معرفی
Deon H. Knights is an Assistant Professor of Earth Science and Environmental Studies at Vassar College. His research investigates water quality in coastal zones through field experiments, laboratory analyses, and reactive transport models of surface water-groundwater interactions. He focuses on Arctic deltas, tidal rivers, and urban beaver wetlands, examining how hydrodynamics govern nutrient and contaminant cycling with implications for fisheries, global biogeochemistry, and environmental justice.
- Education
- BS from the University of Delaware
- MS and PhD from Ohio State University-Main Campus
His work includes Arctic delta nutrient flux studies (e.g., Mackenzie Delta), urban wetland contaminant mitigation via beaver dam cascades, and environmental justice analyses linking water quality disparities to social inequities. He teaches courses like Hydrogeology, GIS in Environmental Justice, and Global Change & Sustainability.
Knight’s lab operates cutting-edge instruments like an Ion Chromatography System and Total Organic/Inorganic Carbon Analyzer. Current projects include Biogeochemical Processes in Beaver-Induced Wetlands and Nutrient Transport in Coastal River Deltas. He mentors students in fieldwork (e.g., installing groundwater wells on the Vassar Preserve) and computational modeling.
As a faculty mentor for the Mid-Hudson Young Environmental Scientists (MH-YES) program, he engages underrepresented high school students in watershed research around the Fall Kill Creek. He also serves on the Office of Community Engaged Learning (OCEL) Advisory Board, promoting critical pedagogy that connects place-based work to justice.
