Undergraduate Summer Interns 2025

Boluwatife Adetutu

Boluwatife Adetutu is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management and Toxicology from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Nigeria. She’s passionate about everything related to environmental sustainability, and she plans to pursue a master's degree in this field. This summer, she’s working under Dr. Stephanie Lansing (Bioenergy and Biotechnology Laboratory, University of Maryland). Her role involves analyzing and synthesizing lab data into fact sheets, short videos, and other easy-to-understand resources about animal waste technologies, such as composting, biochar, and anaerobic digestion. Through the CONSERVE/DAWN/GFA Summer Internship Program, she hopes to gain practical, real-world experience on how waste can be converted into valuable resources while protecting natural ecosystems. Her long-term goal is to become a leading advocate for environmental sustainability, helping communities implement effective environmental solutions.

Sachin Parikh

Sachin Parikh is a rising sophomore Public Health Science major at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is working in the WOW lab under Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, researching the environmental health impacts and presence of antimicrobial-resistant waterborne pathogens in sanitary sewage overflows in under-resourced Baltimore neighborhoods. His research interests lie in public health microbiology, and he hopes to learn microbiological laboratory techniques to help him contribute meaningfully to the project and prepare him for future research in the field.

Alyssa Weisenberg

Alyssa Weisenberg is a rising sophomore at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in public health science. Her academic interests include ecology, epidemiology, the social determinants of health and the One Health model of public health. She is currently working with Dr. Allen P. Davis in Civil and Environmental Engineering as a Global FEWtures Alliance (GFA) Summer Intern, where she will be contributing to three projects this summer. One of the projects evaluates the toxicity level of epoxy resins as repair materials for stormwater pipes. The second project assesses the extent that compost addition to soils can be used in filtering heavy metals from stormwater. The third evaluates the reduction of stormwater runoff temperatures through bioretention media. From the GFA Summer Intern Program, Alyssa aims to gain research experience while exploring the connection between human and environmental health.

Vincent A. Ferrera

Vincent A. Ferrera is a graduate of the University of Maryland who obtained his master’s degree in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. His research interests include the physics, dynamics, trends, and socioeconomic impacts involving extreme weather and climate, the advancement of numerical weather prediction, and the application of machine learning in atmospheric science. For this internship, he will support the development of machine learning models that will be tasked to evaluate seasonal-to-subseasonal extreme precipitation impacts on crop yields. His work will be supervised by Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang, the leader of the Earth System Model Research and Development (EaSM) Lab associated with the DAWN project hosted at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC). His internship goals are to build off his graduate scholarly paper research on extreme precipitation impacts on Corn Belt crops, improve his technical skills in programming and machine learning, and establish lasting connections with the DAWN team.

Tokhirjon Vokhidov

Tokhirjon is a junior at the University of Arizona studying Computer Science and Leadership and Learning Innovation. His academic interests lie in machine learning, data science, and their applications in agriculture, environmental science, and public health. As a 2025 DAWN Summer Intern, Tokhirjon is working remotely under Dr. Guillermo Balboa in the Digital Farming Lab at the University of Nebraska. His research focuses on analyzing a decade of nitrogen use efficiency and corn productivity data, while also developing algorithms for drone-based digital plant stand counts. Through the CONSERVE/DAWN/GFA Summer Internship Program, he hopes to strengthen his interdisciplinary collaboration skills, contribute to sustainable agriculture research, and explore pathways toward graduate study and research careers in data-driven environmental science.

Ibukunoluwa Daniel Ipaye

Ibukunoluwa Daniel Ipaye is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in chemistry with a minor in atmospheric chemistry. His research interests include food safety, environmental sustainability, and the intersection of agriculture with public health. This summer, he is interning in a food safety lab under the mentorship of Dr. Shirley Micallef. He is contributing to an ongoing project evaluating nutritional and microbial quality differences in leafy greens irrigated with harvested rainwater versus municipal water on urban farms. His responsibilities include assisting graduate students with sample collection, preparing and analyzing samples for minerals, bioactive compounds, and spoilage bacteria, and contributing to data management and statistical analysis. Through the internship, he hopes to strengthen his technical skills and explore meaningful career paths in research and sustainability.

Alexia Lazo Sorto

Alexia Lazo Sorto, currently a student at the University of Maryland College Park. I am studying Public Health Science and I am currently a rising senior. My personal research interests have to do with water quality, specifically in public drinking water such as how it may be treated and what may be present in drinking water based on different locations such as rural or urban places. This summer I am working under Dr. Rianna Murray for the Maryland Safe Drinking Water Study along with Dr. Leena Malayil and Dr. Suhana Chattopadhyay for the Anacostia River Study for the CONSERVE/DAWN/GFA Summer Internship Program. This summer I hope to gain much experience in lab work and learn what different contaminants could be a concern in people’s home drinking water around the state of Maryland. I hope to also gain knowledge about the different microbacteria that may be growing in the Anacostia River and how it may affect the population that uses or walks around the area. It's been a great summer so far and I'm so excited with more that is to come!

Katerina Banovic

Katerina Banovic, currently a junior Public Health Science Major minoring in Data Science.My areas of interest for research are the impacts of climate change on vector and waterborne illness. For the summer I'm working in the Conserve Lab working under Dr. Rianna Murray on Data Analysis for the CONSERVE Consumer Perception Study. I also help collect and process samples for the Maryland Safe Water Drinking Study.I hope that by the end of this internship I will have had an environment where I can practically use the skills I have developed through my classes. I aspire to be a professional that is able to talk to people about scientific information regardless of their educational background and hope that going on sampling trips can help with this.

Qiyang Chen

Qiyang (Rosie) Chen is a rising senior at UCLA, double majoring in Applied Mathematics with a Specialization in Computing and Statistics & Data Science. Driven by a passion for meaningful impact, she seeks to harness AI and data analytics to address real-world challenges. Rosie is currently working with Drs. Xin-Zhong Liang and Chao Sun on Dawn's machine learning research project, focused on developing and optimizing algorithms to identify key factors influencing corn yield across the Corn Belt. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in a related field to further her commitment to data-driven research. Outside the classroom, Rosie enjoys tennis, dance, and exploring a wide range of artistic and musical interests.

Christien Stevany

Christien Stevany, a senior at the University of Arizona pursuing a degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainable Mineral Resources. Her research interests focus on natural resources management, particularly in water and waste management, with the goal of bridging the gap between scientific research and local community practices in developing countries. This Summer, she is working with Dr. Stephanie Lansing in the Bioenergy and Biotechnology laboratory at the University of Maryland. Through the 2025 Global FEWture Alliance Summer Internship Program, she hopes to gain laboratory experience and deepen my knowledge on sustainable energy, along with insights of working as a scientist within a professional environment.