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Preparing passionate leaders driving change in sustainability and stewardship of the environment.

  —Our Mission

Faculty & Staff Directory

Dr. JamesDr. Jeremy James

(Department Head)

Phone: (805) 756-6391
Office: 180-209
jjames20@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. James

Office Hours Listings

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. AhamedDr. Aakash Ahamed

Phone: (805) 756-0919
Office: 10-239
aaahamed@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

Research Gate

 

 

See more about Dr. Ahamed

Office Hours Listings

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. AppelDr. Chip Appel

Phone: (805) 756-1691
Office: 180-515
cappel@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

 

 

See more about Dr. Appel

Office Hours Listings

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

 

Doug AversanoMr. Doug Aversano - Lecturer

Phone: (805) 756-6096
Office: 10-254
Email: raversan@calpoly.edu

 

See more about Mr. Aversano

Office Hours Listings

 

Mr. Aversano's Areas of Focus

Fire Management

 

Nicholas BabinDr. Nicholas Babin

Phone: (805) 756-2373
Office: 181-317
Email: nbabin@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

 

 

See more about Dr. Babin

Office Hours Listings

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. ChiuDr. Yiwen Chiu

Phone: (805) 756-2972
Office: 180-504
yichiu@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

Research Gate

 

 

See more about Dr. Chiu

Office Hours Listings

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. Richard CobbDr. Richard Cobb

Phone: (805) 756-6333
Office: 10-238
Email: rccobb@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar Research Gate

 

 

See more about Dr. Cobb

Office Hours Listings

 

Dr. Cobb's Areas of Focus

Forest Pathology · Forest Entomology · Ecosystem Ecology · Epidemiology

Charlotee DecockDr. Charlotte Decock

Phone: (805) 756-6360
Office: 180-415
Email: cdecock@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar Research Gate


 

See more about Dr. Decock

Office Hours Listings

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. DicusDr. Chris Dicus

Phone: (805) 756-5104
Office: 180-506
Email: cdicus@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. Dicus

Office Hours Listings

I do not plan to support new Masters students beginning in Fall 2025.

Dr. Dicus' Areas of Focus

Wildland Fire · Fuels Management

Dr. GillDr. Samantha Gill

(Coordinator for FFS Major)

Phone: (805) 756-6205
Office: 180-507
Email: sgill@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. Gill

Office Hours Listings

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

Rebecca GrahamMs. Rebecca Graham - Lecturer

Phone: (805) 756-2898
Office: 10-254

Email: rfgraham@calpoly.edu

See more about Ms. Graham

Office Hours Listings

Ms. Graham's Areas of Focus

Soil Science – Lab Safety – Sustainable Agriculture

 

Meagan GroomMs. Meagan Groom - Academic Advisor

Phone: (805) 756-7574
Office: 074M-A
Email: groom@calpoly.edu

Office Hours Listings

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

Office Hours Listings

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. KaarakkaDr. Lilli Kaarakka

Phone: (805) 756-6378
Office: 181-254
lkaarakk@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. Kaarakka

Office Hours Listings

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. MalamaDr. Bwalya Malama

(Soil Science Graduate Coordinator)

Phone: (805) 756-2971
Office: 180-516
bmalama@calpoly.edu

Google ScholarResearch Gate

 

 

See more about Dr. Malama

Office Hours Listings

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 NewbyCortney Newby

Administrative Support Coordinator

Phone: (805) 756-6392
Office: 180-209
Email: cfnewby@calpoly.edu


 

Jamie O'KaneJamie O'Kane 

Instructional Support Technician

Phone: (805) 756-1541
Office: 11-301
Email: jlokane@calpoly.edu


 

Dr. Yamina PresslerDr. Yamina Pressler

Phone: (805) 756-6338
Office: 181-313
Email: ypressle@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar Research Gate

 


See more about Dr. Pressler

Office Hours Listings

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. ReesDr. Gordon Rees

(Coordinator for EESS Major)

Phone: (805) 756-6346
Office: 180-517
grees@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. Rees

Office Hours Listings

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 WallravinLisa A. Rice

Admininstrative Support Coordinator

Phone: (805) 756-6390
Office: 180-209
Email: lirice@calpoly.edu


 

Dr. Sistla (photo by Chris Linder)Dr. Seeta Sistla

(Graduate Programs Coordinator)

Phone: (805) 756-2059
Office:
ssistla@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

 


See more about Dr. Sistla

Office Hours Listings

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 StublerCraig Stubler

Instructional Support Technician

Phone: (805) 756-2188
Office: 180-252A
Email: cstubler@calpoly.edu


 

Dr. SurfleetDr. Chris Surfleet

Phone: (805) 756-2743
Office: 180-518
csurflee@calpoly.edu

Research Gate

 

 

See more about Dr. Surfleet

Office Hours Listings

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. TelesetskyDr. Anastasia Telesetsky

Phone: (805) 756-6334
Office: 181-311
ateleset@calpoly.edu

 

See more about Dr. Telesetsky

Office Hours Listings

Dr. Telesetsky's Areas of Focus

Environmental Law · International Environmental Law · Ocean Governance · Fisheries Law · Ecological Restoration · Climate Change Law · International Disaster Law

Dr. VermaDr. Priya Verma

(Coordinator for ENVM Major)

Phone: (805) 756-2773
Office: 180-505
pverma@calpoly.edu

See more about Dr. Verma

Office Hours Listings

Dr. Verma's Areas of Focus

Environmental Sociology · Governance for Sustainable Development · Corporate Environmental Management

Dr. WilliamsDr. Nick Williams

Phone: (805) 756-5016
Office: 181-315
Email: nwilli37@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

 


See more about Dr. Williams

Office Hours Listings

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. WilsonDr. Stewart Wilson

Phone: (805) 756-6369
Office: 181-312
Email: swilso49@calpoly.edu

Google Scholar

 


See more about Dr. Wilson

Office Hours Listings

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

David YunMr. David Yun - Lecturer

Phone: (805) 781-7189
Office: 180-209
Email: dyun@calpoly.edu

See more about Mr. Yun

Office Hours Listings

Mr. Yun's Areas of Focus

Certified GIS Professional (GISP) · Geographic Information Systems · Global Positioning System

 

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Closed: 12pm-1pm for lunch
Location: 180-209

 

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