Research Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jennifer C. Bowen
Jenny (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech with adjunct affiliation in the School of Chemistry & Biochemistry. She earned her PhD in Earth & Environmental Sciences from the University of Michigan and completed postdoc research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Stanford University. Her research spans aquatic and wetland biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, and photochemistry, and focuses the process-level understanding needed to reduce uncertainty in carbon budgets or improve land management planning. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Ira and Ester.
MS student
Parson Chan
Parson is a MS student in the School of Chemistry & Biochemistry (expected graduation May 2026). He earned his BS in Chemistry from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and has interests spanning metabolomics, proteomics, and mass spectrometry. Parson joined the group in 2025 and has since been using non-targeted metabolomics informatics workflows to characterize the chemical properties of organic molecules in tropical peatlands in Indonesia.
Undergraduate researcher
Claire Riggs
Claire is a third-year Environmental Science undergraduate from Douglasville, Georgia. She is interested in exploring how we can use biogeochemistry to better understand anthropogenic impacts on aquatic ecosystems and analytical approaches to studying carbon cycling in wetlands. Her current project is investigating freshwater radiocarbon signature as an indicator for soil disturbance, and how these signatures change across latitudes, ecosystem types, and disturbance types. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, swimming, and travelling.
Undergraduate researcher
Abhinav Sharma
Abhinav is an undergraduate student studying Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. He is interested in computational and mathematical modeling of Earth science phenomena, particularly for mechanisms relevant to climate. His research in the group centers on gas transfer velocities of carbon dioxide across the water-air interface of tropical peatland canals, with the ultimate goal of evaluating physical controls (e.g., wind shear, and water flow velocity) on carbon dioxide emissions. In his free time, Abhinav enjoys hanging out with his friends, gaming, and exploring new places.
Undergraduate researcher
Mariana Torres
Mariana is a second year Environmental Science undergraduate from Newnan, GA. Her research interests include biogeochemical cycling, aquatic ecosystems, and climate change. She is currently working on analyzing what factors impact carbon export from peatland soils to canals in Indonesia and how land disturbances may impact carbon dioxide concentrations and emissions. In her free time, she likes to read and do theater.
Undergraduate researcher
Isabel O'Connell
Isabel (she/her) is a first-year undergraduate majoring in environmental science. She is interested in the intersection between biogeochemistry and climate science in different ecosystems, such as the soil biome and aquatic ecosystems. Her current project with the group is exploring microbial methane oxidation and carbon dioxide production in Alaskan wetlands, studying the impact of different wetland type (bogs versus fens) and different weather. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, dancing, and hanging out with friends.
Former students co-advised
-
Conner Breyer (2025) SURGE REU student, Stanford University
-
Lauren Karp (2025) MS in Chemistry, Western Washington University
-
Rasis Putra Ritonga, PhD (2023 - 2025) Data Manager at Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (now postdoc at NUS)
-
Erin Dayanti (2023 - 2025) MS in Environmental Science, Tanjungpura University (now research assistant at Tanjungpura)
-
Yulita Andriyani (2023 - 2025) Post-baccalaureate researcher, Tanjungpura University (now research assistant at Tanjungpura)
-
Desi Silviani P.A.B. (2022 - 2025) Post-baccalaureate researcher, Tanjungpura University (now LPDP scholarship recipient through the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency)
-
Jevan Yu (2022 - 2023) BS in Computer Science, Stanford University (now PhD student at MIT)
-
Putri Juliandini Wahyudio (2021 - 2023) MS in Environmental Science, Tanjungpura University (now research assistant at Tanjungpura)
-
Eleanor Walker (2021 - 2022) MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Stanford University (now PhD student at Harvard)