People



Daniella M. Rempe

Daniella’s long-term research goal is to promote the sustainability of water resources by contributing to a mechanistic understanding of groundwater and vadose-zone processes, particularly in mountainous regions. Her current research focuses on understanding controls on the spatial pattern of weathering on actively eroding landscapes and the implications of that weathering on moisture storage and transport in fractured rock.
Daniella’s expertise lies in hydrologic field observations, fluid flow and near surface geophysics. She holds a doctorate in Earth and Planetary Science and a Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering, both from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelors of Science in Geosystems Engineering and Hydrogeology from the University of Texas at Austin. Daniella’s research experience and outlook are highly interdisciplinary and she actively collaborates with a diverse network of scientists through the NSF Critical Zone Observatory program and the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics. She has also had the amazing opportunity to both take (left) and teach (right) UT Hydrocamp! Hook 'em.

Graduate Students

Alison Tune

PhD expected 2021

B.A. Environmental Earth Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 2014

Alison is interested in understanding the biotic influences on water cycling throughout the critical zone. Her research focuses on the role of microorganisms on dictating water flow pathways in the unsaturated zone. In particular, she is interested in weathering induced by microbial activity within the fractured hillslopes of the Eel Critical Zone Observatory, and how that is represented in chemical and physical observations. Check out her website to learn more!


Logan Marcos Schmidt

PhD expected 2022
B.S. Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, 2017

Logan is interested in the shallow subsurface and its interaction with terrestrial ecosystems. His graduate research seeks to characterize and model the physical and hydraulic properties of the upper ~100 meters of the surface using geophysical techniques.

Research Associates

K. Dana Chadwick

Ph.D. Stanford

Dana is an Earth System scientist researching the interconnections among ecosystems, critical zone processes, and the evolution of landscapes. Her work primarily utilizes airborne platforms that integrate imaging spectroscopy and lidar sensors, extensive field sampling campaigns, and laboratory analyses. She combine these techniques in order to uncover spatial distributions of ecosystem characteristics and link these patterns to underlying processes. Check out her website to learn more.

Undergraduate Researchers

Daphne Smith

B.S. Expected 2022

Daphne is interested in XXX. She has been an integral part of the field campaign at the White Outdoor Learning Center where she conducts weekly measurements of soil and bedrock carbon and oxygen fluxes.

Xochitlinda Gonzales

B.S. Expected 2022

Xochitlinda is interested in XXX. She has been an integral part of the field campaign at the White Outdoor Learning Center where she conducts weekly neutron probe measurements to investigate the role of rock moisture in supplying ET to vegetation.

Technical Staff

Brandon Minton

Research Engineer/Scientist Associate II
M.S. Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 2016
B.S. Marine and Freshwater Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2012

Brandon is a graduate of The University of Texas in his home town of Austin. He first received his B.S. in Marine and Freshwater Biology at UT Austin after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. Early research interests focused on the biodiversity of herbivorous fish populations within reef communities located along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. However, after shifting over to a Geosciences track for his master’s work, Brandon’s interests moved towards exploring and understanding deepwater sedimentation processes, specifically minibasin formation. After completing his M.S. in Geosciences, he now serves as a research engineer for the Rempe Hydrology Group at the University of Texas at Austin.


Erica McCormick

B.S. Environmental Science, Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2020

Erica's current work revolves around understanding where, when, and why plants access water stored in bedrock. More broadly, she is interested in untangling how the various processes and resource limitations which govern transpiration can be measured and categorized at various scales in order to isolate thresholds and recommendations for forest health under climate change. Check out her website to learn more!

Former Postdoctoral Staff

W. Jesse Hahm

Assistant professor, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University

Armaghan Abed-Elmdoust

Former Graduate Students

Shawn Lee

M.S. The University of Texas at Austin 2018
B.A. University of California, Berkeley 2016

Shawn is interested in near surface seismic processing and interpretation with applications to subsurface hydrology and landform processes. Masters research includes numerical analyses of stress and seismic tomography.

Caroline Hackett

M.S. The University of Texas at Austin 2018
B.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia, 2013

Caroline’s research focuses on surface water-groundwater interactions in karst systems.
Co-supervisor: Marcus Gary

Former Technical Staff

Mariel Nelson

B.A. Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, 2018
Ph.D. Geology, University of Texas, expected 2025

Mariel is interested in land surface and shallow subsurface dynamics related to natural hazards. She is a field technician and data wrangler for the vadose monitoring system at the Eel River Critical Zone Observatory. Her current research investigates controls on rainfall-triggered landslides in Northern California’s sedimentary Great Valley Sequence.

Former Undergraduate Students

Rachel Breunig

M.S./Ph.D. Expected 2025, University of Wisconsin, Madison
B.S. Environmental Science, Geology, University of Texas at Austin 2020

Check out her website to learn more!

Yinuo Wang

B.A. Geological Science,2018

Geochemistry and hydrogeology

Nathan Hsu

B.S. Geosystems Engineering and Hydrogeology, 2018

Nathan’s research interests are in groundwater surface water interactions, and specifically, the role of the vadose zone in controlling the composition of groundwater. Nathan’s undergraduate research focuses on the timing of groundwater responses to storms in fractured bedrock groundwater systems.

Amy De Luna

B.S., 2018


The University of Texas at Austin
Jackson School of Geosciences
Department of Geological Sciences
2275 Speedway, C9000
Austin, TX 78712


Daniella Rempe
E-mail: rempe@jsg.utexas.edu
Office: EPS 3.152
Lab: JGB 1.118, EPS 2.130A
Phone: 512-471-5290