FACULTY AND STAFF

Dan Childers
Faculty, Ph.D.

Dan Childers is a Professor in the School of Sustainability and member of the Executive Committee of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Program (CAP LTER) at Arizona State University.  His research focuses on systems ecology (primarily in wetland, aquatic, and urban ecosystems) and sustainability science.  His ecosystems ecology research has recently expanded to include urban wetlands and “ciénega” systems of arid southwestern streams—and in many different freshwater and estuarine systems around the world.   Prior to his arrival and starting the WEEL lab at ASU in August 2008, Dan spent nearly 15 years at Florida International University in Miami where he was Director of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) Program. Dan has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, won grants that have totaled over $15 million, and advised more than two dozen Ph.D. and M.S. students.

To learn more about Dr. Dan Childers, please visit his School of Sustainability faculty website and read his CV: Dan Childers CV

Chris Sanchez
Lab Manager, M.S. Student

I am a Research Specialist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University who has been working with WEEL since 2011, initially as an NSF-funded undergraduate student researcher and now as the lab's research manager. I am also currently enrolled in the ASU School of Sustainability M.S. program, where my research focuses on studying the design processes and outcomes associated with a collaborative urban ecological infrastructure project.

Before assuming my current position at ASU, I worked for 3 years as an interpretive program leader and coordinator for the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Opens Spaces department while earning a double-B.A. from the University of Miami. I studied wetland ecology for many years in the Florida Everglades at the Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) LTER site, where my work was focused on reconstructing historic hydrology patterns and understanding carbon dynamics in coastal mangrove forests.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Nicholas Weller
Ph.D. Candidate

I am interested in policy, science, and democracy, particularly around sustainability and environmental issues. More specifically, I study ways the general public contributes to science and policy and what decision makers do with such input. With a group of practitioners and researchers from the Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society, I examine large-scale public forums exploring what people think cities should do to respond to hazards like droughts or floods.
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As an undergraduate research assistant in WEEL, I studied plant mediated nitrogen uptake at Tres Rios and urban stormwater dynamics. More recently, I worked with the School of Sustainability's Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools program to develop and implement sustainability curriculum and programming for local K-12 schools. 

Eric Vahid
Ph.D. Student

Eric Vahid is a Ph.D. student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. His focus is on Urban Ecology/Ecosystems and Sustainability Science. His current research focuses on nutrient cycling in urban environments. He received his Master's Degree in Sustainable Solutions through the School of Sustainability at ASU. He completed his B.S. in Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine, where he worked in a wetland ecology lab focusing on underground water flow and soil analysis, specifically phytolith analysis. 

VISTING SCHOLARS

Yanying Yang
Ph.D. Candidate, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Yanying is a Ph. D. student in Urban Ecology at the Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research interests include ecosystem services evaluation and management, urban ecosystem, eco-city planning and management. 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Sawyer Treese
B.S.

Sawyer is an undergrad at the School of Sustainability researching water quality in the WEEL lab for his honors thesis.  His interests include urban ecology, sustainable solutions, civic engagement, and equity.  In his free time, Sawyer enjoys riding his bike, helping maintain Escalante Community Garden, and volunteering for local sustainability initiatives.  Sawyer’s vision is simple: a future of sustainable and equitable communities!

Sierra Kubicki
B.S.

I am an ASU graduate with a Bachelor's in Biological Sciences from the School of Life Sciences. Although my degree has a broad range of subjects, I have a special interest in all things environment and hydrology related, which is what led me to the Wetland Ecosystem Ecology Lab. I started out by doing some aboveground primary productivity measurements for the lab and then became the head of aquatic primary productivity shortly after. By using the light and dark bottle method, we are able to collect and analyze data for the first time at both inflow and outflow sites at Tres Rios Constructed Treatment Wetlands. I plan to continue working for WEEL and eventually go on to get a Masters in environmental studies or hydrology. 

Austin Crane
B.S.

I am a junior at ASU, majoring in sustainability and minoring in biology.  My interests include wetland ecology and ecosystems in general.  I joined WEEL in 2017, and I am currently researching the nutrient budgets of Tres Rios.  After college, I hope to go to graduate school and continue researching ecology.

Jessica Bristow
B.A.

Currently I am an undergraduate student at ASU's School of Sustainability studying policy and governance pertaining to natural environments, natural resources, and social and economical issues. Besides my studies, I have found a love for ecology research. Researching nutrient levels of root cores from Tres Rios has been an amazing experience and I hope I can continue research through WEEL

Bill Clem
B.S.

I am currently a junior at ASU majoring in Biological Sciences, while also minoring in Sustainability. My interests include wetland ecology and molecular science. After I complete my B.S. I hope to go to graduate school and pursue one of these fields. I joined WEEL in 2016, and it has been mind opening in the world of ecology for me. I currently am looking into soil characteristics of the Tres Rios Constructed Treatment Wetland.