Alfred P. Sloan Postdoctoral Scholar

Co-Mentors: Dr. Toni Lyn Morelli and Dr. Adam B. Smith

Dr. Ashraf is an expert in species distribution modeling and a postdoctoral scholar funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in the Wild Energy Initiative. In this role, she studies the intersection between the conservation of wildlife and renewable energy development across the United States and identifying modalities of environmental justice in the planning process. Dr. Ashraf conducts research on wildlife conservation (e.g., snow leopards) and sustainability science (e.g., locust attacks, urban livability). Her work guides land-use and conservation decisions broadly and often in collaboration with industry and NGO partners, including a previous internship with the World Wildlife Fund in Pakistan.

Contact Dr. Ashraf: uashraf@ucdavis.edu

Postdoctoral Scholar | UC Wild Solar

Dr. Steele is a postdoctoral scholar and restoration ecologist in the Wild Energy Center. He studies the relationship between wildlife and both ground-mounted and floating photovoltaics. The aim of his research is to determine how and why wildlife is impacted by solar panel infrastructures and ultimately, how potential negative impacts can be mitigated. Alongside restoration ecology, Dr. Steele's research spans animal behavior, field ecology, marine biology, and conservation science. He has studied a wide variety of animal taxa, including California mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish, pollinators, and tropical and temperate marine invertebrates. Elliott received his PhD from Dartmouth College where he studied the visual ecology of sociality. Prior to starting his PhD, Elliott was a conservation scientist at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens where he raised endangered California amphibians and reptiles to be reintroduced into the wild.

Contact Elliott: epsteele@ucdavis.edu

Postdoctoral Scholar | UC Wild Solar

Nick's postdoctoral research centers on restoration ecology in solar parks, where renewable energy generation and biodiversity conservation can be delivered hand in hand. Drawing upon experience conducting surveys for applied ecological research projects, his main focus will be on plants and invertebrates. Growing up in the United Kingdom, Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford, a master's degree by research from Imperial College London and a PhD from the University of Bristol. His doctoral research explored insect pollinators in urban landscapes, and he subsequently spent two years working in biodiversity conservation for environmental charities.

Contact Nick: ntew@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry

Co-Advised: Prof. Eliot A. Atakwama

Moreen is a first year PhD student in the Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Graduate Group at UC Davis. She graduated with a BA in Chemistry and a minor in Creative Writing at Augustana College, IL. Her research interest is in understanding whether there are perceived risks, particularly heavy metals, associated with emerging newer technologies: floating solar panels (FPVs). Eventually, she would want to extend the knowledge obtained from the FPV system to other systems impacted by heavy metals.

Contact Moreen: makomeaampeh@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Visiting Scholar

Titash is a visiting scholar in Heather Bischel’s Lab at UC Davis. She conducts interdisciplinary research intersecting microbiology, global ecology and sustainability. Some potential topics include climate change adaptation of species, micro-plastics, restoration and diagnosing ecosystem health using biotechnologies. Titash received her bachelors in Molecular Biology from UC Santa Cruz, where she studied bio geochemical cycling via interactions between physical environmental factors and cyanobacterial communities in the Monterey Bay region of the Pacific Ocean. She also has over 5 years of industry experience in developing molecular diagnostic assays and portable devices for field use.

Contact Titash: tchatterj@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Energy Graduate Group

Daphne is a Ph.D student in the Energy Graduate Group studying the impacts of renewable energy development on species biodiversity, human attitudes, issues of environmental justice, and energy production targets. Daphne holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy from Western Washington University with a minor in Leadership Studies. She also received her Master of Science degree in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University. As a graduate researcher, Daphne analyzed the complex political debate of local solar power production facility development within a decarbonizing state.

Contact Daphne: dcondon@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Geography Graduate Group

Emma is a second year Ph.D. student in the Geography Graduate Group at UC Davis. Her current research focuses on the siting considerations and technical potential of floating solar photovoltaics. Emma earned her bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and Planning with a minor in applied statistics from Sonoma State University. Her ultimate goal is to combine her love of Geographic Information Systems and the environment to inform planners and decision makers.

Contact Emma: ekforester@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Geography Graduate Group

Chevon applies a transdisciplinary approach to her research, which seeks to better understand the relationships between people and the spaces we occupy. As the recipient of the 2021 John F. Steindler Fellowship from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Chevon examines the nexus between property ownership, and economic development practices, with particular interest in land-use policy in rural communities where farming is the primary economic activity. Chevon’s current research endeavor is to systematically evaluate the regulatory framework that governs cannabis activities in rural settings throughout California.

Contact Chevon: ccholmes@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Energy Graduate Group

Noah is a Ph.D. student in the Energy Graduate Group at UC Davis, studying interactions between solar energy and soils – namely, the effect of restorative solar practices on soil carbon sequestration and storage. Noah obtained his Bachelor’s of Science from UC Davis in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a minor in Sustainability in the Built Environment. Noah looks forward to researching the nuances of restorative solar, not only to provide ecological benefits, but to inform management practices that maximize soil carbon sequestration, improve efficiency of solar energy generation, and provide communities with actionable steps to reclaim degraded land.

Contact Noah: nzkrasner@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Candidate | Visiting Scholar

Michael is a visiting scholar in Ruth DeFries’ Lab at Columbia University. He translates his interest in the regions where humans and wildlife actively share the landscape into research on the movement ecology of meso-carnivores in North America. As a PhD student based in the DeFries Lab at Columbia University and a Nature Conservancy NatureNet Fellow, his PhD research focuses on the intersection of renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation, specifically on how solar energy infrastructure may influence the movement and habitat selection of bobcats in solar-dense regions of North Carolina. He received an M.A. in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University.

Contact Michael: mol2112@columbia.edu

Ph.D. Student | Visiting Scholar

Xiao is a visiting doctoral student in Sarah M. Jordaan’s Lab at McGill University. He is from the department of Hydropower & Water resources in Wuhan University (2020-2023). His research interests include renewable energy economics and policy, renewable energy sustainability, and techno-ecology synergy. In his PhD, he addressed the renewable operations considering its techno-economic-ecology synergy. He has designed a whole framework for long-term renewable investments, forward contract, boundary and self-scheduling in electricity markets. He explores the deployment of renewables worldwide, to effectively limit carbon emissions, from a multi-disciplinary view.

Contact Xiao: xli283@jhu.edu

ResearchGate Profile

Ph.D. Candidate | Energy Graduate Group

Yudi’s research involves the restoration of two utility-scale PV solar farms in the Central Valley, investigating the co-benefits to plant and pollinator communities as well as PV performance. Yudi received his bachelor’s degree in ecology, evolution, and environmental science with minors in wildlife science from Purdue University, and master’s degree in conservation sciences from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. He was also an intern of Argonne National Laboratory, exploring the ecosystem services of solar-pollinator habitats in the Midwest for two years.

Contact Yudi: evoli@ucdavis.edu

Ph.D. Student | Geography Graduate Group

Jason Whitney transferred to UC Davis in 2014 with an AS in Mathematics and an AS in Biological Sciences from Mendocino College. During his studies at UC Davis, Jason focused on strategies for environmental and economic sustainability, earning a BS in Environmental Science and Management with a minor in Geographic Information Systems in 2016. He joined the Aridlab as a Junior Specialist, utilizing his ecological and programming knowledge to design and implement an economical, cloud-ready, high resolution, data logging system to monitor abiotic changes in soils, particularly for disturbances associated with big solar.

Contact Jason: jpwhitney@ucdavis.edu