Kristen A. Davis
Associate Professor
Dr. Davis joined the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine in 2012. She is a physical coastal oceanographer who is interested in studying circulation in the coastal ocean, its natural variability, and influence on marine ecosystems and human-nature interactions. Kristen earned a Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Stanford University in 2009 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington.
Shuwen Tan
Postdoctoral Researcher
Shuwen joined the CDL as a postdoctoral researcher in Dec. 2022, where she will explore nonlinear internal waves approach an island (Dongsha Atoll in the Southern China Sea) with the aid of numerical models. She earned her Ph.D. from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Qingdao, China, in 2020, and then worked at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University as a U.S. GO-SHIP Program Postdoctoral Fellow. Self-identified as a wave enthusiast, she studies waves ranging from 1000km-long planetary waves to 1m-scale internal gravity waves. She takes pictures of waves in her life too and enjoys sharing with others. Besides wave-watching and photographing, she enjoys hiking, yoga, cooking, and listening to podcasts.
Sarah Merrigan
Ph.D. Student
Sarah is a Ph.D. student at UC Irvine in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. She received her undergraduate and master’s at the University of Arizona in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in water resources. Sarah’s research at UCI focuses on reef lagoon circulation.
Madolyn Kelm
Ph.D. Student
Madolyn was born and raised in Salem, Oregon, earning her B.A. in Physics. She is now a Ph.D. student in the Earth System Science Department, where she will be studying the physical and biological dynamics of kelp cultivation in the ocean. Her passions include teaching, travel, and exploring the West Coast!
Jared Brzenski
Ph.D. Student
Jared is a Ph.D. student in the UCI-SDSU joint doctoral program in Computational Science. Jared taught math and 3D printing in the San Diego Unified School District for 13 years before returning to graduate school to focus on ocean modeling and efficient ways to model domains of different temporal and spacial scales within a high performance computing environment.
Former Lab Members:
Isabella Arzeno Soltero
Isabella (Isa) was a postdoctoral researcher in the CDL and while at UCI helped to develop parts of the MACMODS (MacroAlgae Cultivation MODeling System) in order to estimate global potential for seaweed cultivation. Isa has moved on to another postdoc researcher position at Stanford University, but is still studying kelp!
Samuel Kastner
Sam was a postdoctoral researcher in the Coastal Dynamics Lab and while at UC Irvine developed a numerical model of Bahía Almirante, a tropical bay in the province of Bocas del Toro, Panamá, in order to understand the physical and biological drivers of hypoxia formation and break down in the bay. Sam is now an Assistant Professor at Western Washington University!
Aryan Safaie
Aryan defended his thesis, “Temperature Variability in Coastal Environments Driven by Cross-Shore Exchange Associated with Baroclinic Thermal and Ekman Dynamics” in February 2021. He is now moving onto a postdoctoral research position at the University of Rhode Island with Dr. D. Randolph Watts and Dr. Kathleen Donohue. We’re all just hoping that Aryan plans to follow through on his threat to keep coming to lab meetings (virtually, of course!).
Emma Reid
Emma defended her thesis, “Physical Processes Driving Environmental Gradients on Coral Reef Ecosystems” in February 2021. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Emma completed her undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in civil engineering. Emma has headed back to Canada to be closer to family, but his still helping us with seaweed work!
Gregory Sinnett
Greg was a postdoctoral researcher in the CDL focused on characterizing the nearshore fate of internal waves. Greg got a PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD) and while at UCI, he used a new observational platform (DTS) to make fine-scale observations of internal waves. Greg is now serving as the Research Director of the Walter Munk Foundation.
Christina Frieder
Dr. Frieder was a postdoctoral researcher in the CDL. Christina worked on a DOE funded project to develop a model for macroalgal farming to help evaluate the scalability of a nascent U.S. marine biomass industry and potential ecosystem benefits versus impacts. Christina is now a scientist at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) with many ongoing collaborations with the the UCI Coastal Dynamics Lab.
Caleb Smith
Undergraduate Student
Caleb was an undergraduate researcher in the CDL and recently graduated from UC Irvine’s Department of Electrical Engineering.
Lily Nguyen
Lily was an undergraduate researcher in the CDL and recently graduated from UC Irvine’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her interests are the human impacts of on marine ecology and hydrodynamics. Lily is headed to graduate school at the University of Washington in Fall 2021! Go Lily!
Shukai Cai
Shukai was a Masters student in the Coastal Dynamics Lab at UCI and used particle-tracking models to understand the effect of wind-driven flow and freshwater plumes on the transport of marine invertebrates larvae. Shukai graduated in 2017 and is currently in the Ph.D. program at UT-Austin.
Adiba Majumder
Adiba was an undergraduate researcher in the UCI CDL. Her interests are in water resources and hydrology and water dynamics. While in the lab, she assisted in projects by conducting research and data analysis.