Current student research

Below you will find a sample of research profiles for some of our current NRES graduate students.

Sorour Nasimi

Sorour Nasimi (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • Master of Environmental Engineering (University of Tehran, Iran)

Supervisor: Dr. Jianbing Li

Dissertation topic: Enhancing water security in rural and remote areas incorporating traditional knowledge

 

Yihang Zhang

Yihang Zhang (MA, NRES)

  • BA, Media Economics and Management (Communication University of China)
  • BA, Broadcasting and Television Playwright Directing - TV Editing (Communication University of China)

Supervisor: Dr. Zoë Meletis

Thesis topic: Bringing dinosaurs into the 2020s: considering current visitation and future virtual tourism possibilities for the Tumbler Ridge Museum and Geopark (B.C.)

Email: yihangz@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yihang-zhang

 

Richard Darko

Richard Darko (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • BA, Economics (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, 2012)
  • MA, Economics (University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, 2016)
  • MA, Development Economics (University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, 2019)
  • MA, Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) (University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, 2022)

Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth

Dissertation topic: Advancing New Regional Industrial Development Pathways: Exploring the Dynamics of Power, Legitimacy, and Institutionalization​

Email: darko@unbc.ca

 

Jhoan Chavez

Jhoan Chavez (MSc, NRES)

  • BSc, Environmental Engineering (National Agrarian University, La Molina, 2014)
  • Environmental Engineer (National Agrarian University, La Molina/CIP, 2018)

Supervisor: Dr. Jianbing Li

Thesis topic: Agricultural Waste Management through Pyrolysis

Som Pun

Som Pun (PhD candidate, NRES)

Supervisor: Dr. Annie Booth

Dissertation topic: Linking Indigenous knowledge through adaptive silvicultural practices & decision-making: Assessment of reforestation objectives & Indigenous self-determination within Treaty 8 Territories, BC, Canada

Nella Hernandez

Nella Hernandez (MSc, NRES)

  • BSc (National Agrarian University, La Molina, 2005)
  • MBA (Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, 2017)

Supervisor: Dr. Flor Y. Garcia-Becerra & Dr. Greg Halseth

Dissertation topic: Socio-technological adoption of decentralized water systems in northern British Columbia informed by household gender roles

Email: mernande@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-nella-hernández-2822a981

Bipana Maiya Sadadev

Bipana Maiya Sadadev (MSc, NRES)

  • BSc, Forestry (Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Nepal)

Supervisor: Dr. Heather Bryan

Thesis topic: Conservation of Hog deer (Axis porcinus) via field survey and social survey in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal

Email: sadadev@unbc.ca 

 

Nisha Mehta

Nisha Mehta (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • MEd, Counselling Psychology (University of Western Ontario, 2010)

Supervisor: Dr. Annie Booth

Dissertation topic: Forced Environmental Migration: Tracing unearthed places and its peoples to the Americas

Email: Nmehta@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/nisha-mehta-m-ed-c-psych-ba87bab2

Lucas Middleton

Lucas Middleton (MA, NRES)

  • BA Hons, Sociology & English (St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish NS)

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Wigglesworth

Thesis topic: The experience of Canadian national parks as structured by the state

Kaitlyn Raine

Kaitlyn Raine (MSc, NRES)

  • BSc, Environmental Biology (University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, 2021)

Supervisor: Dr. Ché Elkin

Dissertation topic: Investigating the influences of competition by different densities of Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and site moisture on Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) growth under drought conditions caused by climate change

Halena Scanlon

Halena Scanlon (MNRES)

Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Pearce

Dissertation topic: Pairing Scientific and Inuit Knowledge  to Understand Sympatric Populations of Arctic char (Iqalukpik, Salvelinus alpinus) in the Amundsen Gulf, Canada

Email: scanlon@unbc.ca

Zehra Zawawi

Zehra Zawawi (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • BSc, Geography and Environment (University of London)
  • MSc, Sustainable Development (SOAS, University of London)

Supervisor: Dr. Annie Booth & Dr. Sinead Earley

Dissertation topic: Indigenous Food wisdom guiding food policy in BC and beyond

Email: zawawi@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/zehra-zawawi-91850b23

Jemima Duru

Jemima Duru (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • BSc, Geography & Environmental Management (University of Ilorin, Nigeria, 2015)
  • MSc, Disaster Management & Resilience (Coventry University, United Kingdom, 2019)

Supervisor: Dr. Annie Booth & Dr. Zoe Meletis

Dissertation topic: Gendered experiences of climate change-induced displacement: exploring agency, resilience, and inequality among displaced women

Email: jduru@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jemima-duru-72485228b

Lucas Macedo Moura

Lucas Macedo Moura (PhD candidate, NRES) 

  • BSc, Biological Sciences (Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brazil, 2011)
  • MSc, Ecology and Natural Resources (Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brazil, 2014)

Supervisor: Dr. Eduardo Martins

Dissertation topic: Temperature trends and their effects on the abundance and size of fish populations in temperate and tropical lakes​

Email: moura@unbc.ca

Cara Snell

Cara Snell (PhD candidate, NRES)

  • BSc Honours (Thompson Rivers University)
  • MSc, Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (University of Northern British Columbia)

Supervisor: Dr. Ken Otter

Dissertation topic: Bird and small mammal species composition between novel hardwood retention forest treatment sites in mixed stands​

Email: csnell@unbc.ca

 

Hani Safaei

Hani Safaei (PhD student, NRES)

  • Master of Architectural Engineering (Art University of Isfahan, Iran)

Supervisor: Dr. Mohammad Raoufi

Dissertation topic: Developing a Comprehensive Risk Assessment Framework for Sustainable Construction: Evaluating Its Influence on Project Performance and Safety Outcomes in the Canadian Construction Industry​

Email: safaei@unbc.ca

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/hani-safaei