S., Geology, University of Louisiana-Monroe)
Dissertation topic: Investigation of the source of regional salinization of the Ogallala aquifer, Southern High Plains, Texas, U.S.A.
Post-UK employment: Yucca Mountain Project, 2000 - present

Abhijit Mukherjee, M.S. 2003, Ph.D. 2006 (B.Sc., M.Sc., Geology, Calcutta University [India])
Thesis topic: Identification of natural attenuation of trichloroethene and technetium-99 along Little Bayou Creek, McCracken County, Kentucky

Dissertation topic: Deeper groundwater flow and chemistry in the arsenic-affected western Bengal basin, West Bengal, India

Post-UK employment: Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas - Austin, 2006 - 2008; Alberta Geological Survey, 2008 - present

Tom Reed, M.S. 2006 (B.S., Geology, University of Kentucky)
Thesis topic: Suspended sediment and pathogen transport in two Inner Bluegrass karst ground-water basins, Woodford County, Kentucky
Post-UK employment: AMEC Earth and Environmental, 2004 - present

Josh Sexton, M.S. 2006 (B.S., Geology, Radford University)
Thesis topic: Lithologic and stratigraphic compilation of near-surface sediment for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, McCracken County, Kentucky

Post-UK employment: J.L. Sexton and Son, 2006 - present

Christofer Sweat, M.S. 2000 (B.S., Geology, University of Kentucky)
Thesis topic: The role of organic carbon in natural attenuation of a trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer system, Paducah, Kentucky
Post-UK employment: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Division of Fire & Emergency Services, 1999 - present

Karen Exton Thompson, M.S. 2002 (B.S., Geology, Eastern New Mexico University)
Thesis topic: Ground-water flow in the Ledbetter Creek watershed, Calloway County, Kentucky
Post-UK employment: Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, 2001 - 2002; Shield Environmental, 2002 - 2007; Smith Management Group, 2007 - present

Eric Wallin, M.S. 1998 (B.S., Geology, Georgia Southern University)
Thesis topic: Ground-water/stream-water interactions in the vicinity of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, McCracken County, Kentucky
Post-UK employment: GME Consultants Inc., 1998 - 2002; Widseth, Smith, Nolting, 2003 - 2004; Joyce Engineering, 2004 - 2007; CSX Transportation, 2007 - present 

James Ward, Ph.D 2008 (B.S., Environmental Geology, M.S. Geology, Sul Ross State University)
Dissertation topic: The mobility of fecal indicator microorganisms within a karst groundwater basin in the Inner Bluegrass region, Kentucky

Post-UK employment: WR HydroSolutions LLC, 2008 - present

Current students

Todd Aseltyne, Ph.D. candidate (B.S., Geology, University of Dayton; M.S., Geology, University of Akron)
Dissertation topic: Interactions of bank storage and solute flux in a reservoir embayment
Post-UK employment: St. John's Jesuit High School, Toledo, OH, 2005 - present

Patricia Coakley, M.S. aspirant (B.S., Biology and Chemistry, Western Kentucky University)
Thesis topic: Identification of human and animal fecal sources in central Kentucky watersheds by PCR of 16SDNA markers from host specific fecal anaerobes

Estifanos Haile, Ph.D. candidate (B.Sc., Geology, Addis Ababa University [Ethiopia]; Licenciate, Hydrogeochemistry, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskalan [Sweden])
Thesis topic: Chemical evolution and paleorecharge of groundwater in the lower Wilcox aquifer of the northern Gulf Coastal Plain, USA

Anne Schumacher, M.S. aspirant (B.S., Geology, Albion College)

Ganesh Tripathi, M.S. aspirant (B.Sc., M.Sc. Geology, Tribhuvan University [Nepal])
Thesis topic: Use of integrated geophysical techniques to locate buried karst features in the Inner Bluegrass region, Kentucky

John Warden, M.S. aspirant (B.S., Geology and Biology, University of Minnesota)

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Updated 2 September 2008