I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 1997. Upon graduation I joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Peradeniya as Instructor where I taught and conducted laboratory experiments for Civil Engineering Undergraduates. I also held the position of Honourable Hall Tutor at the Akbar-Nell Hall of Residence at Peradeniya.

I joined Nanayakkara Associates, a private-sector Civil and Architectural consulting firm in Sri Lanka in 1998. At Nanayakkara Associates I was involved in design, implementation and management of several infrastructure development projects. These included irrigation structures, bridges & roads and multi-storeyed buildings in Sri Lanka.

I started working for the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR supported international research institution headquartered in Colombo, as Water Resources Engineer in 2000. At IWMI I worked on several multidisciplinary research projects related to watershed development, irrigation performance and modelling water supply and demand in South Asia. I provided major inputs in the study on traditional smallholder water management technologies in India and in the development of the Policy Dialogue Model (PODIUMSim) that is being used for national water and food policy dialogue in India, China and Pakistan.

My major area of interest is on sustainable management of water and land resources for food, livelihoods and nature which requires a multidisciplinary approach. The ESSP program at UND offers the multi-disciplinary education and intellectual growth that I require to further augment my research career.

Graduate Student

Penny joined UMAC as a member of the inaugural group of UNDs Earth System Science and Policy masters students in the fall of 2004. She holds a B.S. degree in wildlife biology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Her interests include wildlife ecology and education; primarily, bridging the knowledge gap between scientists and everyday people. Her thesis research will focus on strengthening environmental leadership and awareness through active education and community involvement. After graduation she intends to bring her knowledge and experience back to her native Northeast Texas.

Sarah joined the Earth System Science and Policy Program after completing her B.S. in Geography from the University of North Dakota. Seeking a hands-on, interdisciplinary program, Sarah was drawn to the Masters of Environmental Management program. Her primary interest in this program is to study the interactions of humans and the environment from a broad perspective, which can only be achieved through multidisciplinary work.

Tyler joined UMAC in the fall of 2004 as a member of the first Earth System Science and Policy graduate program. Tyler holds a B.S. degree from the University of Minnesota, Crookston where he majored in Natural Resource Management with an emphasis in Water Resource Management. His interests include restoration ecology (wetlands and prairie), plant taxonomy, limnology and land-use planning. Tylers thesis research will focus on plant species diversity and succession in restored wetland basins. Tyler is originally from Frazee, MN and enjoys hunting, fishing and photographing wildflowers.

My name is Kandi Lea Marie Mossett and I am an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) located on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. From the time I was a very small child I knew that when I was old enough I wanted to leave the reservation in order to pursue a higher education. Through the teachings of my elders I came to realize the importance of our mother earth and the impact that we, as humans, were having on the earth. I made it my personal goal to help protect and preserve our natural resources through knowledge and education. I attended the University of North Dakota from August of 1997 to May of 2001 and graduated with a B.S. degree in Natural Resource and Park Management. I went on to work at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and also became a member of the Dakota Resource Council (DRC). It was through the DRC that I learned about the ESSP Program and instantly knew that I wanted to continue my education by pursuing a master's degree in Environmental Management. I feel that what I have done thus far has been a good base as I have been able to refine my public speaking and public relations skills. My goal now is to specifically focus on environmental management and to become further educated on what I can do to help better our way of living in order to restore and preserve our mother earth for future generations. I believe that with today's technologies we can create alternative energy sources that will not have as much of a detrimental effect on the environment as some of the methods in use today. I am currently looking at the potential for wind energy and hope to help firmly establish the use of this and other alternative energy sources that will be beneficial for our energy needs but that will also have less of an impact on the environment.

I joined ESSP program in the spring of 2005. I have a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Pune and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from UND. I have 6 months industrial experience in the field of waste water treatment. The focus of my masters has been on treating polluted air. I joined the program for gaining knowledge of other streams that influence the field of environmental engineering and play an important role in the environmental policy formation. My primary motivation for joining the program was that it would give me a chance to work with people from diverse backgrounds, exposing me to real world problems and situation

I spent four years of undergrad at Alma College in mid-Michigan where I did some arachnid research and received a B.S. in Biology before coming to UND as an ESSP graduate student. I am doing the thesis option in the program and working toward an M.S. In addition, I am looking forward to learning more about the workings of GIS and Remote Sensing and their applications. What drew me to the program was its blatant view of earth's systems as interrelated and the learning environment this would offer, the chance to formulate my own thesis, a chance to experience GIS, the applied nature of research, and the chance to go where virtually no one has gone before- North Dakota.