Student Fellowships

Three fellowships are offered annually to Washington State Students. One, the Rod Sakrison Memorial Fellowship Award, is awarded to a member of an AWRA Student Chapter at a college or university in Washington State. In 2007, the AWRA-WA board of directors dedicated this award to the memory of Rod Sakrison in recognition of his effort to increase student involvement in AWRA. Rod was a two-time board president and instrumental in establishing the University of Washington AWRA Student Chapter. The other two awards are given to students enrolled graduate programs at a college or university in Washington State.

Fellowship Benefits

All fellowships are for full-time graduate students completing an advanced degree in an interdisciplinary water resources subject. In addition to $2,500 in cash, each award includes a one-year membership in both the State and National AWRA, a one-year subscription to the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), and complimentary admission to the Washington State Section Annual Conference.

Applications Are Closed

AWRA-WA Fellowship applications are closed for the 2024-25 academic year. Information for the 2025-26 program will be made available at a later time. All current, full-time graduate students studying water resources in Washington state are encouraged to apply. Please contact Jason McCormick, Fellowship Committee Chair, with any questions. 

Congratulations to our recent 2024-2025 Fellowship Recipients!

• Kaylyn Stewart – University of Washington – "Synthesis and Characterization of Molecular Imprinted Polymers on Activated Carbon for Selective Removal of PFAS"
• Abdisa Kebebew – Washington State University – "Modeling the Impact of Wildfire on Municipal Watersheds: Implications for Reservoir Management"
• Maggie Egan – Central Washington University – "The Hydrology and Geomorphology of Pre-Restoration West Fork Teanaway"

2023-2024 Fellowship Recipients

• Kinsey Freeman – Washington State University –  "The Clean Water Act and Environmental Justice in the Columbia River Basin: An Exploration of Policy, Power, and Intergovernmental Collaboration in Total Maximum Daily Loads"
• Brook Bauer – Central Washington University –  "Managed Aquifer Recharge Potential on the Ahtanum Alluvial Fan in the Yakima Basin"
• Sarath Suresh – University of Washington –  "Leveraging Satellites to Improve Flood Preparedness by Enhancing Hydropower Dam Management"
• Elif Myers – Central Washington University –  "Exploring Groundwater Recharge Potential of the Manastash Creek Alluvial Fan: A Hydrogeological and Geochemical Analysis"

2022-2023 Fellowship Recipients

• Edward Vlasenko – Central Washington University –  "Quantifying Evapotranspiration Water Loss from Taneum Creek and its Floodplain, Central WA"
• Shahzaib Khan – University of Washington –  "Leveraging Satellite Technology to Address the Intersection of Global Water, Food, and Energy Needs"
• Hailey Smith – Washington State University –  "Modeling Targeted Riparian Vegetation Restoration and Climate Change Impacts on Future Stream Temperatures in the Lower Yakima River Basin"
• Bethany Kharrazi – Central Washington University –  "A Conceptual Framework for Managed Aquifer Recharge near Yakima, Washington, USA"

2021-2022 Fellowship Recipients

• Phillip Moffatt – Washington State University –  “Understanding Precipitation Patterns and Runoff Mechanisms with Isotope Hydrology”
• Hordur Helgason – University of Washington –  “Improving Cold Region Hydrologic Modeling Using Deep Learning and Remote Sensing”
• Emily Polizzi – Central Washington University –  “Floodplain Storage Capacity of the Upper Yakima River Tributaries”
• Telelmak “Telly” Olsen – Western Washington University –  “Quantifying the Effects of Post-fire Debris Flows on Stream Channel Morphology”
• Katelin Killoy – Eastern Washington University –  “Assessing Beaver Dam Analogs as a Stream Restoration Tool in Fire Affected Tributaries of the Methow and Okanogan Watersheds”

2020-2021 Fellowship Recipients

• Ashlee Abrantes  – University of Washington –  “Utilizing Environmental DNA as an Index for Freshwater Conservation and Management”
• Rachel Fricke  – University of Washington –  “Employing Mobil Applications to Assess Human Benefits From and Risks To Water Resources”
• Sam Fixler – Central Washington University –  “Investigation of Channel Morphology and Groundwater Connectivity at Taneum Creek, WA”

2019-2020 Fellowship Recipients

• Alyssa DeMott – Central Washington University –  “Long-term geomorphic effects of the Glines Canyon Dam removal on the Elwha River, WA, USA”
• Hisham A. Eldardiry – University of Washington –  “Adaptive Reservoir Operation in the Transboundary Nile River basin”
• Ravi Appana – Washington State University –  “Improving the Representation of Groundwater Dynamics in Regional Hydrologic Models”

2018-2019 Fellowship Recipients

• Silas Sleeper - Central Washington University - "Using isotope hydrology and major ion geochemistry to assess potential ASR sites"
• Joe Weirich - Eastern Washington University - "Beaver Moderated Fire Resiliency in the North Cascades"

2017-2018 Fellowship Recipients

• Marissa Medina - Eastern Washington University - "The Effects of Climate Change in Wetland Carbon Cycling and Microbial Community Dynamics"

2016-2017 Fellowship Recipients

• Shahryar Ahmed - University of Washington - "Building Capacity of Satellite Remote-sensing based Natural Hazards Monitoring in South Asian Nations and investigating missed hydropower potential for North American dams"
• Justin Pflug - University of Washington - "Using LIDAR to evaluate snow - glacier interface"

2015-2016 Fellowship Recipients

• Dallin Jensen - Central Washington University - "Nitrates of Atmospheric Origin in Groundwater of the Lower Yakima Valley"
• Melanie Thornton - Washington State University - "Collaborative Modeling in the Spokane River Basin: Engaging Stakeholders to Explore Basin-wide Water Management Strategies"

2014-2015 Fellowship Recipients

• Melanie Thornton - "Collaborative Modeling in the Spokane River Basin: Engaging Stakeholders to Explore Basin-wide Water Management Strategies"
• Ashley Adams - "Determining the Effects of Vegetation on Levee Structural Integrity on the Green River in King County, WA"

2013-2014 Fellowship Recipients

• Brian Henn - "Development of Statistical Tools for Estimating Air Temperature, Precipitation and Snowpack in Mountain Watersheds"
• Hossein Sadeghi - "Center Pivot Lateral Speed Adjustment Based on Weather Parameters"

2012-2013 Fellowships Recipients

• Katrina Mendrey - "Additives to soils in bioswales to maximize contaminant removal; update of nutrients by Douglas Fir"
• Susan Dickerson-Lange - "Investigating the effect of forest characteristics on snowpack accumulation and ablation in mountain watersheds"

2011-2012 Fellowships Recipients

• Daniel Haskell - The characterization of phthalate ester sources to the Foss Superfund Site using principle component analysis"
• Cristine Schucker - "Variation in microbial populations among tributaries of Latah Creek"