Faculty & Staff Directory
Dr. Jeremy James
(Department Head)
Phone: (805) 756-6391
Office: 180-209
jjames20@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students in Fall 2025.
Dr. James' Areas of Focus
Restoration Ecology · Climate Change · Invasive Plant Ecology
Dr. Aakash Ahamed
Phone: (805) 756-0919
Office: 10-239
aaahamed@calpoly.edu
I plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic(s) I plan to be working on with a Masters student include using remote sensing technologies and geospatial data science to understand the water and carbon cycles. Please reach out to me (aaahamed@calpoly.edu) with a short summary of your research interests and your background by January 15 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Ahamed's Areas of Focus
Remote Sensing · Hydrogeophysics · Agroforestry
Dr. Chip Appel
Phone: (805) 756-1691
Office: 180-515
cappel@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Appel's Areas of Focus
Soil and Water Chemistry · Tropical Soils
Mr. Aversano's Areas of Focus
Fire Management
Dr. Nicholas Babin
Phone: (805) 756-2373
Office: 181-317
Email: nbabin@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Babin's Areas of Focus
Agroecology · Sustainable Food Systems · Natural Resources Policy and Planning · Watershed Management · Political Economy
Dr. Yiwen Chiu
Phone: (805) 756-2972
Office: 180-504
yichiu@calpoly.edu
I plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic(s) I plan to be working on with a Masters student include the application of life-cycle analysis to quantify the environmental performance of different agricultural practices, and geospatial implications of GHG emissions associated with the change of land use. Please reach out to me (yichiu@calpoly.edu) with a short summary of your research interests and a copy of your resume by 12/01/2025 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Chiu's Areas of Focus
Environmental Management · Application of GIS · Life Cycle Analysis · Quantitative Simulation
Dr. Cobb's Areas of Focus
Forest Pathology · Forest Entomology · Ecosystem Ecology · Epidemiology
Dr. Charlotte Decock
Phone: (805) 756-6360
Office: 180-415
Email: cdecock@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Decock's Areas of Focus
Soil Health and Fertility Assessment · Soil Conservation · Fertilizer Management · Sustainable Agriculture
Dr. Chris Dicus
Phone: (805) 756-5104
Office: 180-506
Email: cdicus@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Dicus' Areas of Focus
Wildland Fire · Fuels Management
Dr. Samantha Gill
(Coordinator for FFS Major)
Phone: (805) 756-6205
Office: 180-507
Email: sgill@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Gill's Areas of Focus
Forest Biometrics · Forest Mensuration · Geographic Information Systems
Ms. Rebecca Graham - Lecturer
Phone: (805) 756-2898
Office: 10-254
Email: rfgraham@calpoly.edu
Ms. Graham's Areas of Focus
Soil Science – Lab Safety – Sustainable Agriculture
Ms. Meagan Groom - Academic Advisor
Phone: (805) 756-7574
Office: 074M-A
Email: groom@calpoly.edu
Ms. Groom's Areas of Focus
Academic Advising
Dr. Ashley Grupenhoff
Phone: (805) 756-0747
Office: 181-314
agrupenh@calpoly.edu
See more about Dr. Grupenhoff ›
I plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topics I plan to work on with a Masters student include estimating the carbon implications of delayed forest reestablishment and evaluating the impacts of prescribed fire on ecosystem resilience across central California. Please reach out to me (agrupenh@calpoly.edu) with a short summary of your research interests and background by January if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Grupenhoff's Areas of Focus
Fire Ecology · Prescribed Fire · Fuel treatment impacts and effectiveness · Understory plant response to fire
Dr. Lilli Kaarakka
Phone: (805) 756-6378
Office: 181-254
lkaarakk@calpoly.edu
I plan to support one or two Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic(s) I plan to be working on with the selected Masters student(-s) include forest management and modeling future outcomes (using FVS), forest carbon offset programs and policies, and finally, forest fuel dynamics (model development for canopy fuel density). Please reach out to me (lmkaarak@calpoly.edu) with a short summary of your research interests and your background by December January 10 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Kaarakka's Areas of Focus
Forest Carbon Management · Forest Soils · Silviculture
Dr. Bwalya Malama
