Thesis and Internship Defenses

The defenses listed below have been presented via Zoom. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recorded for public access. If you are trying to access a Zoom recording and cannot view it, please email Lucy Davis (davislh@cofc.edu) to receive access. 

Fall 2023 Defenses

Hannah Infanti

  • EVSS Thesis: "Navigating Coastal Conservation Careers: How to increase early undergraduate students' self-efficacy and science identity in pursuing an environmental career"
  • Advisor: Julie Binz, M.S.
  • Commitee MembersDr. William Veal, Dr. John Peters, Elizabeth Vernon Bell, M.S.
  • Monday November 27th at 9:30am
  • Location: SSMB 225 and Zoom

Ally Copenhaver

  • EVSS Thesis: “Perceptions of Citizen Science and its Use as a Tool for Policy Development: A Case Study of Charleston Water Keeper’s Citizen Science Programs”
  • Advisor: Dr. Matt Nowlin
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Kendra Stewart, Dr. Barbara Beckingham, Cheryl Carmack
  • Monday, November 20th at 12pm
  • Location: SSMB 253 and Zoom

Megan Arnett

  • EVSS Thesis: “Association of Human Longevity with Local Environmental Factors in Blue Zones”
  • Advisor: Dr. Brian Bossak
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Matt Nowlin, Dr. Doug Rivet, Dr. Annette Watson
  • Thursday November 16th at 11am
  • Location: SSMB 211

Hannah Houston

  • EVSS Thesis: “Fine-rooted problems: The Effects of Defoliation and Fine Root Senescence on Mycorrhizal Nutrient Transfer in Tsuga canadensis”
  • Advisor: Dr. Seth Pritchard
  • Committee Members: Dr. Courtney Murran, Dr. Allan Strand, Dr. Can Daylan
  • Friday, November 10th at 10am
  • Location: SSMB 255

Caroline Moore

  • EVSS Thesis: “Microplastic Capture Efficiency in Particle Capture Devices Installed in Seperated Stormwater Sewers in Mount Pleasant, SC”
  • Advisor: Dr. Barbara Beckingham
  • Committee Members: Dr. Tim Callahan, Dr. John Weinstein, Hilary Repik
  •  Location: SSMB 255

Summer 2023 Defenses

Ansley Williamson

  • EVSS Thesis: “Passive Acoustic Monitoring Detects Different Frequencies and Diversity of Songbirds Than a Point Count Method: A Case Study of Ephemeral Wetlands”
  • Advisor: Dr. Dan McGlinn
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Allison Welch, Jennifer Tyrell, David Bishop
  • Wednesday July 19th at 1pm
  • Location: SSMB 253 and Zoom

Kayla Squiggins

  • EVSS Thesis: "Identification of Ampicillin-Resistant Coliform Bacteria in Urban Floodwater of Peninsular Charleston, SC”
  • Advisor: Dr. Vijay Vulava
  • Committee: Dr. Heather Fullerton, Dr. Brian Bossak, Dr. Geoffrey Scott
  • Wednesday July 19th at 11am
  • Location: SSMB 253 and Zoom

Oliver Jones

  • EVSS Thesis"Self-Reporting Sustainability Frameworks and Stakeholder Buy-In: A Case Study of AASHE Stars at the College of Charleston”
  • Advisor: Dr. Matt Nowlin
  • CommiteeDr. Christine Finnan, Darcy Everett, Jen Jones
  • Tuesday July 18th at 3:30pm
  • Location: SSMB 225 and Zoom

Alyssa Lundy Corpez

  • EVSS/MPA Thesis: "Toward Collaborative Floodplain Management: An Exploration of the Community Rating System in Charleston County, South Carolina"
  • Advisor: Dr. Matt Nowlin
  • Commitee: Dr. Kendra Stewart, Dr. Gerald Gordon, Hakim Bayyoud
  • Thursday July 13th at 2pm
  • Location: The Riley Center, 176 Lockwood, and Zoom

Spring 2023 Defenses

Meadow Noonan

  • EVSS Thesis: “Evaluating the Potential for Transfer of Heavy Metals Through Trophic Interactions in Spartina alterniflora and Littorina irrorata
  • Advisor: Dr. Matt Rutter
  • Committee Members: Dr. Vijay Vulava, Dr. Paul Pennington, Dr. Lou Ann Reed
  • Wednesday April 12th at 2:30pm
  • Location: SSMB 203 and Zoom

Michael Wiser

  • EVSS Thesis: “Managing Data For Comprehensive Environmental Projects: Case Studies and Recommendations"
  • Advisor: Dr. Norm Levine
  • Committee Members: Dr. Kendra Stewart, Lancie Alfonso, Matthew Gorstein
  • Wednesday April 12th at 8am
  • Location: SSMB 245 and Zoom

Bailey Horn

  • EVSS Thesis: “Using Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) to Visualize Bathymetric Change Over Time In The Stono River Inlet, South Carolina”
  • Advisor: Dr. Norm Levine
  • Committee Members: Dr. Leslie Sautter, Alan Shirey, Jennifer Kist, Rachel Bobich
  • Tuesday April 11th at 4pm
  • Location: In the Hazards Lab SSMB 230 and Zoom

