Education:
PhD in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Marine Science Research Center, Stony Brook University, 2006; MS in Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Sciences Research Center, Xiamen University, China, 2001; BS in Marine Biology, Department of Oceanography, Xiamen University, China, 1998

My research interests focus on microbial diversity, dynamics, functional roles, and carbon transformations in natural and man-made ecosystems. I employ a variety of molecular techniques, including cloning, sequencing, TRFLP, FISH and qPCR, and culture-dependent techniques to study microbial communities. My dissertation research involved microbial community assemblages across redox gradients in the anoxic Cariaco Basin (Venezuela). I used the redox transition zone as a model system to understand microbial spatiotemporal variations and interpret biogeochemical properties of bacterial guilds along a sequence of redox couples. Currently, I am studying the ecology of microbial biofilms in a drinking water distribution system and the efficacy of different biofilm control strategies.

E-mail: xlin@stroudcenter.org

Education:
Graduated Upper Darby High School, 1971

Sherman is responsible for general laboratory operations and maintenance of our biofilm reactor room. He is skilled in sterile techniques for microbiology and bright field epifluorescence microscopy as well as logistical planning for research at the Center and in the field. Sherman assists in design, implementation and execution of laboratory and field experiments, field sampling, sample processing, operating analytical instruments and the supervision of interns.

E-mail: sroberts@stroudcenter.org

Education:
BA in Biology & minor in Environmental Science
Lafayette College, 2007

Sarah monitors how the microbial ecology of biofilm changes throughout the Philadelphia Water Department's drinking water distribution system. To do this, she maintains system models, collects water and biofilm samples, and performs molecular techniques like DNA extraction & purification, PCR, cloning, and plasmid isolation.

E-mail: ssmith@stroudcenter.org

Education:
BS in Environmental Biology, University of Dayton, 2001

Stream bacterial communities occupy a central role in biogeochemical cycling and are a vital component of trophic food webs in lotic ecosystems. My research interests focus on understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics associated with stream bacterial communities and the factors that control these dynamics. In particular, my dissertation work addresses how bacterial communities respond to increased shear stress and nutrients that occur during scouring flows caused by storms and how these responses may vary in relation to the location of communities within the stream (ie. rocks versus sediments) and seasonality. I employ traditional microbial techniques, such as microscopic counts and culturing, as well as molecular techniques, such as clone library construction, sequencing, and terminal fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) in my research.

E-mail: rowley@sas.upenn.edu

Education:
BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Cornell University, 2002

Seston is suspended particulate load in streams and consists of different types of small particles (<1mm) including bacterial and algal cells, leaf and wood pieces, fecal pellets, insect parts and soil particles. I am interested in how small suspended particles (seston) move downstream and how they interact physically and biologically with the stream ecosystem. Specifically, my dissertation work examines the seasonal and daily transport patterns of seston and identifies potential sources of seston. I would like to compare storm and baseflow transport dynamics of particles using models and empirical observations. I have also been developing a method to examine the bacterial respiration of seston carbon.