Lab Members

Current Students

  • Charles Sylvester. M.S. in Environmental Science – Thesis. Spring 2026 (expected).
  • Ava Gjertsen. Senior Research Project.
  • John Mologne. Senior Research Project.

Previous Students

Senior Thesis (2 semesters)

Becca McDonough (B.S. in Environmental Science). Heavy metal contamination in Pittsburgh community gardens: An analysis under two methods. Spring 2023.

Olivia Bassetti (B.S. in Environmental Science). Heavy Metal Concentrations In Community Garden Soils in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Spring 2022.

Alex Saad (B.S. in Environmental Science). Exposure to air pollution in subways. Spring 2020.

Meghan McMahon (B.S. in Environmental Science). Particulate Matter Patterns in Suburban Philadelphia. Spring 2018.

Senior Research Project (1 semester)

Suzy Walicki (B.S. in Environmental Science). Assessing soil lead contamination in hispanic neighborhoods around Norristown, PA. Spring 2024.

Runze Tian (B.S. in Environmental Science). Health risk assessment of PM2.5 and black carbon exposure at Philadelphia subway stations. Spring 2024.

Sydney Singh (B.S. in Environmental Studies). Caution! Children at Play: Association between lead exposure and youth gun violence in Philadelphia. Spring 2024.

Eileen McLaughlin (B.S. in Environmental Science). Incentives for sustainable gardening practices across the United States. Spring 2024.

Alex Bruno (B.S. in Environmental Science). Evaluating accuracy and precision of particulate sensors. Fall 2023.

Nathaniel Roman (B.A. in Environmental Studies). The City that Never Breathes: Case Study of Air Pollutant Exposure and Environmental Justice in NYC. Spring 2023

Meriem Cherqauoi (B.A. in Environmental Studies).  Indoor air quality inside Villanova buildings. Spring 2023.

Bridget Dalton (B.S. in Environmental Science).  Self-Efficacy Survey Results in Environmental Education of Middle and High School Students in a Primarily Minority Population of Philadelphia, PA. Fall 2021.

Meghan Conway (B.S. in Environmental Science). Social Vulnerability Index to Air Pollution in Philadelphia. Spring 2020.

Jayne Hickey (B.S. in Environmental Science).  Environmental Education among Middle School Students in Philadelphia. Spring 2020.

Kyle Kellenbenz (B.S. in Environmental Science). Indoor Radon Concentrations in Pennsylvania. Fall 2019.

Victoria Read (B.S. in Environmental Science). Land Use and Development in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Utilizing Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and ICIMOD Land Cover Dynamics. Spring 2019

Juliette Foley (B.S. in Environmental Science). Distribution of municipal waste operations and air emissions plants by income, education, and race in Pennsylvania. Fall 2018.

Alex Aharonian (B.S. in Environmental Science). Particulate matter in Philadelphia’s subway stations. Spring 2018.

Graduate Students (Thesis Committee Chair)

Anjum Karim (M.S. in Environmental Science – Thesis). Air quality assessment in Philadelphia subways. Summer 2024.

Bryan Terry (M.S. in Environmental Science – Thesis). Seasonal and spatial variations of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia in the greater Philadelphia area with the application of a landuse regression model. Spring 2023.

  • Lucas Cummings (M.S. in Environmental Science – Thesis). The spatiotemporal variation of air pollution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its relationship with urban structure. In collaboration with Dr. Kremer. Summer 2021.
  • Xuehai Yu (M.S. in Environmental Science – Capstone project). Air quality trends in China. Spring 2020.
Justin Stewart (M.S. in Environmental Science – Thesis). Urban and suburban sites differ in PM2.5 associated microbial communities and water-soluble ions. Summer 2020.

Graduate Students (Thesis Committee Member)

  • Hannah Feldman (M.S. in Environmental Science). An immersive environmental geochemistry research experience as a pathway to careers in geosciences. Summer 2024.
  • Wolfgang Trumbauer (M.S. in Environmental Science). Seasonal variation of physiology and heavy metal accumulation in the Northern Star Coral, Astrangia poculata. Spring 2020.
  • Allison Remenapp (M.S. in Chemistry). Linking water chemistry to primary particle production in the high Arctic. Spring 2020.
  • Wendy Huang (M.S. in Environmental Science). The effect of enhanced sulfur and nitrogen deposition from oil sands mining on carbon and nitrogen fluxes in boreal peatlands of Northern Alberta, Canada. Spring 2018.

Undergraduate Researcher

Ava Gjertsen. Summer 2024.

JohnErnest Coppes. Summer 2024.

Justin Staley. VURF. Summer 2024.

Maria Alejandra Molina Funes. Graduate student. Summer 2024.

  • Emily Vanourny. Freshman Faculty Match. Spring 2024.
  • Sofia Rodriguez-Morell. Spring 2024. 
  • John Mologne. Spring 2024.

Runze Tian (SURF, Summer 2023).

Brent Jenkin, Summer 2023.

Suzy Walicki, Summer 2023.

  • Elizabeth York, Spring and Summer 2023.

Blake Tran, AGILE Fellow from Carleton College, Minnesota (Summer 2023). 

Maeve Malone (Freshman Match, Spring 2022; VURF – Summer 2022; Researcher: Fall 2022 and Spring 2023).

  • Aly Booth. Freshman Match 2023.
  • Alex Bruno. Summer 2022.

Lauren Brown, AGILE Fellow from Department of Civil Engineering. Summer 2022.

  • Sydney Singh (Freshman Match 2022 and Summer Research Assistant – Summer 2023).
  • Charlotte Bohra (Summer 2021 – Spring 2022)  – In collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer.
  • Hailey Carino (Freshman Match 2021 and VURF, Summer 2021; summer 2022).
  • Megan Gaughan – In collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer (Spring 2021 – Summer 2021; summer 2022).
  • Kathryn Scotto, Spring 2021. 
  • Victoria Hamilton, Spring 2021.
  • Madeline Scolio (Villanova University Research Fellow, Summer 2020 – in collaboration with Dr. Ruth McDermott-Levy). 
  • Tessa Enes. Fall 2019 – Spring 2020.
  • Olivia Brown. Spring 2020.
  • Rebecca McDonough.
    • Villanova Freshman Match (in collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer). Spring 2020.
    • Volunteer Research Assistant. Fall 2021.
  • SravanReddy Kathy. Graduate student from Department of Computer Science. Fall 2019.
  • Gillen Curren (Villanova Freshman Match, in collaboration with Prof. Peleg Kremer). Spring 2019.

Katherine Garmer. Fall 2018.

Emily Scheuring (Villanova Freshman Match, in collaboration with Prof. Nathaniel Weston). Spring 2018.

  • Kate Henderson (in collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer). Summer 2017.
  • Samantha Bromberg (in collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer). Summer 2017.
  • Meghan McMahon (in collaboration with Dr. Peleg Kremer). Summer 2017.
  • Josephine Papotto (Villanova Freshman Match). Spring 2017.