People
Leader
Dr. Amy Shober, Professor and Extension Specialist
Extension Professionals
Sydney Riggi, Extension Agent – Agricultural Nutrient Management
John Emerson, Extension Agent – Turfgrass and Ornamental Nutrient Management
Hilary Gibson, Extension Program Coordinator – Nutrient Management
Research Associates
Shawn Tingle, Research Associate II
Current Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Lauren Mosesso, Plant and Soil Sciences – Lauren completed her Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware in 2016. She is currently serving as a postdoctoral researcher for the Nutrient Management and Environmental Quality Research Group were she is continuing her work characterizing the transport pathways of subsurface phosphorus loss in ditch-drained fields on the Delmarva Peninsula using stable water isotopes and conservative tracers. She is also working to reduce barriers to poultry litter use for farmers on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Current Graduate Students
Jeremy Newswanger, M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences – Jeremy received a B.S. in biology and chemistry from Houghton College in May 2020. Originally from Lancaster, PA, he is interested in helping farmers get the most out of the resources that they have using new technology or better on-farm nutrient management. His research will focus on the use of drone technology and in-season nitrogen modeling software to help farmers to have more efficient use of their nitrogen applications. (Jeremy is co-advised by Dr. Jarrod Miller.)
Willow Blew, M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences – Willow obtained a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management with minors in Watershed and Water
Resources and Environmental Inquiry from The Pennsylvania State University in May 2022. Their research focuses on how to best map, measure, and manage salinity issues in coastal soils within the Delmarva Peninsula. (Willow is co-advised by Dr. Jarrod Miller.)
Former Research Associates
Maria Pautler, Research Associate III (retired)
Gitta Hasing, Biological Scientist (University of Florida)
Former Graduate Students (University of Delaware)
Zhixuan Qin, Ph.D., Plant and Soil Sciences – Dr. Qin’s Ph.D. research focused on understanding phosphorus dynamics in agricultural soils with high phosphorus levels (known as legacy P). She evaluated best management practices for retaining soil phosphorus, thus lessening the need for fertilizer applications and preventing the runoff of phosphorus to waterways that leads to nuisance algal blooms.
Melissa Hubert (Savin), M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences – Melissa obtained her B.S. in Environmental Science from Wesley College. Following her passion to help the agricultural community and protect the environment, her research focused on Tax Ditches throughout Delaware to improve their maintenance and minimize nutrient losses to downstream waterbodies. Specifically, she studied the Tax Ditch Dipout which is the major maintenance practice performed every 15-20+ years to remove accumulated sediment and restore ditch functionality. Research on this practice is a new field of study and potential nutrient losses. Melissa currently works for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Sydney Young Riggi, M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences – Sydney is an Extension Agent with the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension. She coordinates the Delaware Nutrient Management Certification Sessions and continuing education. Sydney holds a B.S. in General Agriculture from Delaware State University and an M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Delaware. She is also a Certified Crop Advisor.
Alexander Soroka, M.S., Water Science and Policy – Alex studied environmental science as an undergrad first in New Hampshire and then New York where his experience was in rural landscapes with few humans. Alex came to Delaware to study issues at the boundary of people, food production, and sensitive water bodies. In order to find ways to maintain or increase our food production while protecting our water quality, Alex investigated how fertilizer strategies in irrigated corn can alter both yield and the plants’ nutrient use efficiency. Alex currently works for the United States Geological Survey in Baltimore, MD.
Kathryn Turner (Clark), M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences – Katie graduated from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences in May 2013 with a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management, Soil Science option, where she was also a member of the Soil Judging Team. Katie’s research focused on understanding the subsurface movement of phosphorus in ditch-drained fields in Delmarva. Her work helps us better quantify the risk of P transport in order to inform future versions of the Delaware Phosphorus Site Index. For part of her project, she used Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) to observe tracer movement beneath the ground surface. Katie currently works for the Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania.
Former Graduate Students (University of Florida)
John Gum, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Amy Hylkema, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Shawna Loper, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Jennifer Marriott, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Drew McLean, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Zhixuan Qin, M.S., Interdisciplinary Ecology
Donald Rainey, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Stewart Whitney, M.S., Soil and Water Science
Former Undergraduate Students
Kaitlyn Markey, CANR Summer Institute intern
Nicolas Villari, DWRC intern
