Category Spotlights


AWI Student Spotlight: Ava Noffsinger

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed student intern Ava Noffsinger as a student intern for its Community-oriented Nature-based Science for Ecosystem and Versatile Engineering, or CONSERVE, research group. Noffsinger, a junior at The University of Alabama, joined AWI in the spring of 2023. She is majoring in anthropology with minors in English and international business.…


AWI Student Spotlight: Ashley Villegas

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed student Ashley Villegas as an event coordinator intern. Villegas, a junior at The University of Alabama, joined AWI in the summer of 2023. She is majoring in economics and finance with a minor in public policy. Villegas works under Lanna Nations, AWI’s director of education and outreach, to coordinate…


AWI Spotlight: Jade Richardson

The Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, or CIROH, (CIROH) is excited to welcome Jade Richardson as its new communications specialist student intern. Richardson is a senior at The University of Alabama obtaining her degree in public relations with a minor in psychology. She has been working with CIROH since the spring of…


AWI Spotlight: Mary Eliza Beaumont

The Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology recently welcomed Mary Eliza Beaumont as its first communications specialist student intern. Beaumont, a senior at The University of Alabama, is majoring in communication studies with minors in political science and environmental policy pre-law. As the communications specialist student intern, Beaumont writes feature articles highlighting CIROH’s…


AWI Spotlight: Natalie Crisci

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed student intern Natalie Crisci as an undergraduate research assistant. Crisci, a senior at The University of Alabama, joined AWI in the fall of 2022. She is majoring in civil engineering with minors in Italian and the Randall Research Scholars program. She is an assistant to Amy Hammett, AWI’s director…


AWI Spotlight: Cody Taylor

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed student intern Cody Taylor as an undergraduate research assistant. Taylor, a sophomore at The University of Alabama, joined AWI in August 2022. He is on the STEM path to an MBA, majoring in math with a minor in the Randall Research Scholars program. He is an assistant to Amy Hammett, AWI’s…


AWI Spotlight: Emily Fischer

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed Emily Fischer as a science communications student intern. Fischer is a sophomore at The University of Alabama, majoring in biology with a minor in English. As a science communications intern, Fischer writes press releases and feature articles highlighting cutting-edge hydrological research and projects being conducted at UA and by…


AWI Spotlight: Dr. Ryan Johnson

The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed Dr. Ryan Johnson as a postdoctoral researcher. Johnson earned his Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Utah. His dissertation research took advantage of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve snowpack-dependent urban water systems’ resilience, reliability and vulnerability in a changing climate. “This ongoing work…


AWI Spotlight: Abbaszadeh Finds Water Research Opportunities Far From Home

Peyman Abbaszadeh is a Ph.D. candidate in The University of Alabama’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. He is also a research assistant in the Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research (CCHR), a research center of the Alabama Water Institute. Originally from Iran, Abbaszadeh came to UA to pursue his Ph.D. in hydrology and water…


AWI Spotlight: Song Developing New Underwater Communication Techniques

Dr. Aijun Song is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware, and his area of research is underwater wireless communications. “I always wanted to be a scientist or engineer when I was younger,” said Song. “After I…


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