Team

Sian graduated from Concordia University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Relations, Community Development. In 2023, Sian completed her Master of Resource & Environmental Management from Dalhousie University, and her graduate project assessed the commitment of responsible investing strategies to improving environmental conservation. Sian has over 5 years’ experience in community work in Montréal’s Black community spaces. As the Outreach Coordinator, Sian leads community engagement on the Nova Scotia Groundwater Project. 

Zijie graduated from Hohai University (2020) with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Geography with a thesis focused on environmental flow calculation. In 2023, Zijie earned a Master of Science in Geography from the UBC, specializing in glacial hydrology and hydrologic modeling.

Zijie also recently worked at the Institute of Geographic Sci. and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing where she focused on natural disasters and and Arctic sea ice analysis. 

Shengchao is a Postdoctoral Fellow, working between Dalhousie University and the University of Delaware (Prof. Holly Michael), with his research focused on modeling the submarine groundwater system in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the connection to Prince Edward Island's coastal aquifers. Shengchao completed his PhD at the University of Hong Kong in 2023 with his research focused on chemical reactions and solute transport in coastal and deltaic groundwater flow systems, and a Bachelor of Engineering from the China University of Mining and Technology in 2017. 

Li Pu is a Postdoctoral Fellow, working between Dalhousie University and McGill University (Prof. Jeffrey McKenzie). His research focuses on modeling the impacts of long-term permafrost formation and thaw on subsurface contaminant transport over the timescale of nuclear waste storage. Li Pu earned a Doctoral degree in 2025 and a Bachelor’s degree in 2019, both from Hohai University. His PhD research focused on the influence of temperature on groundwater flow and salt transport in coastal aquifers. 

Aida received a Master's Degree in Coastal Environmental Engineering from the University of Tehran in 2016. Aida's MSc thesis addressed the characteristics and environmental effects of coastal upwelling in the Gulf of Oman through numerical modeling. Aida's PhD research focuses on the numerical modeling of estuarine hydrodynamics and thermal regimes under present and future climate conditions in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. This work includes a combination of field work and numerical modeling. Aida holds a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship.

Julia's PhD research focuses on the the hydrology of Sable Island and the influence of a changing ocean. Her research methods include time-domain EM geophysics, wave and tide monitoring, well installation, and numerical modeling of ocean-aquifer exchanges. Julia is funded through scholarships from Killam, NSERC, and the NSGS program. Julia received a MEOPAR Training Award, the Don Gray Scholarship and Don Gray Paper Award from the Canadian Geophysical Union, the Canadian Water Resources Association Dillon Scholarship, and a Graduate Student Research Grant from the Geological Society of America. 

Kathryn's PhD research investigates cold-water habitat loss due to climate change in coastal rivers within Nova Scotia and PEI and proposes innovative groundwater-based solutions. Her field methods include drone-based thermal infrared sensing and distributed fiber-optic sensing. Kathryn is funded through the ASPIRE program, an NSGS scholarship, a Nova Scotia Salmon Association Scholarship, and a Geological Society of America Schlemon Scholarship. She also received an On To the Future Award and Graduate Student Grant from the Geological Society of America.

Hayden's PhD research investigates coastal and agricultural sediments impacted by surface and subsurface saltwater intrusion resulting from dike realignment along a macro-tidal river. Hayden is using geophysical techniques, groundwater chemical analysis, morphological assessments, and sediment characterization. Hayden’s research is funded through the NSERC ASPIRE program, and a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship. Hayden was awarded the G.G. Meyerhof Graduate Fellowship (2021, 2022), the Donald Stanley Award for Best Environmental Engineering paper (2022), and the Canadian Society for Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Student Poster Award (2023). Hayden has been a course instructor at Dalhousie since 2020.  

Bay holds a BSc in Earth Sciences and GIS Certificate from Dalhousie, and a MSc in Geography from the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Her masters research focused on winter coastal erosion along the St Lawrence Estuary and the impacts of warm, ice-free winters. Bay's PhD work is concerned with monitoring and modeling hydrogeological dynamics in permafrost coastal zones, incorporating field sampling, remote sensing, and numerical modelling methods. Since 2018, Bay has been involved in coastal dynamics work in northern communities. Her current field site is near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Bay is supported by an NSERC PGSD Award and funding from Polar Knowledge Canada. Bay’s research is co-supervised by Dr. Julia Guimond (WHOI).  

