Water and Climate

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Samantha Lei (ESS, ‘26) has worked on a project that examines trends in nitrate contamination in California’s Central Valley, and the impact of nitrate contamination on disadvantaged communities dependent on wells and small water systems. The project was conducted in collaboration with the California Rural Legal Assistance. Sam has conducted original research on how well the Waterboard’s CV-Salts process serves EJ communities in the Central Valley using document analysis, GIS, and surveys. Sam supported the SCU 2023 Environmental Justice conference. She was a LEAD scholar and a 2023 REAL fellowship recipient. 

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Stephanie Davis, Environmental Studies '25. Stephanie digitized and documented the widespread presence of CAFOs in the Central Valley, which are large contributors to nitrate contamination in groundwater and household wells, especially in historically marginalized communities. This information has been instrumental in shaping better policy for groundwater pollution. She presented her work at the 2024 meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. 

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Tanmay Singla, M.S. ‘24, Computer Science and Engineering. Tanmay worked on a project that investigates climate change across Central America and has developed a climate forecasting app (NicaAgua) to support climate resilience for smallholder farmers in Northern Nicaragua. The project was a collaboration between Environmental Science, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, the Frugal Innovation Hub, Art, and local partner CII-Asdenic. Tanmay supported the phase that turned the app from a Beta level to a working tool for short and long-term forecasts and their interpretation. Tanmay was co-mentored by Allan Báez Morales, Iris Stewart-Frey, and Ed Maurer.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Turner Uyeda (CESE ‘24) worked on a project that investigates climate change across Central America and ways to strengthen water security and climate resilience. Part of this project is the development of a climate forecasting app (NicaAgua) for smallholder farmers in Northern Nicaragua. The project was a collaboration between Environmental Science, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, the Frugal Innovation Hub, Art, and local partner CII-Asdenic.  Turner was mentored by Iris Stewart-Frey (ESS) and Edwin Maurer (CESE), worked on preparing the climate script and other climate information for the app, revised a script that automates the determination of the Mid-Summer Drought (MSD), and developed a github package for open access. Turner presented the climate portion of the work at the 2023 SCU EJ conference, and he was a co-author on posters at the 2023 CUAHSI and the 2023 AGU conferences.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Alex Avila (CESE ‘24) worked on a project that investigates climate change across Central America and ways to strengthen water security and climate resilience. Part of this project is the development of a climate forecasting app (NicaAgua) for smallholder farmers in Northern Nicaragua. The project was a collaboration between Environmental Science, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, the Frugal Innovation Hub, Art, and local partner CII-Asdenic.  Alex was mentored by Iris Stewart-Frey (ESS) and Edwin Maurer (CESE), and worked on preparing the climate script and other climate information for the app. He also supported the overall development of the app, including optimizing its usefulness . Alex presented the climate portion of the project at the 2023 SCU EJ conference and the overall project at the 2023 AGU conference. He was a co-author of the project presentation at the 2023 CUAHSI conference.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Giuliano Silva Zanotti Siviero, M.S. ‘23, Computer Science and Engineering. Giuliano worked on a project that investigates climate change across Central America and has developed a climate forecasting app (NicaAgua) to support climate resilience for smallholder farmers in Northern Nicaragua. The project was a collaboration between Environmental Science, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, the Frugal Innovation Hub, Art, and local partner CII-Asdenic. Giuliano developed the first prototype of the app for short and long-term forecasts and their interpretation.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Eliza Steenrod, Environmental Science ‘23. Eliza completed an extensive GIS study as well as an honors thesis under the mentorship of Iris Stewart-Frey. Sheevaluated the potential for groundwater banking in historically marginalized communities in the Central Valley. Her work found that increased resources and further site suitability analysis can be used to guide and inform decisions made to meet SGMA guidelines and should prioritize disadvantaged communities. Eliza now works in environmental consulting. 

