Michelle Soupir, Ph.D.
Dr. Michelle Soupir joined the faculty at Iowa State University in 2008. She was appointed as an interim associate dean in the Graduate College in 2022 and is a Professor in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department (ABE) with a research and teaching appointment. Dr. Soupir received her B.S. degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State University and my M.S. and Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech.
Research Staff
Leigh Ann Long (she/hers)
Diagnostic Associate II
Leigh Ann joined the WQRL team in 2012. She manages the Water Quality Research Lab and the field coordinator for the P removal blind inlet Pothole Project. She completed her M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture at ISU in 2015 and B.S. in Agronomy in 2000. Leigh Ann brings expertise in environmental analytical chemistry.
Natasha Hoover
Research Scientist II
Natasha joined our group as a Research Associate in 2012. She received her BS in environmental sciences from ISU in May 2010 and her M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Science in spring of 2012. She is currently managing projects related to water quality from poultry manure amended cropland and woodchip bioreactors.
Ji Yeow Law
Engineer II
Ji Yeow joined our group as a Water Quality Engineer in 2018. He completed his M.S. in Biological Systems Engineering at ISU in 2017 and received his PE license in 2022. He is currently working on multiple water quality projects, including Black Hawk Lake water quality monitoring and denitrifying bioreactor projects. Ji Yeow brings expertise in data analysis and technical writing.
Graduate Research Assistants/Ph.D. Students/Recent Graduates
Shoaib Ahmed, Ph.D. Student
Research Area: Watershed AMR Fate and Transport
Shoaib’s current research focuses on modeling the fate and pathways of antibiotics and anti-microbial resistant (AMR) bacteria in watersheds. His aim is to model AMR fate and transport through agricultural and hydrological pathways in a watershed to improve stakeholder understanding of AMR transport, potential risks, and to plan mitigation strategies.
Tim Neher, Ph.D. (6/19/23)
Research Area: Watershed AMR Fate and Transport
Tim recently completed his Ph.D and has started his new position as the Nonpoint Source Senior Project Manager with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Tim’s research focus at Iowa State was antimicrobial resistance in surface and tile water. “The more we understand about antimicrobial resistance in the environment, the better we can ensure sustainable food security without compromising our reliance on effective antibiotics”.
Gabe Johnson, Ph.D. Student
Research Area: Saturated Buffers
Gabe completed his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering, Land and Water Resources option, from Iowa State in 2019 and an M.S. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021. His master’s research analyzed the physical and hydraulic properties of different wood media for denitrifying bioreactors. He is currently a PhD student co-majoring in Sustainable Agriculture and Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, co-advised by Dr. Soupir and Dr. Tom Isenhart in the Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department. His research is focused on improving saturated buffer design and performance to reduce nitrate loading in agricultural drainage. He is also working on a study following up on his master’s work evaluating nitrate removal and physical properties of different wood media (chipped versus shredded) for denitrifying bioreactors.
Taylor Vroman, Ph.D. Student
Research Area: Bioreactor Microbiome
Taylor is an Environmental Science Ph.D student studying the microbial communities in woodchip bioreactors in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department at Iowa State Universtiy. She completed her B.S. in Environmental Science: Earth and Aquatic Sciences at Drake University in 2022.
Masters Students
Alex Buseman, Master’s Student
Research Area: Bioreactors
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Kayleigh Zechmeister, Master’s Student
Research Area: Prairie Potholes
Kayleigh received her B.S. degree in Natural Resource Management from Grand Valley State University in 2021 and currently works for the City of Des Moines as an Environmental Engineering Technician. Her M.S. degree in Environmental Science research is Farmed Prairie Potholes.
Undergraduate Research Assistants and First Year Honors Students
Raina Pfeifer
Research Assistant, Sophomore
Raina joined the WQRL as a First Year Honor’s student, completing a bioreactor column study project, and continued with the lab as a Research Assistant in the fall of 2023.
Elise Henrichson
Research Assistant, Sophomore
Elise joined the WQRL with the First Year Mentor’s program, working on a woodchip bioreactor column study. She has continued with the team as a Research Assistant throughout the summer and fall of 2023.
Heather Sutherland
Research assistant, Junior
Heather joined the WQRL in the summer of 2023. She is pursuing her B.S. in Agricultural Systems Technology with a minor in Environmental Science.
Trang Hoang: Trang graduated from Water Resources University in Vietnam in 2006. Following graduation she worked as a researcher for the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment. Trang received an M.S. degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Environmental Science from ISU in December 2010. Her research project investigated phenotypic resistance of enterococcus in drainage from swine amended fields.
Martha Zwonitzer: Martha graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1998 with a degree in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science. Her research project investigated relationships between antibiotic resistance and attachment to quartz in E. coli isolates from swine facilities. She completed her degree in 2015 and is currently employed by Monsanto.
Rachel McDaniel: Rachel completed her M.S. degree in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at ISU in summer 2011. Her research studied the resuspension of E. coli from cowpies directly deposited into streams. She is now an Assistant Professor at South Dakota State University.
Amy Cervantes: Amy graduated with a B.S. degree from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2010. She completed her M.S. degree in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at ISU in 2012. She in now an Environmental Engineer at Seneca Companies in Des Moines.
Jason Garder: Jason graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from South Dakota State University in 2011. His M.S. research involved assessing the tylosin concentrations and antibiotic resistant enterococci in tile flow below fields receiving swine manure applications. He graduated from ISU in fall 2012 and is now an Environmental Engineer at Burns & McDonnell in Kansas City.
