Zombie Ponds to Living Community Ponds

I completed a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) and a master's degree in civil engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. I would like to study the origins, transport, distribution, remediation, and identify possible impacts of various pollutants in the natural environment. In this project, I will use SWMM software to simulate the stormwater pond's stormwater quality and help with floating treatment wetland modeling.

I gained an interest in anthropology and environmental sciences early in my life through a passive interest in fossils and archaeology. I have since gravitated towards environmental anthropology with a particular interest in landscapes/infrastructure. As part of this project i am responsible for the website you see now, the construction of floating wetland systems, and aspects of community outreach. My core research interests include a passion for understanding interactions within Florida's contemporary environment, multispecies ethnography, and dynamics of risk related to environmental contamination/natural disasters.

As a child, I dreamed of being a scientist. In 2017, 1 got the opportunity to begin that dream when I was introduced to Undergraduate research while pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands. I gained a wide array of laboratory and field experience and soon developed an interest in nutrient management in water. This interest led to me working as a research assistant with USF's Environmental Engineering in 2021. This fall, I will be pursuing a master's and PhD in Environmental Engineering at USF and developing my dissertation research on using machine learning to improve the management of urban stormwater ponds like Aaran's Pond. In the future, I aspire to use my network and experience, whether in academia or industry, to provide my communities with the opportunities that put me where I am today.

I moved to Tampa in the fall of 2020 to begin my Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) at USF. I recently graduated in May 2024, and will begin a concurrent graduate degree program in the fall to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Master's in Applied Anthropology (MA). My involvement with the University Area began back in early 2021, when I became a regular volunteer for the University Area Community Development Corporation. Frequently volunteering in the University community eventually led to me discovering this project and getting into my current role as a research assistant. With this project, I am working alongside Dr. Wells, and graduate student Serena Echols, to help increase awareness and community engagement on the redevelopment of Aaran's Pond in order to help facilitate the co-design with our community correspondents.

Serena Echols is an environmental scientist and anthropologist with a passion for placemaking, placekeeping, and justice for minority and marginalized communities. She graduated from Spelman College in 2023 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. Her primary role in Zombie Ponds redevelopment project is to engage community residents in understanding stormwater ponds and their relationship with the local stormwater pond, Aaran's Pond, in hopes of co-designing green infrastructure at this site. She is the primary graduate student working on Task 1: Community Engagement, accompanying co-principal investigator, Dr. Christian Wells. Method of community engagement include in attending community events, creating community outreach materials, participant observations, rapid needs assessments, focus groups, and conducting interviews with scientist, engineers, and community residents.

Abbigail Kohler is an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida majoring in environmental engineering and minoring in psychology. Abbigail started her research journey in the summer of 2025 and is assisting with multiple projects. She is working alongside Nur Shadia to analyze the efficiency of floating treatment wetland systems at removing nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater. This project includes an in-depth study of floating treatment wetlands to use for simulation modeling. She is also working with Sheyla Chero-Osorio on utilizing microbial communities in wastewater treatment. Abbigail is interested in improving marine life ecosystems and sustainability and circular economy practices.

I hold a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (2019) and a master's degree in Environmental Engineering (2022), both from the University of South Florida (USF). Currently, I am pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at USF. During my master's, I focused on drinking water, but I switched my research topic to stormwater for my PhD to expand my knowledge in different types of water treatment. My dissertation research centers on designing bioretention systems to treat stormwater runoff, aiming to reduce levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen species in the water. This project ties in with my dissertation research, expanding it to a larger scale through a field study. In the future, I aspire to become a university professor, dedicating my career to advancing research in stormwater runoff and related areas.

I am a born and raised Tampa Resident and have spent all 22 years of my life in the greater Tampa bay area, including getting my bachelor's degree in environmental engineering here at the University of South Florida. I am now pursuing my Master's at USF in the same field. I have been working on research projects at USF for just over 2 years now and have studied a variety of topics including hydraulics, sorption dynamics, focused on phosphorus, and modeling. A am now working on the treatment of other diffuse pollutants within the Zombie Ponds group, focusing on the use of biochar in bioretention systems to treat contaminants like fecal bacteria, phosphorus, nitrogen, and oil/grease. In the future I aspire to continue my journey in academia and pursue my PhD maybe one day either becoming a professor or focusing on applied research in industry.

Hi, my name is Kidanya Favaro. I’m an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida and a Tampa local. I’m especially excited to work with Chase Royall on this research project. As someone passionate about protecting local ecosystems, I’m eager to contribute to meaningful research. I hope to use this experience as a foundation for a future career in environmental engineering.

Chao Ye is a PhD graduate from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. Her research interest is focusing on the interdependency analysis of urban stormwater drainage and roadway systems, which includes exploring the performance of urban stormwater drainage system under different conditions using EPA SWMM hydraulic simulation model, finding the practical strategies to optimize the performance of drainage systems, analyzing and enhancing the performance of interdependent stormwater drainage and roadway systems considering their inter-connection. In this project, her job is to conduct the stormwater quality modeling for the target stormwater pond using SWMM software and get insights for stormwater quality management.

Julia Manser is an Environmental Engineering major and research assistant at the University of South Florida who has been on the project for two years. Manser runs the lab work and field work for the Biopods system. The Biopods are a nitrogen filtration system for urban stormwater runoff. Throughout her time, she has proved the removal efficiency of both the pilot system and a smaller "Columns" system. Manser presented her research at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in February 2025. Manser enjoys traveling and has completed research internships in both Ghana and Bolivia working on water and sanitation issues.

Isaiah Sewell is currently a senior at East Bay High School in Riverview, Florida, and interning for the University of South Florida. His primary focus is on community engagement and conducting GIS surveys to understand the social economic status and demographics of the residents who live near Aaran's pond. Being born and raised in Tampa Bay, Isaiah is familiar with the social climate of the area. He has an interest in all things involving science and journalism, which helps him navigate communication and understand residential knowledge on this project.

I got my bachelors degree in environmental management with a concentration in natural resources and agriculture at the University of Florida. My passion for sustainability, water quality, urban resiliency, stormwater management, and remediation started back in Colombia when I did a research project on water purification through coffee grounds while pursuing chemical engineering. Working at water treatment plants enhanced my passion in biogeochemical processes, and I am currently pursuing my masters in soil, water, and ecosystem sciences at UF with a concentration in wetland sciences. I am in charge of monitoring water quality and implementing floating treatment wetlands at Aaran's pond to study their efficiency on removing pollutants through different wetland and ornamental plants.

Hello, I'm currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering at the University of South Florida and plan to graduate fall 2025. I started my research journey the summer of 2023, and have helped assist on different projects that would focus on treating fertilizer runoff and phosphate removal. From those experiences, I was able to join this project and I worked alongside Joshelyn Guimaray, where we tackled the design of the bioretention systems to treat stormwater runoff. It's my goal to learn as much as possible and understand the different innovative methods that are being implemented to treat water.