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Erica (ESS and Chemistry, ‘23) has been working on a community-based research project that seeks to develop integrated clean water solutions for disadvantaged communities that depend on domestic wells in the San Joaquin Valley. Erica has worked on preparing interactive maps of nitrate contamination that communities can use to assess the likely contaminant level in their area.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Jeremy Wang (‘23, Bellarmine High School) Jeremy participated as a high school senior in a study that investigated the connection between extreme drought periods and domestic wells that have dried up in disadvantaged communities in the Central Valley. Jeremy presented his work at the Environmental Justice and the Common Good conference at Santa Clara University in April 2023. Jeremy is headed to Dartmouth, where he is majoring in Environmental Science. 

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Paola Felix (ESS, ‘22) worked on designing a survey assessing experiences of water security for smallholder farmers in Northern Nicaragua.  Paola researched other studies assessing water security and translated the final survey questions into Spanish. She has also been a student researcher for food and housing insecurity on campus, tUrn climate change awareness week, and the Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project (SLURP). 

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Meghan worked on a community-based environmental justice project with Iris Stewart-Frey and community partners from the Tuolumne River Trust on a project focused on improving underserved communities in the Central Valley. She mapped and analyzed EJ issues in Modesto with the goal of incorporating EJ in revisions of the general plan, focusing on demographics, housing access, and the presence of industries in relation to Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUC). This work was presented at multiple community advocacy workshops and was supported by a CALEPA Environmental Justice grant. After graduation, Meghan joined the TeachAmerica program teaching in less resourced schools in East San Jose.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Andrew was part of two projects that supported communities in Nicaragua and Modesto (Central Valley) with improving access to safe water sources. For the Nicaragua project, he analyzed the results of a survey of water committees and of community-monitoring. For the Central Valley project, he mapped and analyzed data on well contamination. All analysis was done with the R statistical software. Andrew won a prestigious NASA Develop fellowship and is currently a fellow with Civic Spark working on water-related projects.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Ben used GIS to digitize and analyze the social and economic development of the communities around Santa Clara through time. After receiving a Master of Planning at USC, he became a Senior Transportation Planner at Alta Planning and Design in Oakland California.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Jennifer worked on GIS and statistical analysis for a project that examined disparities in access to environmental benefits and exposure to environmental burdens in Santa Clara County. Jennifer's work centered on researching and mapping environmental benefits and their access to different communities. Jennifer's work was funded by an SCU environmental justice and sustainability grant and her contributions are acknowledged in a resulting peer-reviewed publication (Stewart et al., 2014). Jennifer was a GIS teaching assistant and won the ESS senior research award on graduation. After internships at ESRI and a M.S. in Water Resources Management from UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School, Jennifer became a project manager at ESRI.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Lilah worked on a community-based research project that seeks to develop integrated clean water solutions for disadvantaged communities that depend on domestic wells in the San Joaquin Valley. Lilah used spatial and statistical analysis to characterize widespread groundwater contamination, especially from nitrate. She presented her work at a conference, at community meetings, and at an invited talk to a workshop by the Central Valley water board. In addition, she contributed to public comments, jointly developed with a community partner, that successfully advocated for policy improvements in the CV-SALTS process, a collaborative stakeholder driven and managed program to develop sustainable salinity and nitrate management planning for the Central Valley. Lilah was Clare Booth Luce fellowship recipient, and was a club member of ENACT, educating people about environmental injustices.