Bailey Strong earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 2019 and a Master of Applied Science in 2022, both from Dalhousie University. Bailey's doctoral research focuses on evaluating the potential use of subsurface wastewater treatment systems for remote cold regions, aiming to contribute to wastewater treatment guidelines for these communities. By employing numerical modeling and high-performance computing, Bailey is investigating the impact of freeze-thaw processes on the behavior and safety of these systems, taking into account both current and future climate conditions. Bailey's research is co-supervised by Dr. Rob Jamieson, and he is supported by an NSERC PGSD scholarship. 

Nicole graduated from Dalhousie in 2020 with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and in 2023 with a master's degree. Nicole's MASc research was focused on saltwater intrusion in agricultural dykelands along the Bay of Fundy. Nicole's PhD research investigates saltwater intrusion dynamics in beaches and the relationships to geochemistry using both field and modelling methods. Nicole is funded through an NSERC Alliance grant as well as through a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship, NSERC CGSD Scholarship, and Killlam Scholarship. Nicole also helps with administration, lab oversight, and field campaigns. 

Armita Motamedi completed her undergraduate studies in Water Resources Engineering and a Master’s degree in Water Resources Management at Isfahan University of Technol. Armita actively collaborated on several research projects, focusing on the implications of extreme events, such as droughts, on water resources. Her performance during her master’s studies earned her an award from Iran’s National Elites Foundation. Currently, she holds a doctoral Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship and is pursuing research on the effects of drought and extreme events on groundwater throughout Nova Scotia.

In 2023, Summer graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Environmental Science. Her thesis focused on modeling the small-scale effects of grass species on major soil properties and soil hydrology. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in vadose zone hydrology, geochemistry, and restoration ecology. In 2023, Summer received the Groundwater Field Methods Award for her work during Hydrogeology Field Camp in the Yucatán Peninsula. Summer’s MASc research focuses on contaminant transport in seasonally frozen and permafrost vadose zone environments. Her work is currently funded in part by the Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship as well as an NSERC Alliance grant.

Martina graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor’s degree in Water Resources Engineering in 2024. During her undergraduate degree, she supported graduate projects focusing on chloride, nitrate, and phosphorus contaminants and pathways. She helped graduate students conduct field work, including surface and groundwater monitoring and sampling. Martina has also worked in consulting, specializing in hydrogeology and private servicing. In this position, she conducted groundwater impact assessments and groundwater reports for new developments. Martina’s MASc research focuses on using geophysics to map and model saltwater intrusion on the North Shore of PEI. 

Audrey is studying civil engineering at Dalhousie University (expected graduation 2025). Audrey worked for the lab as a part-time research assistant during the 2024 winter term, and joined the lab full time for the summer 2024 term as an NSERC USRA recipient. Her recent research is focused on studying groundwater level fluctuations in Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia to infer groundwater recharge in different aquifers. She continues to be interested in climate change effects on water resources in Atlantic Canada.  

Ryan is studying Environmental Engineering at Dalhousie. He was an NSERC USRA recipient in the summer of 2022 where he investigated groundwater discharge into highland rivers in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Over the summer 2023 field season as a second-time NSERC USRA recipient, Ryan assisted with conducting field work to investigate warming rivers and salmon habitat. Ryan’s work is motivated by his curiosity of natural sciences and his enthusiasm for being active outdoors. 

Abigail is studying civil engineering at Dalhousie University (expected graduation May 2026) and received an NSERC USRA for the summer 2025 term, where she will investigate coastal groundwater dynamics. Her research focuses on tidal temperature and pressure fluctuations in coastal sediments. She assists in field work investigating saltwater intrusion. Abigail loves nature, and although she prefers freshwater, she is happy to spend her summer on the beautiful coastline of the Atlantic provinces.