Elisabeth “Libby” Hausrath

Dr. Hausrath is an aqueous geochemist and astrobiologist, and the overall theme of her research program is to investigate interactions between water and minerals, and the impacts of life on those interactions. They use a combination of field work, laboratory experiments, and modeling to investigate signatures of aqueous alteration and life, the rates at which these reactions occur, and how they differ on Earth and on other planets such as Mars. Our work helps understand chemical weathering, nutrient release, the formation of soils, and biosignatures on both Earth and Mars.

Marjorie Matocq

Projects in her lab focus on studying patterns of geographic population genetic structure and the processes underlying such patterns. Because the current geographic distribution of genetic diversity is determined by a complex interplay of ecology, demography, and population history, the studies are performed at various spatial and temporal scales. To study the processes underlying patterns of genetic diversity and subdivision, we combine modern molecular genetic techniques with morphological and field studies.

Dr. Matocq’s research program is focused on a number of ecological and evolutionary questions at the interface of intra- and interspecific processes. Her research program is heavily collections-based and integrates traditional field and morphological data with molecular and genomic methods to elucidate pattern and process at several spatial and temporal scales. The majority of her work continues to focus on members of the Neotoma fuscipes species complex.

Mark Walker

Dr. Walker’s research supports exposure assessment as a part of risk assessment associated with human health protection. I have conducted studies of exposure and potential for exposure to: Arsenic in private water supplies; E. coli, as an indicator of fecal contamination in water; Leptospira, as a result of changes in land use in Hawaii; and Cryptosporidium. His extension work provides technical support and information through: Water supply operators throughout Nevada; using an innovative partnership and distance learning technologies; Web sites that help interpret water quality and have served as models for at least two national efforts; Peer-reviewed fact sheets and special publications and newsletters; and small grants programs for Extension Educators.

Matthew Lachniet

Dr. Lachniet’s research focuses on understanding the controls on Earth’s climate on time scales ranging from seasonal to 100s of thousands years, with a particular focus on tropical and arctic past climates. These data inform understanding of modern and anthropogenic climate change. He is co-director of the Las Vegas Isotope Science (LVIS) Lab in the Science and Engineering Building. Dr. Lachniet has an active research program in which he uses light stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry, hydrology, speleology, glacial geology, geomorphology, and the sedimentary record to answer questions of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic change. His primary research areas are Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Alaska, and the Great Basin.

Matt Forister

The Forister lab works in the areas of specialization, diversification, and plant-insect ecology. Specific questions and topics include the evolution of diet breadth, evolutionary interactions across trophic levels, phenology and population regulation. We are also interested in the conservation and management of insect diversity. In the field, our research includes the Great Basin, the Sierra Nevada, and much of the western hemisphere including tropical sites. In the lab, we combine physiological and behavioral experiments with genomic sequencing of novel-model organisms.

Vaidyanathan (Ravi) Subramanian

Ravi Subramanian is currently an associate professor of chemical engineering. He is on the graduate faculty of the Electrical and Biomedical Engineering Department and an adjunct in the Chemistry Department. He is also the solar energy thrust area coordinator in the Renewable Energy Center at the University. His area of research focus is on nanostructured materials for solar energy utilization. He has expertise in the synthesis, characterization and application of photoactive materials in photovoltaics, clean fuel production and environmental remediation. In his 12 years of research he has developed inorganic materials including semiconductor-semiconductor and semiconductor-metal nanocomposites for applications related to solar energy utilization and fuel cells.

Materials discovery and devices development to harvest solar energy continues to be a challenge. Eco-friendly and earth abundant elements have a great potential to harvest solar energy. With solar energy: your future is bright!

Robert Sheridan

Our research revolves around highly reactive organic molecules. These unstable and elusive intermediates, such as carbenes, nitrenes, and biradicals, are especially important in photochemistry, but their chemistry and properties are poorly understood. Moreover, these molecules are related to searches for organic conducting and magnetic materials. Much of the organic synthesis that we carry out involves making previously unknown compounds, and we spend a considerable amount of our time developing new synthetic methods to tackle these challenging molecules. A specialized technique that we use to study reaction intermediates involves matrix isolation photochemistry. In this method, organic molecules are frozen into glasses of inert gas at extremely low temperatures (10 Kelvin). The samples are then irradiated with UV light to generate highly reactive intermediates. The low temperatures and high dilution in inert surroundings protect these otherwise unstable species from reaction. IR and UV spectra of the samples, acquired at low temperature, tell us a great deal about the bonding and structures of the products. Finally, we carry out a variety of ab initio and DFT electronic structure calculations to model the structures, spectra, and electronics of these novel molecules.

Scott Abella

Scott Abella is an assistant professor in restoration ecology with the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. His areas of expertise include fire management, ecological restoration, plant ecology, and habitat-wildlife relationships. He also owns the consulting firm Natural Resource Conservation LLC.

Our lab group focuses on restoration ecology and applied conservation science. Restoration ecology is the science behind repairing ecosystems that are damaged or destroyed. This does not mean exactly replicating some type of past or current “undisturbed” ecosystem, which is rarely even possible. Rather, restoration seeks to favorably change sites so an ecosystem can support native species and recover functions, like providing wildlife habitat. Similarly, applied conservation science provides a foundation for sustaining native ecological diversity and desired natural resources.

To advance these areas, we also conduct supporting research in fire ecology, plant ecology, invasion biology and non-native species management, and landscape ecology.