Eric Roy, PhD, PE
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources, 2016-present
Associate Professor (secondary appointment), Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2020-present
Fellow, Gund Institute for Environment, 2018-present
Voss Postdoctoral Research Associate, Institute at Brown University for Environment & Society, 2014-2015
Ph.D. Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Minor in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, 2013
M.S. Food, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2008
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Old Dominion University, 2006
Vice President (2023-2024), American Ecological Engineering Society
Associate Editor, Journal of Ecological Engineering Design
Licensed as a Professional Engineer in Vermont
Contact info: 210 Aiken Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405; eric.roy[at]uvm.edu
Associate Professor (secondary appointment), Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2020-present
Fellow, Gund Institute for Environment, 2018-present
Voss Postdoctoral Research Associate, Institute at Brown University for Environment & Society, 2014-2015
Ph.D. Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Minor in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, 2013
M.S. Food, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2008
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Old Dominion University, 2006
Vice President (2023-2024), American Ecological Engineering Society
Associate Editor, Journal of Ecological Engineering Design
Licensed as a Professional Engineer in Vermont
Contact info: 210 Aiken Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405; eric.roy[at]uvm.edu
Tiffany Chin, Research Specialist
M.S. Marine Biology, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 2020 B.S. Environmental Science, Dickinson College, 2016 Tiffany is working on multiple studies focused on phosphorus dynamics in the Lake Champlain Basin and the water quality benefits of wetland restoration. Her work includes quantifying phosphorus retention in wetlands during flood events and modeling phosphorus mass balance in the Missisquoi Bay watershed. Funding for this research comes from USDA NRCS and the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Tiffany also helps keep the NCED lab spaces running smoothly. |
Harrison Myers, Ph.D. Student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
B.S. Ecological Engineering Design (self-design), University of Vermont, 2019 M.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Vermont, 2023 Harrison’s research is focused on water resources engineering, machine learning, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and agricultural nutrient management. Harrison, a long-time NCED team member, continues to collaborate with the lab while working under the primary mentorship of Dr. Kristen Underwood in the UVM College of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences for his PhD research. |
Nisha Nadkarni, M.S. Student in Natural Resources
B.S. Environmental Science, University of Vermont, 2020 Nisha has been involved with designing, monitoring, and permitting urban stormwater treatment systems in the State of Vermont for the last 3 years. This experience has led her to an interest in studying other components of Vermont's landscape, including agriculture, that play a crucial role in hydrology and nutrient dynamics within the Lake Champlain Basin. She is investigating the stacking of multiple nutrient removal practices to improve water quality in subsurface and surface agricultural runoff. This work is part of a larger study funded by the USDA to evaluate the efficacy of agricultural conservation practices in managing phosphorus at the watershed scale. Nisha is co-advised by Dr. Joshua Faulkner in the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. |
Kate Porterfield, Ph.D. Student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
M.S. Natural Resources, University of Vermont, 2020 B.A. Conservation Biology, Middlebury College, 2019 Kate’s research is focused on optimizing biogeochemical cycling through agroecosystems to enhance the environmental, social and economic sustainability of food systems. She has worked with Dr. Roy and multiple industry partners to develop a novel fertilizer using phosphorus recovered from anaerobically digested dairy manure slurry. This project was part of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge—a statewide initiative to identify technologies that could help mitigate the impact of phosphorus runoff in the Lake Champlain watershed. Currently she is examining biomethane potential and microplastics in food waste slurries from depackaging machines, and is conducting life cycle assessment (LCA) to inform sustainable food waste management. |
Molly Ratliff, M.S. Student in Natural Resources
B.S. Biology & Environmental Science, Kalamazoo College, 2022 Molly's research is centered on investigating the impacts of agricultural soil management practices on greenhouse gas emissions and soil health within the dairy industry. Current objectives include measuring greenhouse gas emissions, soil nitrogen availability, and soil carbon storage. This research project is part of the larger, multi-institutional Dairy Water and Soil Regeneration Project. Molly is co-advised by Dr. Carol Adair (Rubenstein School) and Dr. Joshua Faulkner (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences). |
Micayla Schambura, M.S. Student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
B.S. Chemistry, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2022 Micayla is interested in the sustainability of freshwater resources and using engineered systems to improve and maintain water quality. For her M.S. research, she is focusing on using drinking water treatment residuals to retain phosphorus in stormwater treatment systems. Her research involves monitoring treatment systems in the field during storm events to collect data that will inform the Vermont Agency of Transportation's efforts to reach their phosphorus load reduction goals for Lake Champlain. She is also conducting life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate cradle-to-grave environmental benefits and burdens of stormwater treatment infrastructure. Micayla is co-advised by Dr. Stephanie Hurley in the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. |
Undergraduate Students
- Elizabeth Mehler, B.S. Student in Environmental Sciences, Research Assistant, Wetland Biogeochemistry
- Laura O'Brien, B.S. Student in Environmental Sciences, Research Assistant, Wetland Biogeochemistry
- Xia Gillespie, B.S. Student in Environmental Sciences, Research Assistant, Wetland Biogeochemistry
Lab Alumni
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
- Harrison Myers, M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Thesis: "Understanding and mitigating phosphorus losses in the Vermont Lake Champlain Basin at the watershed and field scales in a changing climate", 2023. Current Position: Gund Barrett PhD Fellow at UVM.
