People

Megan Berberich joined the lab as research scientist in May of 2023 working with the Aquatic Nitrogen Fixation (ANF) Research Coordination Network. The ANF RCN is focused on the understudied role of N2-fixation in aquatic ecosystems, from freshwater to marine. Megan's background is in biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. She received an MS in Biological Sciences from University of Cincinnati in 2017 where she studied methane dynamics in reservoirs (Berberich et al. 2020), and worked in several capacities before joining the lab, including as a project manager for a tropical forest warming experiment (TRACE) in Puerto Rico. 

Michelle Kelly is leading an NSF Macrosystems Biology and NEON-enabled Science-funded project to investigate relationships between nitrogen and oxygen flux in streams across ecoregions. Michelle completed her PhD studying patterns and drivers of coupled nutrient cycling and ecosystem metabolism in 2024, and also completed a graduate certificate in Data Science. Michelle previously worked in our lab as an undergraduate researcher, and in summer 2016 she worked on an NSF REU project investigating variation in rates of nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation in stream riffles and pools within N-limited Upper Peninsula streams. She graduated from Michigan Tech in Spring 2017 with a BS in Environmental Engineering, and the completed an MA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Kansas - you can read more about her MS research on nitrate uptake and metabolism in the Kansas river in JGR Biogeosciences (Kelly et al. 2021).

Spencer Tassone joined the lab as a Postdoctoral Scholar in May 2023 after completing his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. Spencer's dissertation work focused on trends in riverine, estuarine, and coastal sediment heatwaves throughout the United States as well as how seagrass recovers following a disturbance. For his postdoc work, Spencer synthesized a suite of long-term stream and lake water quality data collected from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Isle Royale, and Grand Portage Lake Superior Chippewa lands. Spencer joined the USGS in July 2024 as a biologist with the Virginia-West Virginia Water Science Center. Check out Spencer's website to find out more about his research. 

Erin Eberhard joined the lab in June 2015 after earning her B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. She earned her Master's degree from Michigan Tech in summer 2017 with the thesis, “Co-occurrence of nitrogen fixation and denitrification across a stream nitrogen gradient in a western watershed,” as part of the lab's NSF CAREER project looking at the dynamics of nitrogen fixation and denitrification in streams - read more about it in Biogeochemistry (Eberhard et al. 2018). She continued her PhD studies on the same project, focusing on small-scale factors that facilitate the co-occurrence of N transformations and how they are related to microbial assemblages in streams and also across wetland-stream-lake interfaces of Great Lakes coastal wetlands (Eberhard et al. 2023). 

Kevin Nevorski earned his MS and BS from Central Michigan University before joining the lab in 2016 as a PhD student as part of the NSF CAREER project. For his dissertation research, Kevin studied variation in N fixation and denitrification rates over streams and through time (Nevorski and Marcarelli 2022), and how denitrification contributes to carbon removal in streams (Nevorski 2021).

Renn Schipper graduated with his BS in Biology from Michigan Tech in 2020 and completed an accelerated MS studying the controls on autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in rivers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Schipper 2021). He first started working in the lab since 2017, and in summer 2019 conducted an independent project as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow.  He is currently working on his PhD at Kent State University.

Dr. Chris Adams completed his PhD in 2020 studying Life History Variation in Migratory Salmonid Populations (Adams 2020) and was co-advised by Dr. Casey Huckins in the Department of Biological Sciences.  Chris received his undergraduate degree from Lake Superior State University in 2006 and worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from 2007-2015 on salmonid monitoring projects in the Klamath River basin. He received his Master’s degree from Humboldt State University in 2012. His research interests include stream ecology, fish biology, and using fish tagging an tracking techniques to inform habitat restoration efforts. After graduation, Chris is working as a lecturer and independent scientist based out of Hancock, MI, and he is also a professional fly tier and artist.

Dr. Colin Brooks finished his PhD in 2020, studying detection and classification of Eurasian Watermilfoil with multi-spectral drone-enabled remote sensing (Brooks et al. 2019, Brooks 2020, Brooks et al. 2022).  Colin is interested in how various forms of remote sensing, from satellites to drones, can meet the needs for ecological data at a variety of scales to help assess environmental change in the Great Lakes region and beyond. He is the Transportation & UAS Program Leader at the Michigan Tech Research Institute.  Follow him on Twitter @cnbinaa

Ryan Van Goethem joined the lab in spring 2014, first as a technician, and then as an undergraduate researcher.  In 2015 Ryan completed a summer research project studying the relationship between legacy mining deposits and aquatic macrophyte communities in the Portage Waterway.  He graduated with his BS in Dec 2015 and continued in lab as an MS student, joining several projects studying the management of Eurasian Watermilfoil in the northern Great Lakes region.  He completed his MS research on effects of invasive watermilfoil and seasonal dynamics on littoral zone primary production in north-temperate lakes (Van Goethem et al. 2020).  Ryan is now a Technical Specialist at SePRO Corporation.

Dr. Kevyn Juneau worked on Great-Lakes Restoration Initiative project, "Arresting the Spread of Eurasian Watermilfoil in Lake Superior", and was co-located in Dr. Huckins's lab at Michigan Tech.  Kevyn joined the faculty at UW River Falls in Spring 2016 and was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Conservation and Environmental Science.  You can learn more about Kevyn's current and past research at his website: http://kevynjuneau.weebly.com/.  

Dr. Ashley Coble earned her M.S. from Northern Arizona University 2010 and then worked as an Ecologist for USGS before arriving at Michigan Tech in 2011.  Ashley is interested in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry. Her dissertation work in Lake Superior tributaries was focused on identifying seasonal patterns of in-stream nutrient cycling, nutrient export, and organic matter biodegradability (e.g., Coble et al. 2015, Coble et al. 2016a, Coble et al. 2016b, Coble et al. 2019).  She completed a stint as a postdoctoral researcher at University of New Hampshire and is now a Forest Watershed Hydrologist with NACSI.

Jade worked on a variety of field and lab projects starting in Spring 2012 and continuing after her graduation in May 2015.  In 2013, Jade became our resident phytoplankton expert, leading a project studying seasonal and spatial variations in phytoplankton communities in waterways of the Les Cheneaux Islands. In 2014, Jade conducted a mesocosm experiment testing the hypothesis that nutrient supply and non-native macrophytes interact to alter phytoplankton community composition, with support from a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and which was published in Aquatic Botany (Ortiz et al. 2019).  

Tim Veverica joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher in 2011 and worked on various field and lab projects that summer.  He returned in summer 2012 to start as an MS student in Applied Ecology, co-advised by Dr. Evan Kane in SFRES. You can learn more about Tim's thesis work, which adapted an ionic liquid extraction method used in industrial applications to quantitate forms of iron in peat porewater (Veverica et al. 2016).  After graduation, Tim worked as the Analytical Chemist Lab Manager at the University of Michigan Biological Station until 2020, when he headed north to Alaska for a new life adventure.

Jamie Olson came to Michigan Tech in the spring of 2012 after graduating from the University of Michigan with a BS in Environmental Science. He has broad interests in ecosystem ecology.  He completed his MS research on how different culvert designs affect ecosystem processes in streams of Northern Wisconsin (Olson et al. 2017).

Dr. Jonathan Ebel completed his MS work in summer 2012 studying biofilm responses to nutrient additions intended to mitigate for the loss of Pacific Salmon in central Idaho Streams (Ebel et al. 2014).  He completed his PhD at Memorial University of Newfoundland and worked as a Fisheries Biologist with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho, before moving on to work as a Staff Biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.