Rohith Gali, Ph.D.: Rohith graduated with a B.Tech. degree from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University in Hyderabad, India and an M.S. degree from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Kansas State University. He completed a Ph.D. in the ABE department at ISU in 2014 on a project monitoring and modeling water quality in the Hickory Grove Lake Watershed. Rohith is now working at Waterborne Environmental.
Pramod Pandey, Ph.D.: Pramod received a Master of Technology from the IIT in Agricultural and Food Engineering in 2003 and a MS from WSU in Environmental Engineering in 2007. He completed his Ph.D. at ISU in fall 2012 and worked as a post-doc, modeling the resuspension of E. coli from stream sediments. He is currently an Extension Specialist at UC Davis in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Claire Hruby, Ph.D.: Claire graduated from Wesleyan University in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in 1998 and completed an M.S. in Geology at Iowa State University in 2002. She completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Science in 2015 studying the impacts of poultry manure application on drainage water quality. She currently works for Iowa DNR.
Chunyu Liao, Ph.D.: Chunyu received her B.S. degree in Biological Engineering at Hubei University of Technology and M.S. in Environmental Microbiology from Huazhong Agricultural University in China. She is currently a PhD student in Microbiology at ISU working on a project to improve understanding of genetic and environmental factors driving E. coli attachment to particles. Chunyu was co-advised with Dr. Jarboe and is currently a post-doc at NC State.
Chenkai (Rex) Wu: Rex received his BS degree from Chejiang University in Biosystems Engineering. He completed his MS degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University in 2016. His project involved assessment of water quality from fields amended with poultry manure. He is currently working for the Standards Institute in China.
Bailey Sullivan, Ph.D.: Dr. Sullivan joined our group as a postdoctoral scholar from 2014 – 2015. She received her BS and MS degrees from Kansas State University and her PhD from Texas A&M. She managed our USDA NIFA grant on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in agricultural systems. Bailey is now a lecturer in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Kansas State University.
Xiao Liang, Ph.D.: Xiao graduated with a Biotechnology degree from Nanjing Agricultural University in 2009 and has worked as an intern for the Chinese Academy of Science. For her Ph.D. project she studied E. coli interactions with particles in streams. Xiao is currently working as a Senior Data Scientist at Elevate in Dallas, Texas.
Charles Ikenberry, Ph.D.: Charles received his B.S. from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Civil Engineering and his M.S. from Kansas State University in Biological and Agricultural Engineering. His Ph.D. research involved improving wetland processes in a watershed scale model and conducting scenarios to prioritize wetland placement to maximize water quality benefits. Charles completed his degree in 2016 and is currently with Fyra Engineering in Des Moines, Iowa.
Miguel Israel Chavez-Santoscoy: Miguel completed his M.S. degree in the Chemical and Biological Engineering at ISU in 2016. His advisor was Dr. Cademartiri and Dr. Soupir was his co-advisor. He project involved detection of E. coli in waters used phage. Miguel is currently a Ph.D. student in CBE at Iowa State.
Ross Tuttle: Ross graduated from Civil Engineering at Iowa State and is currently pursuing his M.S. degree. He is investigating the fate and transport of antibiotic resistant bacteria to tile waters during rainfall events. Ross is employed as a Civil Engineer by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk, Virginia.
Maurice Washington: Maurice received his B.S. degree from NC A&T and M.S. degree from Penn State in 2012. He completed his Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in July 2017. His project involved the use of POCIS for detection of emerging contaminants. Maurice currently works as a Water Resources Control Engineer for the California N. Coast Regional Water Quality and Control Board (Ag and Cannabis Unit).
Conrad Brendel: Conrad graduated from the Civil Engineering Department at Iowa State University in 2015. He completed a M.S. degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in May 2017 and his project involved monitoring water quality in the Black Hawk Lake watershed. Conrad is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech.
Emily Martin: Emily received her B.S. degree in Environmental Science at ISU in 2016. She completed her M.S. degree in Environmental Science in May 2018 on the impacts of residence time and influent nitrate concentration on woodchip bioreactor performance. Emily currently works for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation as a Grant Writer.
Katherine van der Woude: Katherine received her B.S. degree in Agronomy at ISU in 2016 and her M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from ISU in August 2018. Her project involved monitoring the impact of conservation practices on nitrate levels in the Black Hawk Lake Watershed.
Alex Martin: Alex received his B.S. degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at ISU in 2016. He completed a M.S. degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in August 2018 on prairie pothole water dynamics and water quality. Alex works for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Liz Rieke: Liz received a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at ISU. She is currently a Project Scientist at the Soil Health Institute.
Hannah Guyer: Hannah received a M.S. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at ISU in 2018. Her work involved the impact of manure application timing on drainage water quality. She is currently a Water Resources Design Engineer at Bolton & Menk, Inc. in Mankato, MN.
Elliot Rossow: Elliot received a B.S. in Agronomy and Environmental Science from ISU in 2016 and M.S. in Environmental Science in 2018. He is currently a Senior Research Associate at Kula Bio in Somerville, MS.
Laura Alt: Laura received her B.A. degree in Biology at Simpson College in 2016 and completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Science at ISU in 2022. For her Ph.D. project she studied the impacts of prairie strips on antimicrobial resistance.