- Finn Bondeson, M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Thesis: "Technological and spatial analysis techniques to improve outcomes of agricultural nutrient management", 2023. Current Position: Engineer at Acorn Engineering (Portland, ME).
- Marcos Kubow, M.S. in Natural Resources, Thesis: "Design of green stormwater infrastructure in cold climates:
Material selection, phosphorus dynamics, and road salt effects", 2022. Current Position: Water Quality Coordinator - Stormwater at City of Oregon City. - Maya Fein-Cole, M.S. in Natural Resources, Thesis: "Assessing recovery and reuse of nutrients using grid-based spatial modeling: A case study of Sri Lanka", 2022. Current Position: Geospatial Science & Resilience Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
- Adrian Wiegman, Ph.D. in Natural Resources, Dissertation: "Phosphorus dynamics in restored riparian wetlands on former agricultural land in Vermont", 2022. Current Position: Research Biologist at USDA ARS.
- Mike Ament, Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Science, Dissertation: "Multi-scale assessment of drinking water treatment residuals as a phosphorus sorbing amendment in stormwater bioretention systems", 2021. Current Position: Physical Scientist at USGS.
- Kate Porterfield, M.S. in Natural Resources, Thesis: "Upcycling dairy manure fine solids captured by dissolved air flotation as part of a phosphorus recovery and reuse strategy", 2020. Current Position: Gund Barrett PhD Fellow at UVM.
- Lauren Bomeisl, M.S. in Natural Resources, Thesis: "Residual soil phosphorus in tropical Oxisols: An opportunity to enhance fertilizer use efficiency?", 2019.
- Brendan O'Brien, M.S. in Natural Resources, Thesis: "Physicochemical properties of residuals from anaerobic digestion of dairy manure and food waste: nutrient cycling implications and opportunities for edible mushroom cultivation", 2018. Current Position: Vermont Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
Undergraduate Students
- Grace Weckesser, B.S. Student in Environmental Sciences, Aquaponics Technician
- Tendu Cuddihy, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Honors Thesis: " Dissolved oxygen dynamics in restored wetlands in Vermont and the implications for phosphorus cycling", 2023
- Sam Buswell, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Honors Thesis: "Ability of Vermont restored wetlands to sequester phosphorus from floodwaters", 2023
- Emma Rosenau, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Honors Thesis: "The impact of environmental conditions on invasive V. major management in the Sonoran Desert", 2023
- Hailey Sanphy, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Research Assistant, Aquaponics & Sensor Technologies
- Anna Sherman, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Research Assistant, P retention by drinking water treatment residuals
- Ella Wiegel, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Program Summer Research Project: "Hydroponic systems and urine-derived fertilizers" + "Aquaponics & nitrogen cycling"
- Noah McAllister, B.S. in Environmental Engineering, Richard Barrett Scholars Program Summer Project: "Subsurface gravel wetlands in Vermont"
- Isabelle Augustin, B.S. in Environmental Engineering, Honors Thesis: "Hydrologic modeling of a small wetland complex to inform estimates of phosphorus retention", 2019-2021
- Carl Betz, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Honors Thesis: "Nitrogen removal performance of roadside bioretention cells amended with aluminum-based water treatment residuals", 2019-2021
- Maya Fein-Cole, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Honors Thesis: "Informing resource recovery and reuse using grid-based spatial modeling", 2019-2021
- James Eyler, B.S. in Civil Engineering, Richard Barrett Scholars Program Summer Project: "Field monitoring of phosphorus and chloride dynamics in subsurface flow gravel wetlands treating urban stormwater", 2020
- Marcos Kubow, B.S. in Environmental Sciences, Summer SURF Project: "Links between phosphorus and carbon cycling in restored riparian wetlands", 2019
- Harrison Myers, B.S. in Ecological Engineering Design (self-design), Summer Gund Project: "Phosphorus retention potential of restored riparian wetlands in the Lake Champlain Basin", Simon Family Public Research Fellowship: "Vertical nutrient gradients at the sediment-water interface in Vermont stormwater ponds", 2017-2018
- Alexandra Gibbs, Lake Champlain REU student, Summer project: "Phosphorus cycling in Vermont stormwater ponds", 2016