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Sophia worked on a community-based research project that seeks to develop integrated clean water solutions for disadvantaged communities that depend on domestic wells in the San Joaquin Valley. Sophia researched background information and preparing educational material. Her work was supported by a Hackworth Grant and a CalEPA Environmental Justice grant. She was the department coordinator for Santa Clara Community Action Program and an intern for Environmental Volunteers.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Genevieve worked on a project that analyzed the disparate exposure of school children in Santa Clara County to roadway emissions that have been associated with a host of adverse health outcomes such as lung disease and asthma. Genevieve conducted spatial and statistical analysis for a new method to assess traffic data, and she compared those to results from other environmental impact models. The results of this project have been published in a recent paper (Stewart IT, Clow G, Graham A, and Bacon C, 2020). Genevieve won a prestigious NASA Develop fellowship, and since graduation has received an  ESRI internship, and worked for an ocean analytics startup. She started graduate studies in remote sensing at the University of Colorado at Boulder/NCAR.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Anne used GIS and statistical analysis to contribute to two studies. One study analyzed the  disparate effects of drought on water security, finding that communities in the Central Valley and ecosystems are bearing the brunt of the water shortages, while wealthier Bay Area communities are much less affected. A second study analyzed the impacts of roadway emissions on public schools in Santa Clara County and found a greater likelihood that schools with a student population coming from communities with lower socioeconomic strength are exposed to higher emissions. Each study resulted in peer reviewed publications with student co-authors, including Anne (Stewart et al.,  2020; Stewart et al., 2020). Anne was an AmeriCorps volunteer at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project:  Will worked on GIS and statistical analysis for a project that examined disparities in access to environmental benefits and exposure to environmental burdens in Santa Clara County. Will presented his work at the AAG and AGU conferences and contributed to an environmental justice seminar at SCU. His work was supported by an SCU environmental justice and sustainability grant and he was a co-author on a peer-reviewed publication (Stewart et al., 2014). After receiving an M.S. degree in hydrology from Indiana University, he stared working on a Ph.D. in eco-hydrologic modeling at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Chloe worked on a community-based environmental justice project with Iris Stewart-Frey and community partners from the Tuolumne River Trust on a project focused on improving underserved communities in the Central Valley. She analyzed the distribution and quality of parks, bike access, and safe bike routes in relationship to Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUC).This work was presented at multiple community advocacy workshops and was supported by a CALEPA Environmental Justice grant. In addition, she used GIS to digitize and analyze information on water sources and water use  in northern Nicaragua to support a project on improving access to safe water. Chloe pursued a graduate degree in education at Stanford University.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: James won a Hackworth Fellowship and conducted a project that examined ethical considerations for deploying geoengineering solutions to mitigate Climate Change. His work included the analysis of climate data, research on technological advances, their effects and availability, surveys, and interviews and highlighted the need for greater consideration of ethics, access, and inclusion of community-based voices in climate change solutions. He presented his work at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in Dec. 2019. Aside from being a Hackworth fellow, James was a Mapping Health Fellow, Global Social Benefit Fellow, a Udall Fellowship recipient, and a Center for Sustainability Intern. He won a Fulbright fellowships to work on research relevant to sustainable transportation at the Labatoire GeeP (Paris, F) after graduation. James worked as Leed Energy Analyst at an Energy Solutions Firm leading several projects to advance solar mini-grid project deployment in Latin American and African countries.

