People
Principal Investigator
George H. Allen
Associate Professor
DEGREES: PhD, MS UNC Chapel Hill; BS UC Davis
CONTACT: geoallen@vt.edu
WEBPAGE: https://geos.vt.edu/people/Everyone/allen--george.html
BlueSky: @geoallen
Linkedin: george-allen-75a6bb16
FACT: George has lived in North America, Asia and Europe
Graduate Students
Yohtaro Kobayashi
PhD Candidate, VT Geosciences
DEGREES: BS, MS University of Texas at El Paso
RESEARCH FOCUS: River light availability
CONTACT: yckobayashi@vt.edu
WEBPAGE: https://www.bse.vt.edu/people/grad-students/yohtaro-kobayashi.html
FACT: Yohtaro had a very short stint as a sushi chef
Hana R. Thurman
PhD Candidate, VT Geosciences
DEGREES: BS University of Virginia
RESEARCH FOCUS: Remote sensing of rivers and lakes with SWOT
CONTACT: hanathurman@vt.edu
WEBPAGE: https://geos.vt.edu/people/Everyone/thurman--hana.html
FACT: Hana loves mushrooms and has a large collection of mushroom figurines, clothing, decor, and more
David Go
PhD Student, VT Geosciences
DEGREES: BS UNC Chapel Hill
RESEARCH FOCUS: River surface area dynamics
CONTACT: dego@vt.edu
WEBPAGE: https://geos.vt.edu/people/Everyone/go--david.html
FACT: In the summer of 2024, David won a dollar at an Idaho rodeo
Steve Yoon
PhD Student, VT Geosciences
DEGREES: BS UNC Chapel Hill, MS Southern Methodist University
RESEARCH FOCUS: TBD
CONTACT: yoons@vt.edu
WEBPAGE: https://geos.vt.edu/people/Everyone/yoon--sunwoo.html
FACT: After playing the viola for 10 years, Steve developed a habit of aggressively tapping his feet to the beat while concentrating
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Arya Rajmane
BS Student, VT Geosciences
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Former Graduate Students & Postdocs
Emily Ellis
PhD, VT Geosciences, 2026
RESEARCH FOCUS: Remote sensing of river temperature
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
Postdoc at UNC Chapel Hill
Molly Stroud
PhD, VT Geosciences, 2025
RESEARCH FOCUS: Remote sensing of sediment in rivers & lakes
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
Postdoc at Virginia Tech Center for Ecological Forecasting
Katie McQuillan
VT Presidential Postdoc Fellow, 2023-2025
RESEARCH FOCUS: SAR remote sensing of lake wind & evaporation
JOB AFTER POSTDOC:
Geospatial Analyst at pano.ai
Luisana Rodriguez Sequeira
MS, VT Geosciences, 2025
RESEARCH FOCUS:
Remote sensing of water quality and plastic pollution in rivers
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
World Traveler Extraordinaire
Carter Boyd
MS, VT Geosciences, 2024
RESEARCH FOCUS: Hydraulic scaling in river networks
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
Geomorphologist/Hydrologist at Balance Hydrologics, Berkeley, CA
Ryan Riggs
PhD, TAMU Geography, 2024
RESEARCH FOCUS: Remote sensing of river discharge
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
USGS Research Hydrologist & Mendenhall Postdoc Fellow
John Morgan
MS, TAMU Geography, 2022
RESEARCH FOCUS: Stream and river hydromorphology
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
PhD at VT Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Ennis Rios
MS, TAMU WMHS Program, 2021
RESEARCH FOCUS: Non-thesis
JOB AFTER GRADUATION:
Research Associate at the Texas Water Resources Institute
Former Undergraduate Research Assistants
Brenna Demko
BA Geography
Tasha Dray
BS Geosciences
Shaurya Prakash
BS Mining and Minerals Engineering
Jason Gross
BS Biology
Jordan Lavey
BS Geosciences
Tori Cooper
BS Geography
Nicholas McFadden
BS Geosciences
Anabelle Fry
BS Geosciences
Gaby Carter
BS Biology
E. Aussey
BS Geosciences
Alyssa McCain
BS Environmental Geoscience
David Moulton
BS Ocean Engineering
Hank Harrington
BS Geology
Delia Pastore
BS Environmental Studies
Catherin Franklin
BS GIS & Technology
Joel Holliman
BS Environmental Geoscience
