Our Team

Brice Grunert
Assistant Professor

I am an Assistant Professor in the BGES department at Cleveland State University. Our research focuses on optical characterization of dissolved organic matter and phytoplankton with applications to satellite remote sensing. With remote sensing, we can view ecological and biogeochemical processes over broad spatial and temporal scales unavailable from in situ measurements. While my research is very data intensive, I have significant experience in the field and lab. I work across aquatic systems, but much of my research focuses on terrestrial-aquatic interactions and carbon cycling in the Great Lakes and coastal ocean. 

At CSU, I teach remote sensing and GIS courses. In the classroom, I focus on teaching concepts that allow students to handle, explore and analyze geospatial datasets. The overarching goal of the courses I teach is to better understand connections between Earth system processes through space and time.

In my personal time, I enjoy hiking, birding and camping with my family, horticulture, open water swimming, nordic skiing and trail running. My daughter and I enjoy running together and playing chess. I love teaching my boys about plants and birds, and they teach me all about dinosaurs. When Erika and I have four hands free, we enjoy cooking together and planning our next adventure with the kids.​

Audrey Ciochetto
Research Associate

To characterize optical variability in the ecosystems we focus on, Brice’s team collects a lot of data both in the field and the lab. As a Research Associate working remotely, it’s my job to enable the research projects in the lab by making sure data is organized and accessible by both our team and our collaborators. I am responsible for creating and maintaining our lab’s database that holds all our data. I also have extensive experience both in the lab and field and help out with methods and troubleshooting. My own research with Brice’s lab has focused on how to separate the total absorption signal into its parts – phytoplankton, colored dissolved organic matter and sediment/non-living particles. This will be important for interpreting satellite signals that can only give us total absorption.

​In my personal time, I spend a lot of time with my young child: worm hunting in the rain, finding hermit crabs on the beach and looking for frogs and turtles on our hikes around the pond. Teaching him to appreciate nature and the importance of all our ecosystems is a joy. I love playing and designing board games, reading, playing the piano and hunting for sea shells on the beach. 

Sophia Volak
Lab Technician

​Born and raised on the shoreline, I am a life-long Lake Erie lover. In my undergrad at Cleveland State, I worked as a research assistant, where I gained both field and lab skills in Brice’s lab. Following my graduation in May of 2023, I started working as a full-time laboratory technician. In this role, I support sample processing, fieldwork, teach and mentor students, organize and analyze data, and coordinate our diverse lab activities.
 
When I’m not in the lab, you can find me with my friends, thrifting a well-loved sweater or dancing at local concert venues. I love scrapbooking and crafting,  and where I go, you’re sure to find a sheet of stickers nearby. I collect postcards from all over the world, from Cleveland to Germany, and love sending them to my friends and family when I am traveling.

Graduate Students

Anshula Dhiman
PhD

I came to Cleveland State to begin my PhD journey in January 2023 from my hometown of New Delhi, India. I hold an MS and MPhil degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India, where I researched nutrient distribution and cycling in the surface sediments in the Coringa Mangrove forest and assessed emerging contaminants of concern in the Ganga River Basin in India. My current research focuses on improving our understanding of phosphorus cycling and internal loading in Lake Erie, and leveraging satellite tools to advance our ability to estimate this cycling from remote sensing datasets. I've had the opportunity to broaden my knowledge through Lake Erie fieldworks and optics workshops and classes, including being part of the Ocean Optics Class of 2023 at Bowdoin College.
​
Outside of my academic pursuits, I love to do trekking and have explored several peaks in the Himalayan range. I also like experimenting with new cuisines when time permits and indulge in painting during my spare time.

Jackson Parmentier
MS

My research focuses on optically characterizing dissolved organic matter and investigating the reactivity and fate of these compounds as they are transported within and across aquatic systems. I have participated in field campaigns on Lakes Superior and Erie, as well as collection of samples within local urban watersheds. The tools I use include spectroscopy, analytical chemistry, and computational tools including Python.

​In my spare time, I enjoy music, rock climbing, playing basketball, and hanging out with my friends and labmates.

Stephanie Ratliff
MS

I received my BS in environmental science from CSU after working as a interventional radiologic technologist for several years prior to moving to Cleveland. During that time, I worked as an undergraduate research assistant with Brice, and am now focused on completing an MS at CSU. I support fieldwork on Lake Erie in the lab and am the lab's de facto YSI EXO2 sonde expert. My research focuses on characterizing urban watershed biogeochemistry and microbial variability in relation to tree canopy cover and quality, under the perspective of urban tree and water equity in the greater Cleveland area.

In my spare time, I like to read, hike, and spend time with my friends, family, and dogs. Since moving to Cleveland, I've made it a goal to explore every mile of trail in the Cleveland Metroparks and am well on my way to achieving that goal!

Trevor Holm
MS

I am a research assistant pursuing my Master's degree in Environmental Science, with a particular interest in how algal blooms in Lake Erie can better be predicted, tracked, and prevented.

In 2018, I graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor's degree in Biology and followed with five years of professional chemical formulation. Through the years of chemistry, I remained connected to my passion for Earth's natural systems by hiking, camping, kayaking, volunteering at estuarine research reserves, and cataloguing critters on iNaturalist. This led to my re-immersion in academia at Cleveland State University in the spring of 2023.

Undergraduate

Emily Hyland

​I am a Senior pursuing my BS in Environmental Science with minors in Biology and Environmental Studies, and a Mandel Honors College student at Cleveland State. My Honors research thesis is focused on understanding the sensitivity of remote sensing reflectance – the signal observed from satellite sensors – to changes in dissolved organic matter composition in aquatic systems. I am applying a Python-based bio-optical model in coastal environments from Hawai’i to Lake Erie to learn more about this research topic. When I am not studying or in the lab I enjoy hanging out with my family, solving puzzles, and reading books.

Alumni

Paige Dillen
​Undergraduate Research Assistant

Sarah Tyler
Undergraduate Research Assistant