Meet the Faculty

Dr. Annika Quick is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Wesleyan University. She received a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Boise State University and an MS in Geology from Brigham Young University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching from Boise State University and a Certificate in Learning Design and Technology from the Harvard University Extension. Prior to joining the faculty at VWU in 2022, Dr. Quick was a Preceptor (academic faculty) in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at Harvard University, where her roles included teaching, curriculum development, and graduate teacher training. She has also taught courses at Bloomsburg University, Boise State University, and Brigham Young University.

Dr. Quick's research focuses on the connections between biogeochemical cycling, geomorphology, and hydrology. This has included examining how exogenous loading of nitrate in a watershed (such as from agricultural runoff and wastewater effluent) affects the production of nitrous oxide from streambed sediments in the hyporheic zone and examining the effects of land cover, infrastructure, and other geographic parameters on nutrients (especially dissolved organic carbon) in diverse urban watersheds. Her research methods involve flume experiments, sampling of stream and river waters, installation and monitoring of automated sensors at gaging stations, and spatial analysis in GIS. Dr. Quick's additional interests include science education, outreach, and citizen science.