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Lab Members: Dr. Hal Halvorson (he/him) - Associate Professor Hal earned a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry at St. Olaf College and his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Arkansas. He spent 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi before coming to UCA in Fall 2019. He loves mentoring undergraduate and graduate research students and talking all about science. In his free time, Hal loves to play with his poodle Myrtle and spend quality time with his husband, Nathan. Sanjida Peu - M.S. student Sanjida from Dhaka, Bangladesh. She earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Soil, Water and Environment from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where her research focused on soil fertility, plant nutrition, biochar application and soil-water interactions. She also worked on a research project studying the impacts of climate change on soil health and food security in Bangladesh. Currently, she is pursuing an M.S. in Biology at the University of Central Arkansas. She has been admitted in Fall 2026 on a fully funded scholarship and worked as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) under supervision of Dr. Hal Halvorson. Her graduate research focuses on water quality monitoring in Brewer Lake. She is interested in understanding how nutrients and other environmental factors affect water quality and freshwater ecosystems. Christopher Edwards - M.S. student Chris Edwards is a graduate student in the Biology M.S. program at the University of Central Arkansas. Originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas, Chris earned his B.S. in Biology from the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith. His undergraduate experiences in aquatic ecology, stream restoration, and coral reef research developed his interest in understanding how environmental conditions influence aquatic ecosystems.For his graduate research, Chris is studying nutrient transport within the Brewers Lake watershed in central Arkansas. His work will focus on how storm events and changing hydrologic conditions influence the movement of nutrients from tributaries into the reservoir. His research will incorporate field monitoring, water chemistry, hydrology, and data-analysis approaches to better understand connections between watershed processes and water quality. Ultimately, Chris hopes to continue his education with a Ph.D. and pursue research in aquatic and marine ecology. Past graduate students and their biographies: Lydia Bradshaw (she/her) - Former M.S. student Lydia joined the lab in August 2021 after finishing her Environmental Science (Biology track) degree at UCA. She studied nutrient dynamics in Brewer Lake, the drinking water reservoir for Conway. Lydia applied her interests in external nutrient inputs into the lake and used GIS/remote sensing to analyze watershed effects on water quality. She defended her thesis in Fall 2025. Eli Wess (he/they) - Former M.S. student and Data Technician Eli joined the lab in January 2023 after several positions with state and federal agencies in southern Arkansas. He defended his MS thesis in the lab in May 2025 and worked for six months afterward as a staff member on the STOICH EPSCoR project. His work in our lab involved collecting novel field data to build the Limno-STOICH database, and then applying that database to understand large-scale variation of macroinvertebrate communities and stoichiometry in Arkansas. Haley Racioppo (she/her) - Former M.S. student Haley joined the lab in June 2023 after graduating with a degree in Environmental Science (minor in Chemistry) from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. Her research revolved around our long-term Brewer Lake monitoring project, with a focus on measuring the flux of nutrients from lake-bottom sediments into the water column. Tate Hill (he/him) - Former M.S. student Tate joined the lab in August 2024 after spending some years post-graduation with a Biology degree from the University of Mississippi. His interests were in fish/wildlife and aquaria, which he applied toward a thesis focusing on water quality in Cypress Creek, the main tributary to Brewer Lake. Specifically for his thesis, Tate quantified nutrient and sediment loading during storm events, with a focus on analyzing the role of storm characteristics like frequency, seasonality, and severity. Current undergraduate students in the lab: Alex Martin Kameron Mason Dennissa Harris Brittany Arlan Daniel Franklin Rachel Wells Selected past undergraduate lab members: Alora Lowry (2025-2026) Peter Ha (2026) Lulu Leon (2025) Maleah Cook (2025) Bryce Overman (2024) Natalie Stocks (2024) Aidan Patton (2022-2023) Emily Walsh (2022-2023) Madison Allen (2022-2023) Bill Armstrong (2023) Brady Bowers (2023) Liz Hicklin (2023) Noah Davis (2021-2022) Celeste Johnson (2021-2022) Aimee Dycus (2021) Peyton Cook (2021) Colton Dillon (2021) Rebeka Bradford (graduated spring 2022) Brandy Everett (graduated spring 2022) Skye Embray (UArk EcoREU summer 2021) Hunter Strom (graduated spring 2021) Brittany Krug (graduated spring 2021) Connor Tolly (graduated spring 2022) Tyler Grandjean (graduated spring 2023) Rachel Wilcox (graduated spring 2023) Lab alumni and post-lab plans: Tate Hill (MS) - TBD (graduates spring 2026) Haley Racioppo (MS) - Environmental Scientist at Texas A&M - Corpus Cristi Lydia Bradshaw (MS) - Environmental consulting at Alliance Technical Group Eli Wess (MS) - Coordinator at CTEH Dr. Felicia Osburn (Postdoc) - current Ecologist Coordinator with Arkansas DEQ Anthony Pignatelli (MS) - current Ph.D. student with Dr. Tad Dallas @ University of South Carolina Molly Wozniak (MS) - education/outreach at Nature's Classroom Tori Hebert (MS) - current Ph.D. student with Dr. Jon Benstead @ University of Alabama Cody Pope (undergrad)- M.S. @ University of Florida Taylor Price, (MS) - current Ph.D. candidate with Dr. Trinity Hamilton @ University of Minnesota Cheyenne Brady, (MS) - Lab Technician in Hattiesburg, MS |
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