Environment & Sustainability

In its Honors Program the Environment & Sustainability Program awards one level of Honors to student research projects. The projects listed below have been defended successfully, and a copy of the thesis deposited in Swem Library.

Key:

• Student, "Thesis" (Honors level)
  Committee Chair + Other Committee Members

2024-2025

• Kaleea Korunka, "Microplastic Fiber Contamination in Lake Matoaka: Method Development and Baseline Assessment" (Honors) 
  Randolph Chambers + James Kaste, Monica Griffin
• Ethan Sebastien Adlai Stewart, "Dismantling Barriers: Addressing Systemic Exclusion of Marginalized Students in Environmental Science Education" (Honors) 
  John Swaddle + Chris Hein, Rowan Lockwood

2023-2024

• No Honors students this year

2022-2023

• Kara Jinhae SantaLucia, "Environmental Factors Affecting Stream Salamander Distribution in the Lake Matoaka Watershed" (Honors) 
  Randolph Chambers + Matthias Leu, Rowan Lockwood

2021-2022

• Lauren French, "Analysis of eDNA to Assess Effects of Water Quality on Freshwater Fungal Diversity in a Virginia Coastal Watershed" (Honors)
  James Skelton + Randolph chambers, Matthias Leu, Rowan Lockwood

2020-2021

• Sydney Fuhrig, "May the Forest Be With You: A Study of Urban Green Space Composition in Richmond, VA" (Honors)
  Rob Rose + Randy Chambers, Dorothy Ibes

2019-2020

• Michael Giovanniello, "Disentanglement in a Contested Setting: Testing the Effects of Cultural Reminders on Kahan et al.'s Geoengineering Result" (Honors)
  Daniel Maliniak + Ronald Rapoport, Adrian Bravo, Jamie Settle

2018-19

• Ellen Chinn,"Parcel area and distance to protected land but not complexity explain avian richness on private property in fragmented forests"
  Matthias Leu + Brent Kaup, John Swaddle, Daniel Cristol
• Holly Funkhouser, "Impacts of Projected Sea Level Rise on Diamondback Terrapin Nesting Habitats in Virginia"
  Randolph Chambers + Donna Bilkovic, Nicolas Balascio

2017-18

• No Honors students this year

2016-17

• No Honors students this year

2015-16

• No Honors students this year

2014-15

• No Honors students this year

2013-14

• Sharon Hartzell, "Land Use Impacts on Selenium Accumulation in Vegetation and Soil" (Honors)
  James Kaste + Gary Rice, Gregory Hancock

2012-13

• No Honors students this year

2011-12

• No Honors students this year

2010-11

• Lauren Edmonds, "An Evaluation of Effective Structures for Campus Sustainability Programs At Institutions of Higher Education" (Honors)
  John Swaddle + Randy Chambers, David Feldman

2009-10

• No Honors students this year

2008-09

• Aubrey Miller, "The Role of the US Forest Service Amidst Change: A Framework for Effective Ecosystem Management in the Face of Climate Change" (High Honors)
  Timmons Roberts + Brent Sewell, Katherine Rahman