Master's Project Directory | UC Santa Barbara Bren

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Aerial view of channel islands and pacific ocean

Seal Bomb Impacts to Cetaceans in California National Marine Sanctuaries

Analyzing the impacts of a legal marine mammal acoustic deterrent known as a “seal bomb," underwater explosives used in purse seine fisheries.

Group Members: Ian Brunjes, Anastasia Kunz, Taylor Lockmann, Caitlin Manley

Faculty Advisors: Steve Gaines

Clients: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Visualizing Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Coral Reef Stressors Surrounding Moorea, French Polynesia

Determining how coral reef communities have changed due to anthropogenic and environmental stressors.

Group Members: Ingrid (Allie) Cole, Felicia Cruz, Jake Eisaguirre, Charles Hendrickson

Clients: Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research (National Science Foundation), UCSB Marine Science Institute

Conserving Cougars Through Connectivity

This short film for The Nature Conservancy is meant to inspire and educate local communities about the importance of habitat connectivity for the conservation of mountain lions and other wildlife.

Group Members: Meghan Fletcher

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

Post-Fire Debris Flows: Leveraging Science for Environmental Management and Community Resiliency

Quantifying sediment distribution through modeling; economic and social cost-benefit evaluation; and recommendations and outreach.

Group Members: Nicholas Bissonnette, Mikel Irigoyen, Aaron Kreisberg

Faculty Advisors: Arturo Keller

Clients: South Coast Habitat Restoration

Tent perched on cliff overlooking national park

Visualizing Visitor Use Trends at California Campsites to Explore Equitable Access

Producing an interactive web platform that allows National Park managers to easily explore and visualize park-specific patterns such as visitation volume, demand, visitors’ origin, and more.

Group Members: Clarissa Boyajian

Faculty Advisors: Frank Davis

Clients: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of Montana

Kelp floats near the surface of the water

Perceptions of Seaweed Aquaculture in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties

Developing a community engagement and outreach strategy for commercial kelp producer Ocean Rainforest to use as a framework for aquaculture expansion along the California coastline.

Group Members: Janelle Gaun, Madeline McEwen, Sydney Rilum, Laurel Wee

Faculty Advisors: Hunter Lenihan

Clients: Ocean Rainforest

Understanding US Wind and Solar Energy Siting

Identifying the historic drivers of wind and solar power plant siting, and generating a predictive model for future siting using machine learning.

Group Members: Paloma Cartwright, Joseph (Joe) DeCesaro, Daniel Kerstan, Desik Somasundaram

Faculty Advisors: Ranjit Deshmukh

Clients: UCSB Environmental Science Department

Modeling Land-Use Change for Solar and Conservation on Predicted Retired Farmland in the San Joaquin Valley

Analyzing potential for new solar development on formerly irrigated lands.

Group Members: Travis Christy, Kaley Dodson, Roshni Katrak-Adefowora

Faculty Advisors: Kyle Meng

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

A Reproducible Machine Learning Approach for Interpreting Ecohydrologic Model Outputs

Developing a machine learning algorithm designed to interpret RHESSys output and extract insights into possible impacts of climate change on forest health.

Group Members: Alex Clippinger, Wylie Hampson, Shale Hunter, Peter Menzies

Faculty Advisors: Christina Tague

Clients: UCSB Bren School

Pine trees and mountains around Lake Tahoe

Funding Future Forests: Evaluating Ecosystem Services for Forest Restoration in the Tahoe-Central Sierra

Identifying financial incentives for forest restoration projects, examining supply and demand of ecosystem services within California’s Tahoe Central Sierra Initiative.

Group Members: Laurel Abowd, Kirsten Hodgson, Brendan McGovern

Faculty Advisors: Charles Kolstad

Clients: Blue Forest Conservation

An Open-source Pipeline for Remote Sensing of Crop Yields: a Zambia Case Study

Using the MOSAIKS machine learning approach to make fine-resolution agricultural crop yield predictions over time across all of sub-Saharan Africa.

Group Members: Steven Cognac, Juliet Cohen, Grace Lewin, Cullen Molitor

Clients: UCSB Bren School

Environmental and Financial Analysis: Single-Use Plastic versus Reusable Recycling Bags

Analyzing environmental and financial factors to develop a calculator and marketing tool to help a commercial recycling company make decisions about transport packaging.

Group Members: Karla Bonilla Cordero, Kat Cotti, Larissa Neilson, Morganne Sigismonti

Faculty Advisors: Matt Potoski

Clients: WSP Sustainability, Energy & Climate Change Division

Identification and Conservation of Larval Pacific Lamprey Habitat in the Columbia River Estuary

Identifying larval Pacific lamprey habitat locations to aid ongoing restoration efforts, and providing policy recommendations to the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Group Members: Ethan Hoffman, Lory Salazar-Velasquez

Faculty Advisors: Scott Jasechko

Clients: Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission - CRITFC

Play Sustainaball: An Environmental Footprint for an MLB Team Season

Quantifying the environmental impacts of a stadium and clubhouse operations to better understand and mitigate these impacts.

Group Members: Gabrielle Barsotti, Hannah Brady, Jordan Davis, Carly Norris, Eric Shaphran

Faculty Advisors: Eric Masanet

Clients: Goldring Family Foundation, Players for the Planet

Aerial view of solar panels floating in pond

Exploring the Feasibility of Floating Solar on Lauro Reservoir

Developing a framework for a floating photovoltaic system identifying potential opportunities, difficulties, and concerns for various stakeholders, including financial, regulatory, and technical components necessary to gain permitting approvals.

Group Members: Trent Buchanan, Andrea Gracia Duran, Colin Schimmelfing, Carlos Simms

Faculty Advisors: Roland Geyer

Clients: City of Santa Barbara