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.
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
- Commitee: Dr. 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”
- Advisor: Dr. 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”
- Advisor: Dr. 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 Members: Dr. 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"
- Advisor: Dr. 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
Fall 2021 - Summer 2022 Defense Announcements
Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 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.