Supervisors: Ed Maurer and Iris Stewart-Frey

Project:Kenny worked on a community-based project that characterized changes in the climatic patterns important for smallholder farmers in Central America with the goal of developing climate adaptation strategies and integrated and sustainable water management practices at the local scale, particularly northern Nicaragua. His contributions centered on developing R code to objectively describe the mid-summer drought, its dependence on parametric choices,  and its changes through time. Kenny co-authored on a peer-reviewed article (Stewart et al., 2021) and co-authored on a second article. Kenny’s work was supported by funding from the EJ&CGI at SCU and the School of Engineering.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: John worked on a community-based research project that seeks to develop integrated clean water solutions for disadvantaged communities that depend on domestic wells in the San Joaquin Valley. John researched background information and prepared educational material. He co-presented a poster at a conference on this project. John volunteered for social justice organizations, and worked as a GIS teaching assistant and as a water conservation intern for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Tay supported a community-based research project of improving access to safe water for farming communities in Northern Nicaragua. He digitized and analyzed information on small water systems using GIS and displayed incredible patience in sorting out often conflicting information from hand-drawn maps on community resources. In addition, he analyzed data from water monitoring. These digital resources supported community work on making water resources sustainable under climate change for years to come.  His work was supported by National Science Foundation grant BCS-1539795. Tay pursued graduate studies in water resource management at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Jackie worked on two projects that analyzed the disparate impact of drought on different communities in the Tuolumne River watershed to support advocacy for more equality and environmental protection. Results from her spatial and statistical analysis were included in a peer-reviewed publication (Stewart IT, Rogers J, Graham A. “Water security under severe drought and climate change: Disparate impacts of the recent severe drought on environmental flows and water supplies in Central California”. Journal of Hydrology X. 2020 Mar 29:100054). Jackie won a Clare Boothe Luce fellowship for women in STEM fields to support this work. A second project, supported by a Hackworth fellowship, examined the ethical implications on water management under drought. Jackie and Iris interviewed a number of water managers, conducted a Bay-Area wide survey, analyzed drought data and co-presented this work in a public seminar and discussion at SCU in June 2020. While at Santa Clara, Jackie was a leader in Santa Clara’s Community Action Program and the Program Coordinator of Worker’s connection in addition to several other appointments, and she volunteered for the social justice organizations Homesafe and ProLiteracy.  Jackie pursued a Ph.D. in water resource engineering at the University of Washington.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: For a project assessing water resources and water security for communities in northern Nicaragua, Elia investigated the potential for refillable bottled drinking water distribution. This work was distributed in a report and through presentations in Spanish to the partner community organization.  Elia was a GSBF fellow at the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. After entering the San Francisco Fellowship Program and receiving a J.D. from SCU’s Law School , Elia became a law clerk at the Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene, OR,  following her passions of finding environmental solutions and enacting social justice.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Claire worked on several projects related to assessing household food and water security in Nicaragua. Claire helped on a project assessing water resources and water security for communities in northern Nicaragua. Claire helped digitize GIS maps of community water sources and community boundaries. With professor Stewart-Frey she collaborated on community water monitoring and surveys of water committees in Nicaragua in the summer of 2016 and 2017. Her work was supported by National Science Foundation grant BCS-1539795. She has produced maps for publications, and co-presented a poster at the American Association of Geographers on community-based water monitoring (Stewart IT, Bacon CM, Smoker C, 2017). She was the Director University Protocol and Events at SCU and pursued an MBA.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Carlos contributed statistical and spatial analysis (GIS) to a project that examined the impact of climate change on the occurrences of extreme low flows, floods, and extremely warm stream temperatures in California and the Colorado River Watersheds. These extremes predominantly affect ecosystems and vulnerable communities. Carlos presented his work at two conferences and is the co-author on a peer-reviewed publication. He also won a prestigious NASA Develop fellowship. Carlos obtained a M.S. in Public Administration from USC and was an Associate Resource Specialist at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Meghan conducted fieldwork, wrote extensive code and contributed statistical and spatial analysis for a project examining the combined effects of urbanization and climate change on stream temperatures. Warmer stream temperatures particularly affect cold-water fish species and communities that rely on them. Meghan trained and supervised other students, presented her work at two conferences and is a co-author on a peer-reviewed publication. After graduation, she obtained a Masters Degree in Hydrology at the University of Indiana at Bloomington and was an Environmental Scientist at EKI Environment & Water Inc.

Supervisors: Iris Stewart-Frey

Project: Ryan analyzed and mapped crop patterns and pesticide application in the context of a project that supports community partners in advocating for safe and sufficient water for vulnerable communities in Stanislaus and Tulare Counties (Central Valley). Many disadvantaged unincorporated communities are not connected to large water systems, and instead draw their water from shallow household wells. While much focus is on nitrates and salts, the exposure to pesticides in water and air is an additional environmental burden that is very difficult to assess. Providing estimates of the relative amounts of pesticides applied and the proximity of these applications to vulnerable communities is a step in that direction. Ryan also worked as a GIS teaching assistant.