Sihi Biogeochemistry Lab

Sihi Biogeochemistry Lab specializes in measuring and modeling Soil Organic Matter (or Carbon) dynamics and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from natural and managed ecosystems. We enjoy coupling data generated from empirical studies and environmental networks with process-based (aka mechanistic) and machine learning models. We use biogeochemical models to evaluate the fate of soil (and ecosystem) carbon (and nutrient) in the face of climate change in systems ranging from the tropics and subtropics to temperate and temperate-boreal transition zones and soils from forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural landscapes.

We are funded by NSF, DOE, USDA, Valent Biosciences, Soil2Space, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, University Research Council, and Halle Institute for Global Research at Emory University.

If you are interested in joining our group, please email the PI (Debjani Sihi) at debjani.sihi@emory.edu.

Meet the Team

Principal Investigator

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Debjani Sihi

Assistant Professor

Graduate Students

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Dana A. Kahn

Master Student

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Milon Barmon

PhD Student

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Yaxi Du

Master Student

Undergraduate Students

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Jack Kagan

Undergraduate Student

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Murray Sternberg

Undergraduate (Honors) Student

past members

Abdul Baseer Khan

Visiting PhD Student

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Aditya Kolisetti

Undergraduate Student (SIRE Fellow)

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Alexandra Cory

Post Doc

Ann Felicia Sinsuan

Undergraduate Student

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Ellen Maas

Post Doc

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Haoyang Li

Undergraduate Student

Kihoon Alan Kang

Undergraduate Student

Kristina Trifonova

Undergraduate Student (SURE Fellow)

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Marissa Duckett

Graduate Student

Marshall McCall

Undergraduate Student

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Natasha Rasnick

Undergraduate Student

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Paul Bausemer

Lab Assistant

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Rebekah Lee

Undergraduate Student (FYRE Fellow)

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Taylor Cyle

Lab Manager

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Zhuonan Wang

Post Doc

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Zoe Price

Undergraduate Student

Projects

Last updated on Oct 24, 2023
Southern Piedmont Climate-Smart Project

Brief description of the project: We are partnering with the Rodale Institute on a $25M project from the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program. The project title is “Quantifying the Potential to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increase Carbon Sequestration by Growing and Marketing Climate-Smart Commodities in the Southern Piedmont”.

Last updated on Apr 9, 2023
OUTREACH ASSISTANCE TO BEGINNING FARMERS, RANCHERS, AND VETERANS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY

Brief description of the project: We are organizing workshops, field days, outreach and community engagement activities on climate smart and regenerative agricultural practices in GA through this USDA project from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.

Last updated on Apr 9, 2023
Understanding biophysical drivers of the CH4 source sink transition in Northern Forests

Total Funding: $1,655,957 (Emory: $329,238) Meet our multi-institute collaborative team members: Woodwell Climate Research Center, lead institute: Jennifer Watts (PI), Kathleen Savage (Co-PI) Emory University: Debjani Sihi (PI) San Diego State University: Xiaofeng Xu (PI) Arizona State University: Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz (PI) University of Maine: Shawn Fraver (PI) USDA Forest Service: David Hollinger (Collaborator)

Last updated on Apr 9, 2023
Measuring & modeling agricultural carbon sequestration through a microbial lens
Measuring & modeling agricultural carbon sequestration through a microbial lens

Funding source: Valent Biosciences/Valent U.S.A. (Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, https://www.halo.science/research/agriculture/carbon-sequestration)

Last updated on Aug 8, 2022
Modeling Soil Carbon for Climate-Smart and Sustainable Future

Funding source: Halle Institute for Global Research, Emory University and The Halle Foundation Collaborative Research Grant

Last updated on Aug 8, 2022
Upscaling soil organic carbon measurements at the continental scale by understanding emergent ecosystem properties and spatial representativeness analysis
Upscaling soil organic carbon measurements at the continental scale by understanding emergent ecosystem properties and spatial representativeness analysis

Funding source: National Science Foundation, Macrosystem Biology and NEON-Enabled Science (Award #: DEB-2106137)

Last updated on Aug 8, 2022
Using probability distribution function as a scaling approach to incorporate soil heterogeneity into biogeochemical models for greenhouse gas predictions
Using probability distribution function as a scaling approach to incorporate soil heterogeneity into biogeochemical models for greenhouse gas predictions

Funding source: US Department of Energy Office of Science, Environmental System Science (Award #: DE-SC0022314)

Latest News

Getting their hands dirty in the name of climate research
Emory Spotlight: Faculty (https://news.emory.edu/stories/2023/08/er_climate_research_04-08-2023/story.html) From Georgia to Maine and points in between, Emory College environmental scientist Debjani Sihi got her hands dirty this summer in an effort to see how soil might help battle climate change.
Last updated on Aug 12, 2023 1 min read
Getting their hands dirty in the name of climate research
Murray received the Lester research grant to conduct work on his honors thesis project
Murray received the Lester research grant to conduct work on his honors thesis project. More information is here (https://envs.emory.edu/undergraduate/scholarships-awards-grants/lester-turner-grants.html)
Last updated on May 31, 2023 1 min read
Marshall McCall was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society this Spring
Marshall McCall was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society this Spring. Student who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa this semester to name a faculty member “who has encouraged and helped students to excel, and who exemplifies intellectual rigor and enthusiasm for scholarly pursuits.
Last updated on May 31, 2023 1 min read
Dana is awarded research-support
The Lester Committee approves Danai’s request for research-support in the amount of $2,000.00.
Last updated on Apr 9, 2023 1 min read
Yaxi is awarded research-support
The Lester Committee approves Yaxi’s request for research-support in the amount of $5,000.00.
Last updated on Apr 9, 2023 1 min read
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