(Soil Science Graduate Coordinator)
Phone: (805) 756-2971
Office: 180-516
bmalama@calpoly.edu
I plan to advise Master's student[s] beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic(s) I plan to be working on with the student[s] include groundwater, soil biophysics, stream-aquifer interactions, and forest evapotranspiration. Please reach out to me (bmalama@calpoly.edu) with a short summary of your research interests and your background by January 15 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Malama's Areas of Focus
Soil Biophysics · Groundwater Hydrogeology · Hydrogeophysics · Contaminant Transport
Cortney Newby
Administrative Support Coordinator
Phone: (805) 756-6392
Office: 180-209
Email: cfnewby@calpoly.edu
Jamie O'Kane
Instructional Support Technician
Phone: (805) 756-1541
Office: 11-301
Email: jlokane@calpoly.edu
Dr. Yamina Pressler
Phone: (805) 756-6338
Office: 181-313
Email: ypressle@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The status of available graduate student opportunities is listed on my website: https://yaminapressler.com/Website/research/open+positions”
Dr. Pressler's Areas of Focus
Soil Ecology · Soil Food Webs · Soil Organic Matter · Fire Ecology · Pedology
Dr. Gordon Rees
(Coordinator for EESS Major)
Phone: (805) 756-6346
Office: 180-517
grees@calpoly.edu
I plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic I plan to be working on with a Masters student include analysis of soil micromorphology in thin sections of soils from range sites after compost application. Please reach out to me at grees@calpoly.edu with a short summary of your research interests and your background by Jan 15 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Rees' Areas of Focus
Pedology · Soil Mineralogy · Forest and Range Soils
Lisa A. Rice
Admininstrative Support Coordinator
Phone: (805) 756-6390
Office: 180-209
Email: lirice@calpoly.edu
Dr. Seeta Sistla
(Graduate Programs Coordinator)
Phone: (805) 756-2059
Office:
ssistla@calpoly.edu
Thanks for your interest in my lab's research! I do not plan to recruit Masters student in Fall 2025.
Dr. Sistla's Areas of Focus
Soil and Ecosystem Ecology · Terrestrial Carbon and Nutrient Cycling · Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Soils · Global Environmental Change
Craig Stubler
Instructional Support Technician
Phone: (805) 756-2188
Office: 180-252A
Email: cstubler@calpoly.edu
Dr. Chris Surfleet
Phone: (805) 756-2743
Office: 180-518
csurflee@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.
Dr. Surfleet's Areas of Focus
Hydrologic Change due to Land Management · Water Quality · Watershed Assessment and Monitoring · Hydrologic modeling · Hydrologic Effects due to Climate Change
Dr. Anastasia Telesetsky
Phone: (805) 756-6334
Office: 181-311
ateleset@calpoly.edu
Dr. Telesetsky's Areas of Focus
Environmental Law · International Environmental Law · Ocean Governance · Fisheries Law · Ecological Restoration · Climate Change Law · International Disaster Law
Dr. Priya Verma
(Coordinator for ENVM Major)
Phone: (805) 756-2773
Office: 180-505
pverma@calpoly.edu
Dr. Verma's Areas of Focus
Environmental Sociology · Governance for Sustainable Development · Corporate Environmental Management
Dr. Nick Williams
Phone: (805) 756-5016
Office: 181-315
Email: nwilli37@calpoly.edu
I do not plan to accept new Masters students into my research group in Fall 2025.
Dr. Williams' Areas of Focus
Socio-ecological Systems · Rural Development · Political Ecology · Climate Change Adaptation · Agro-biodiversity Conservation
Dr. Stewart Wilson
Phone: (805) 756-6369
Office: 181-312
Email: swilso49@calpoly.edu
I plan to support a Masters student beginning in Fall 2025. The research topic(s) I plan to be working on with a Masters student include soil and water impacts from fire retardant applications, effect of fuels treatments on soil properties, and machine learning and spatial modeling of fire affected soils. Please reach out to me swilso49@calpoly.edu with a short summary of your research interests, background and CV/resume by 12/9/2024 if you might be interested in working with me for your MS in ESM.
Dr. Wilson's Areas of Focus
Pedology · Soil Genesis and Mineralogy · Phosphorus Biogeochemistry · Digital Soil Mapping · Soil Data Science · Geoinformatics · Vineyard Soils
Mr. David Yun - Lecturer
Phone: (805) 781-7189
Office: 180-209
Email: dyun@calpoly.edu
Mr. Yun's Areas of Focus
Certified GIS Professional (GISP) · Geographic Information Systems · Global Positioning System