Nina Kozikowski
Nina graduated with Masters in Geology at Western University. Her research examines the effectiveness of plastic pollution capture in urban stormwater drains of London, Ontario. The project focuses on larger microplastic particles, ranging from 1-5 mm in diameter. Nina also worked in the Facility for Anthropogenic and Natural Sediment for 3 years before starting her Masters program. Currently, Nina is employed at Surface Science Western, utilizing FTIR, SEM/EDX, and Raman spectroscopy to analyze various materials.
Jiali Feng
Jiali is in her first year of a PhD program in Geology at Western University. Her project aims to determine the abundances and types of microplastics in air, water, soil and creek sediment of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation (COTTFN) in the Thames River watershed of Ontario, Canada. Jiali also runs her own business, is a cat person, and has two hamsters at home.
Lillian Zhang
Lillian is a second-year Medical Sciences (BSc) student at Western University, aiming to pursue a minor in Environmental Sciences. She is interested in researching the abundance and types of microplastics in urban areas. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she hopes to explore the impact of plastic pollution on human health in Ontario. Lillian is a bookworm who enjoys creating small animations of her cats and exploring the outdoors.
Hayden Hornick-Martyk
Hayden is in the fourth year of his Honours Specialization in Integrated Science with Environmental Science at Western University. His honours thesis project focuses on the influence of flooding events on microplastic abundances in riparian sediment of the Thames River watershed. In his spare time, Hayden enjoys staying active, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Claire Gullison
Claire is in her first year of a Geology Masters program at Western University studying annual variations and controls on microplastic abundance in bottom sediment of the Thames River, Ontario. Her project is being conducted in collaboration with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) and Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA). Claire completed her BSc Honours thesis at the University of New Brunswick, where she completed a baseline study of microplastic abundance in the Shepody National Wildlife Area. In her free time, Claire enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and playing guitar.
Jyothir Adithya Mugireddy
I am currently pursuing a Master's in Data Analytics at Western University. In Dr. Patricia Corcoran's lab, I assist Dr. Ivailo Petrov with the segmentation and classification of plastic pellets using data science and imaging techniques to study plastic pollution.
Ivailo Petrov
Dr. Ivailo Petrov is a Research Associate in Environmental Imaging with Dr. Patricia Corcoran's Group. He is dedicated to advancing environmental research through detailed imaging and data analysis. At Dr. Patricia Corcoran's group, he will apply his expertise in data science and imaging techniques to study the segmentation and classification of plastic pellets, contributing to our understanding and mitigation of plastic pollution impacts on ecosystems.
Dinithi De Silva
Dinithi is in the first year of her thesis-based Master of Science program in Statistics and Actuarial Sciences. She is co-supervised by Patricia Corcoran and Doug Woolford. Her research is focused on modeling microplastic pollution in the Thames River watershed in Ontario, Canada. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dinithi has a passion for music and traveling. Listening to oriental music is one of her favorite pastimes.
Bethany Dean
Bethany holds an M.Sc. in Geology from Western University. Her M.Sc. project focused on microplastics (MPs) in Lake Erie sediment using Shipek, Petite Ponar and split spoon coring methods. Since graduation, Bethany has worked as a research assistant for Patricia and for Environment and Climate Change Canada in the field of microplastic pollution. She is currently a Research Associate studying microplastics in fishes from the Canadian Arctic and microplastics in stormwater pond sediment. Behtnay uses GIS to develop maps depicting microplastic abundances in various regions. Her main expertise is in formal analysis, writing, and data visualization of microplastics in the environment. In her free time, Bethany enjoys hiking, reading, and playing video games.
Koami Hayibo
Koami Soulemane Hayibo, MSc, is a Togolese national, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Western Ontario. His area of focus is renewable energy sources, with a specific interest in solar PV systems. Koami is focusing his Ph.D. on floating solar PV feasibility in cold regions during winter. He is also sampling sediment from the pond in which the solar PV will be installed and then again following installation. This will indicate whether these new types of PV generate microplastic pollution in the water. Koami is a Fulbright Fellow Alumni, a finalist of the prestigious Vanier scholarship, and is involved in community service at Western University. He gives some of his free time to volunteer at the International and Exchange Student Center, where he facilitates the transition of international students into the Canadian culture. When he is not volunteering, he enjoys going to the movies, swimming, reading, and trying new recipes.
Robert Silber
Robert holds a BSc. degree with a Major in Geology and a Minor in Space Exploration from Western University. He is now pursuing a Masters with the focus on microplastics. This is a transition from his BSc thesis project, under which he performed remote sensing of clays on Mars associated with impact cratering using GIS. Native of London, Ontario, Robert has passion for travelling and has had road trips across most of Canada and the U.S. He also has a border collie named Morpheus.