Hastings Marek

  • EVSS Thesis: “Identifying Resilience Organization and Gaps in Resources for Charleston County”
  • Advisor: Dr. Norm Levine
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Kendra Stewart, Landon Knapp, Lucy Davis
  • Tuesday April 11th at 2pm
  • Location: SSMB 225 and Zoom

Kristin Horn

  • EVSS Thesis: “Fish Do Grow On Trees: Analysis of Deep-Sea Anglerfish Adaptive Immunogenomics Using Phylogenetic Trees”
  • Advisor: Dr. Andrew Shedlock
  • Committee Members: Dr. Norm Levine, Dr. John Zardus, Dr. Garrett Mitchener
  • Tuesday April 11th at 11am
  • Location: SSMB 225 and on Zoom

Katie Rowe

  • EVSS Internship: “South Carolina Commercial Fisheries Infrastructure Needs Assessment”
  • Advisor: Dr. Matt Nowlin
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Gorka Sancho, Dr. Russell Spears, Amy MacKown
  • Monday, April 10th at 4pm
  • Location: SSMB 203 and on Zoom

Jackson Barratt-Heitmann

  • EVSS Thesis: “Are Ephemeral Wetlands Hotspots for Avian Biodiversity in Pine Savanna Ecosystems"
  • Advisor: Dr. Dan McGlinn
  • Committee Members: Dr. Matt Rutter, Dr. Travis Folk, Dr. Lisa Lord
  • Friday April 7th, at 3pm
  • Location: SSMB 225 and Zoom

Nicole Killen

  • EVSS/MPA Thesis: “Nudging Toward Sustainable Waste Practices Within Athletic Facilities at The College of Charleston”
  • Advisor: Dr. Calvin Blackwell
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Lisa Ross, Dr. Matthew Nowlin, Darcy Everett
  • Friday April 7th, at 1pm
  • Location: SSMB 203 and Zoom

Jena Copley

  • EVSS Thesis: "Mapping the Future of Charleston's Canopy Cover"
  • Advisor: Dr. Doug Rivet
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Morgan Hughey, Dr. Annette Watson, Dr. Courtney Murren, Landon Knapp
  • Thursday, April 6th at 2pm
  • Location: SSMB 255 and on Zoom

Samuel Burke

  • EVSS Thesis: “Long-Term Population Trends for Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) off the Southeastern U.S."
  • Advisor: Dr. Gorka Sancho
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Marcel Reichert, Dr. Wally Bubbley, Dr. Kendra Stewart
  • Monday, Aoril 3rd at 10pm
  • Location: MMRI Auditorium at Fort Johnson, SC DNR and on Zoom 

Caitlin Bolger

  • EVSS/MPA Thesis“Engaging Grass-Tops and Grass-Roots Stakeholders to Validate Environmental Justice Indicators: An Evaluation of the Charleston Climate Coalition's Environmental Justice Profile"
  • Advisor: Dr. Jen Wright
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Matt Nowlin, Dr. Kendra Stewart, Omar Muhammad 
  • Friday, February 17th at 3pm
  • Location: 202 Calhoun Street, SSMB Room 203 and Zoom

Fall 2022 Defenses

Sean Cannon

  • EVSS Thesis: ”A SURVEY TO IDENTIFY BARRIERS PREVENTING STORMWATER RETENTION POND VEGETATED BUFFER IMPLEMENTATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA”
  • AdvisorDr. Kendra Stewart
  • Commitee Members: Dr. Tim Callahan, Dr. Matthew Nowlin, Abi Locatis Prochaska
  • Monday November 21st at 10:30am
  • Location: 202 Calhoun Street, Room 200 and on Zoom

Rebecka Ravago

  • EVSS Thesis: “Exploring FT-NIR Spectroscopy to Determine the Age of Black Sea Bass and White Grunt with Otoliths and Scales”
  • AdvisorDr. Walter Bubley
  • Comittee Members: Dr. Marcel Reichert, Dr. Allan Strand, Dr. Annette Watson 
  • Friday November 18th at 1:30pm
  • Location: MRRI Auditorium at Fort Johnson, 217 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412 and on ZOOM 

Kayli Patterson

  • EVSS/MPA Thesis“CAPTURE OF TIRE ROAD WEAR PARTICLES AND HEAVY METALS BY MANUFACTURED TREATMENT DEVICES IN STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS IN MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA” 
  • Advisor: Dr. Barbara Beckingham
  • Commitee MembersDr. John Weinstein, Dr. Matt Nowlin, Hillary Repik
  • Friday November 11th at 1pm
  • Location: 202 Calhoun Street, SSMB Room 255 and on Zoom

Chloe Vandermolen

  • EVSS/MPA Thesis“Extending the Red Band Difference Algorithm to Regions Impacted by Harmful Algal Blooms"
  • AdvisorDr. Marie DeLorenzo 
  • Comitee Members: Dr. Matt Nowlin, Dr. Allan Strand, Michelle Tomlinson
  • Thursday, November 3rd at 10am
  • Location: Zoom 

Fall 2022 - Summer 2023 Defense Announcements

poster 

Fall 2021 - Summer 2022 Defense Announcements

2021-2022 poster

Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 Defense Announcements

Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 Defenses

Fall 2018 - Summer 2019 Defense Announcements

Fall 2018-Summer 2019 Defense Announcements

Click here to view an enlarged version of 2018-2020 Research Defenses.

To view additional research projects conducted by our students, check out our list of past Thesis and Internship Defenses.