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Melinda Daniels, Ph.D.

500 500 Stroud Water Research Center
Melinda Daniels, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

  • Principal investigator, Fluvial Geomorphology Group
  • Adjunct faculty, Department of Geography, Kansas State University
  • Affiliate faculty, Department of Geography, University of Delaware
  • Affiliate faculty, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware

Contact

mdaniels@stroudcenter.org
tel. 610-910-0044
970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311

Interests and Expertise

Melinda Daniels’s research program focuses broadly on the fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, and stream ecosystem ecology of both “natural” and human-modified river systems, from reach to watershed scales. Her interests include river restoration, watershed management, and stream ecosystem science. Though much of it is theoretically based, all of her research is placed within the context of better understanding our impact on rivers, improving river management, and enabling successful river restoration. Daniels’s work includes examining how people perceive river environments and the process of communicating science to river managers and stakeholders. Essentially, her research perspective examines rivers as coupled human and natural systems.

Education

  • Ph.D., physical geography, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
  • Master of Research in environmental science, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
  • B.S., natural resources and environmental science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

Professional Experience

  • Associate research scientist, Stroud Water Research Center, 2013–present.
  • Associate professor, Department of Geography, Physical and Environmental Geography, Kansas State University, 2010–2013.
  • Assistant professor, Department of Geography, Physical and Environmental Geography, Kansas State University, 2008–2010.
  • Assistant professor, Department of Geography, Physical and Environmental Geography, University of Connecticut, 2002–2008.
  • Instructor, University of Illinois, 2001–2002.
  • Research assistant and fellow, stream confluence dynamics, river restoration science, University of Illinois, 1998–2001.

Publications

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) summer thermal habitat use in streams with sympatric populations

Ouellet, V., and M. Daniels. 2021. Journal of Thermal Biology, early online access.

Swimming through the urban heat island: can thermal mitigation practices reduce the stress?

Timm, A., V. Ouellet, and M. Daniels. 2020. River Research and Applications 36(10): 1973-1984.

Teaching Environmental Sustainability – Model My Watershed: curriculum and teacher guide

Kerlin, S., M. Daniels, C. Staudt, and N. Marcum-Dietrich. 2019. Projects at Concord Consortium’s website.

Evaluating environmental change and behavioral decision-making for sustainability policy using an agent-based model: a case study for the Smoky Hill River Watershed, Kansas

Granco, G., J.L. Heier, J. Stamm, J.S. Bergtold, M.D. Daniels, et.al. 2019. Science of The Total Environment 695:133769.

Forest restoration on floodplains mantled with legacy sediments: removing sediments appears unnecessary for successful restoration

Sweeney, B.W., A. Dunbar, C.L. Dow, and M.D. Daniels. 2019. Restoration Ecology 27(6): 1220-1230.

See all publications by Stroud Center authors

Related News

Saving Streams With Good Science

Building trust in the scientific process starts with communicating our research to non-scientists. To that end, our scientists share snapshots of three long-term experiments.

How Farming Practices Influence Water Quality and Soil Health

Scientists from the Stroud Center and Rodale Institute share what they’re learning from the Watershed Impact Trial on the MOSES Organic Farming Podcast.

Why Is New York City Studying Pennsylvania’s Lehigh River?

Melinda Daniels, Ph.D., was interviewed as part of an NPR story about a study that’s causing concern among Pennsylvanians who depend on the river for their livelihoods.

Dam, Dam Go Away: A Wild and Scenic Vision for America’s Rivers

Learn about the policy and science of dam removal, federal protections for the free-flowing Delaware River, and the story of the Wild and Scenic Musconetcong River.

Patience is the Mother of Science: Long-Term Responses of a Stream to Reforestation

We're studying how White Clay Creek can recover from deforestation and agricultural expansion and to what extent restoration practices can acclerate that recovery.

Stream Reach: Building Communities from White Clay Creek to the Yangtze Basin

To truly make a difference requires, not only understanding freshwater systems, but working with all kinds of communities to protect them.

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