People

The Environmental Change Lab is a group of graduate and undergraduate researchers working on modern environmental pollutants and the long-term record of environmental change, from Florida wetlands to tropical and alpine lakes, and peatlands.

Lab Director

Dr. Erik Johanson

Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences

microplastics · fire history · palynology · sediment geochemistry · paleolimnology

Education: Ph.D. Geography, University of Tennessee, 2016

Research: Microplastics and environmental pollutants in modern systems; palynology, charcoal, and sediment geochemistry for reconstructing vegetation, fire, and climate from lake and wetland archives; human–environment interaction across the Holocene.

E-mail: ejohanson@fau.edu · Faculty profile

Current Members

Doctoral Students

Julie Buchanich

Ph.D. Student, Geosciences

Background: M.S. Environmental Education, Florida Atlantic University, 2024; B.S. Geography and B.A. Environmental Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 2022

Research: Microplastics in freshwater and coastal ecosystems; co-author of the lab’s 2026 study of microplastic distribution at Spruce Bluff Preserve.

E-mail: jbuchanich2022@fau.edu

Anita Field

Ph.D. Student, Geosciences

Background: M.S. Environmental Science, Florida Atlantic University, 2025; B.S. Environmental Science & Policy and International Business Management, Lynn University, 2022

Research: Ethnozoology and wildlife conservation — past and present uses of wild animals among Kenya’s ethnic groups, and conservation in regions affected by conflict and natural disaster.

E-mail: afield2022@fau.edu

Master’s Students

Jack Whitten

M.S. Student, Environmental Science · Graduate Teaching Assistant

Background: B.S. Environmental Science, Rhodes College

Research: Mangrove and estuary ecosystems, with a focus on biogeochemistry and the history of sediment accumulation in Lake Worth Lagoon.

E-mail: jackwhitten2026@fau.edu

Ulises Sabato

M.S. Student, Geosciences

Background: B.S. Sustainability, Geography and Environmental Planning, Jacksonville University, 2023

Research: Microplastics and heavy metals in old-growth and new-growth vineyard soils, Mendoza, Argentina.

E-mail: usabato2025@fau.edu

Undergraduate Researchers

Sonal Damle — Microplastics in the environment
Yasir Siddique — Microplastic identification and FTIR confirmation
Adam Bloom — Calcium oxalate crystals in plants and sediments

Join the Lab

I welcome inquiries from prospective graduate students at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. Students in the lab apply through the M.S. in Geosciences, the M.S. in Environmental Science, or the Ph.D. in Geosciences, depending on their background and goals.

FAU undergraduates are welcome to join the lab through Directed Independent Research (GEO 4915/4916). No prior lab experience is required.

If you are interested, e-mail ejohanson@fau.edu with a short note about your background and research interests, along with your CV.