Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research - CAESER

This highlights ongoing work to better understand groundwater systems.

Raka Sunderland is collecting noble gases and tracer samples to identify sources of water in various wellfields and determine whether faults are acting as conduits or barriers to groundwater flow.

Thank you to her advisor, Dan Larsen, and water techs Anna Nguyen, Zach Richter, Kennedy McMahon, and Alberto Jimenez for their valuable support in the field!

CAESER staff and graduate students came together recently for a picnic filled with good food, great conversations, and plenty of sunshine. ☀️

It was a wonderful opportunity to step away from computers, lab, and field, connect with colleagues, and celebrate the community that makes our work possible.

At CAESER, we know that strong relationships are at the heart of meaningful research, and days like this help keep us inspired.

Congratulations to Rodrigo Villalpando-Vizcaíno, along with Dan Larsen and Teresa Baraza (WATER Institute at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis University), on their latest publication!

Microplastics are not just in the oceans. They are showing up everywhere. However, their presence and characterization in groundwater, particularly unconsolidated sediment aquifers like the Memphis aquifer, remain critically understudied.

Sampling these systems is uniquely challenging and costly, but this new paper introduces a low-cost, modular filtration system that makes it easier to detect microplastics in groundwater. This is an important step toward protecting drinking water and understanding emerging contaminants.

🔗 Read the article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43591-026-00183-8

One of the great things about doing research at the University of Memphis is collaborating with people from so many different disciplines, even the unexpected ones!

We’re grateful to Ivan Zamora Plaza, Maria Jose Castro del Valle, and Christina Traen for their hard work and for showing how research, cultural insight, and creativity can come together in impactful ways.

Read more about where Science Meets Art: https://blogs.memphis.edu/newsroom/2026/05/20/where-science-meets-art-discovering-wild-clay-gold-mine-at-shelby-farms/

Environmental educators, looking for something to do this summer?

Join us in celebrating two amazing members of the Remote Sensing Lab! 🎉

Md. Rafi Ur Rahman has earned his Master of Science, and Thomas Watson has completed his PhD! 👏 Their hard work and passion for advancing UAV and remote sensing technologies truly inspire us.

We are incredibly proud of all they’ve achieved and can’t wait to see what they do next. Please help us congratulate Rafi and Thomas on this exciting milestone! 🎓

🏆 Big win for the University of Memphis!

Our team took 2nd place in the SICK Sensor Intelligence LiDAR Competition, going head-to-head with top universities like Purdue, Texas A&M, and Northeastern!

💰 They also brought home a $5,000 prize for their incredible work.

Help us congratulate our amazing researchers on this achievement! 👏

Come join us! The weather will be amazing, and the location is too!

Did you know it's officially Drinking Water Week? Celebrate this Saturday for a special edition of SciPlay! in River Garden with the University of Memphis Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research - CAESER for free, hands-on science activities designed to spark curiosity. Learn about the Memphis Aquifer by creating your own delicious edible aquifer in a cup. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/4nt0HBv.

Saturday, May 9
10-11:30am
River Garden

🐯 Congratulations to our 10 Under 35 Honorees!

The University of Memphis is home to over 20,000 students, and every single one of them has a story. They are entrepreneurs, researchers, community servants, and trailblazers. They overcome adversity, push boundaries, and make a difference, all while earning their degrees.

Yet so many of these stories go unheard.

That's why we're so proud of the President's Leadership Awards & Honors Assembly and its prestigious 10 Under 35 Award, which shines a well-deserved spotlight on the remarkable things our students accomplish in and beyond the classroom.

This year, we are thrilled to celebrate two of CAESER's and Herff's very own:

🌟 Eunice Eme 🌟 Faraz ul Haq

Eunice and Faraz, your hard work, dedication, and resilience are an inspiration to your peers, your faculty, and your entire university community. This recognition is so well deserved, and we cannot wait to see everything you accomplish next!

Please join us in congratulating them! 👇