Project Leadership & Faculty Mentors

Faculty mentorship through scientific research experience is the core component of our project activities encompassing multiple activities, including first-year research experiences, upper-division undergraduate research projects, and peer-peer mentorship. The following is a summary of faculty mentorship for the S-STEM project.


Dr. Pride Abongwa Geology Groundwater-surface water Hydrogeochemistry Carbon evolution	Dr. Elizabeth Borda Biology Marine & aquatic invertebrates identification Genetic data analysis Evolutionary ecology	Dr. Walter Den Water Resources Water supply, treatment, reuse Water sustainability Water information	Dr. Esther Garza Education & Leadership STEM education Linguistic accommodation Teaching & communication training

Dr. Marvin Lutnesky Biology Behavioral ecology Sampling by aquatic animals Modeling of animal behaviors	Dr. Joseph Simpson Sociology Social research design Equitable water rights Coupled human & natural systems	Dr. Jose R. Valdez-Barillas Biology Aquatic ecology Riparian restoration Vegetation sampling	Dr. Megan Wise de Valdez Biology Aquatic ecology Mosquito identification, rearing, trapping Public health communication

Project Evaluator

Dr. Ramona Pittman, Associate Professor of Reading, Educator & Leadership Preparation, serves as the Project Evaluator. She will perform independent project evaluations by reviewing progress, interviewing faculty and student participants, conducting annual evaluations, and reporting evaluation outcom

Water Security for Texas

Project Leadership & Faculty Mentors

Project Evaluator