Institute For Environmental Studies
Prospective Ph.D. Students
Please take a minute to view a video about the program.
Where we work ...
Click the placemarks to see pictures of our study sites.
An example of what we do ...
Learn about our new water level sensor systems which the Moline Conservation Club provided. These systems are solar-powered and are controlled via a 4G cell signal. This allows us to monitor water levels and the microclimate in the vicinity of the sensors on a 24-7 basis!
Installing the water level and microclimate sensors - https://spark.adobe.com/page/UgWqXaXJdMn1w/
Water level monitoring - 5 inches of rain over 24 hours - https://spark.adobe.com/page/o6kpFZ9yetjHs/
A few photos from the field ...
Latest News
Dissertation Defense Announcement
October 2024. Samuel Babatunde will defend his dissertation, "Evaluating the Impact of Continuous Cover Cropping and Kernza on Nitrate and Orthophosphate Retention in Corn-Soybean Rotations: Implications for Drain Water Quality and Environmental Sustainability," on November 15, 2024 (tentative).
Congratulations to Vickie Livingston!
February 2024. Vickie successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation on “Trace Metal Partitioning in Environmental Compartments in Nahant Marsh, Davenport, IA.” Her work provides valuable insights into our understanding of the long-term durability of Superfund remediation as well as the influence of surrounding industrial land use.
Dissertation Defense Announcement
February 2024. Vickie Livingston will defend her dissertation, "Trace Metal Partitioning in Environmental Compartments in Nahant Marsh, Davenport, IA," on February 21, 2024, at 10 am. Join us at https://meet.google.com/qzr-jord-xoq.
Viadero elected to ESA Board
January 2024. Prof. Roger Viadero was elected by the membership at large to serve on the Ecological Society of America's Board of Professional Certification. Read more at https://www.esa.org/blog/2024/01/ecological-society-of-america-announces-leadership-election-results/.
Congratulations to Madison Davee!
December 2023. Madison successfully defended her MS thesis on modeling real-time water levels in a small wetland system. Her work provides a first approach to understanding and predicting the ways small, urban wetlands respond to rain storms of different intensities. Many thanks to WIU Biological Sciences Prof. Vaskar Nepal and Dr. Jason DeBoer from the IL River Biological Station for serving on her examining committee!
Successful Dissertation Defense!
December 2023. Congratulations to Terri Billingsley-Tobias on successfully defending her Ph.D. dissertation research! Terri presented findings on her study of freshwater fungal diversity and ecological interactions with mosquitoes and plant communities. Her work has provided new insights into the effects that fungi found in plants can have on the hatching of Aedes albopictus (commonly known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito). This invasive mosquito is known to carry and transmit diseases that can impact humans, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus. Her work adds new understanding that will inform future approaches to mosquito control. Read more at https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19635.
Environmental Science Professor Authors Book
December 2023. Prof. Roger Viadero's new book, "Aquatic Environmental Systems" was recently released by Taylor & Francis Publishing. Learn more at https://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19621.
MS Thesis Defense Announcement
December 2023. Madison Davee will defend her MS thesis, "Four-Slope Water Level Trend Regression Model Derived from Real-Time Monitoring of a Small-Scale Wetland," at 10 am (Central) on Friday, December 15, 2023. Join us at https://meet.google.com/qzm-fkbj-rif?hs=224.
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