Water Scholars Awardees Spring 2022
Congratulations to the Spring 2022 cohort of Water Scholars! The ECU Water Resources Center is proud to support these innovators as they explore and innovate topics related to water in their field of study.
The Water Scholars program is open to all ECU students, so please keep your eyes open for the next deadline!
Spring 2022 Awardees:
Alex Teodorescu (Biology)
A showcase: Celebrating North Carolina’s coast. (Mentor: Tod Fraley)
“Through the help of the Student Water Scholars Program, I’m able to continue and expand on my
photography. With this grant, I hope to bring awareness and appreciation to the overlooked but incredible
wilderness this state’s coastal areas have to offer.”
Alexandra Stevenson (MA, Anthropology)
Intergenerational ideas of resilience in the face of continuing coastal hazards. (Mentor: Cynthia Grace-McCaskey)
“Receiving the Water Scholars Award provides crucial resources that are necessary to collect important data for my
Master’s thesis.”
Ariel Lineberger (Engineering)
Hands-on environmental engineering learning experiences: Empowering underrepresented K-12 students to pursue engineering. (Mentor: Natasha Bell)
“I am honored to have received the Water Scholars Award! This award will be used to help cover costs of resources and activities with Greenville’s Boys and Girls Club. The goal and purpose of the project is to teach and engage students about environmental engineering, water quality and cleaning methods, and to encourage minority students that engineering is for everyone!”
Emma Kemp (Political Science)
All About Water’ Junior Scientist Day Camp. (Mentor: Kristen Myers)
“As I look towards a graduate degree geared towards non-profit work, this camp will provide an opportunity for me to lead a community event, and discover the intricate details that are necessary to make community projects successful. I believe this will be an excellent opportunity to broaden the scope of who and what ECU resources support, and give an opportunity to invest in community members, with hopes that the project has a lasting effect on the students, and in turn a positive
effect for Greenville.“
Erica Miller (Engineering)
Restoration of old cafeteria complex fishpond. (Mentor: John Hoben)
“I’m so excited to have gotten the opportunity to work with the water scholars program. My project, the restoration of the Old Cafeteria Complex Fish Pond, will benefit the community by providing a lively, healthy, and educational outdoor gathering space, as well as providing improvement to the quality of life for the creatures that already exist within the pond. The project will allow me to grow within my studies by providing me with real-world experience maintaining an enclosed outdoor ecosystem, which is a form of ecological upkeep and engineering. I’m hopeful that the project will go well and that the pond will be used as an area of scientific demonstration for years to come.“
Georgette Tso (Ph.D., Integrated Coastal Sciences)
Evaluating wave attenuation performance of built oyster reef breakwaters in a low-fetch tidal creek with moderate boating activity. (Mentor: Sid Narayan)
“Receiving the Water Scholars Award will allow me to purchase the materials, tools, and equipment necessary to build cost-effective wave gauges for in-situ coastal monitoring of oyster reef breakwaters. The award will also allow me to mentor an undergraduate student in hands-on engineering activities.“
Lauren Richardson (Master’s, Geology)
Surface water impacts of a swine CAFO with a capped lagoon system in eastern North Carolina. (Mentor: Guy Iverson)
“This award will fund my research presentation at the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) Conference
at NC State. This presentation will help me build academic and career connections as well as learn more about
water-related research in North Carolina.“
Lindsay Wentzel (MA, Program in Maritime Studies)
Castle Island Community Initiative: Increasing public awareness of and engagement with isolated cultural and environmental resources in Washington, NC. (Mentor: Jason Raupp)
“The Water Scholars Award will allow me to engage the public in telling the maritime history of Washington’s Castle Island, while also working towards protecting important natural and cultural resources. This award is supporting the public outreach of ongoing underwater archaeology research by ECU’s Program in Maritime Studies through community collaboration with the North Carolina Estuarium.“
Megan Geesin (Ph.D., Integrated Coastal Sciences)
Assessing sea-level rise projections and sediment characteristics of salt marshes protected by oyster breakwaters. (Mentor: Rachel Gittman)
“The water scholars award will allow me to continue my research assessing sea-level rise projections and sediment characteristics of salt marshes protected by oyster breakwaters.“
Yicheng Xu (Ph.D., Integrated Coastal Sciences)
Understanding the social-economic vulnerability of nuisance flooding impacts to coastal communities in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Mentor: Sid Narayan)
“I am so happy to have received this honor. From this fund, I will be able to ground truth remotely sensed
understandings of nuisance flooding. Furthermore, I will be able to meet with stakeholders to shed light on the social and economic implications of nuisance flooding that are otherwise poorly known.“