Dong Lab in Spring 2026
Principal Investigator
Tian Y. Dong, PhD
Assistant Professor, UTRGV
Tian studies how river networks, deltas, channel belts, wind, and ice record the movement of water and sediment. His group combines field observations, remote sensing, theory, and modeling to connect present-day landscapes with their histories on Earth and Mars.
Current team
Staff
Postdoctoral Fellow
Deepali Singh, PhD
Deepali is a postdoctoral fellow using experiments to study how biogenic organic molecules evolve under Martian surface conditions.
Program Coordinator
Esmeralda Mendez, MS
Esmeralda coordinates the NASA MUREP MCA RAISE program and supports its student learning and research experiences.
Graduate researchers
MS Researcher · Spring 2027
Andrew Ward
Andrew studies stabilized lunette dunes and lomas in the Rio Grande delta and northern Tamaulipas.
MS Researcher · Fall 2026
Annette Obregon
Annette studies the timing and evolution of abandoned channel belts in the Rio Grande delta.
MS Researcher · Fall 2027
Naydelyn Nunez
Naydelyn uses hydrodynamic modeling to investigate the Bahia Grande coastal wetland system.
Past members
Postdocs
- Olagoke Daramola · 2026
Now at: Assistant Professor, Kennesaw State University - Haiqing Xu · 2025
Now at: Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Graduate students
- Aleen Pertuz Paz · 2026
Now at: PhD student, Virginia Tech - Ana Y. Casillas Rodriguez · 2026
Now at: Hydrologist, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - Waqid Nabi · 2025
Now at: PhD student, Indiana University Bloomington - Kynan Rutan · 2025
Now at: Geotechnical role, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Visiting students
- Bence Csiti · 2025
Now at: PhD student, Umeå University
Undergraduate students
- Natalie Gonzales · 2026
Now at: PhD student, Louisiana State University - Sebastian Lopez · 2026
Now at: PhD student, The University of Texas at Austin - Celeste Alvarez · 2024
Now at: Comprehensive Planner, Langford Community Management Services
TD Geomorphology Lab 