Ajay B. Limaye
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
B.A., Geophysics, UC-Berkeley (2007)
Ph.D., Planetary Sciences, Caltech (2015)
Limaye studies landscape evolution on Earth and other planets, focusing on the role of rivers. Current research topics include river forms, dynamics and deposits; geologic records of climate on Mars and Titan; and historical interactions between the river science and colonialism. Limaye is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award and a Semester Cohort Fellow with the International Center for Jefferson Studies in Charlottesville, VA. Email: [email protected] | CV | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | How to say my name 🔊
Students
B.A., Penn State (2025)
Sophia is a 2nd-year Ph.D. student whose research focuses on the evolution of alluvial fans on Mars. In summer 2026 she will intern with the Mars 2020 Science Team (NASA-JPL) to investigate the geologic history of Jezero crater.
B.A., Lehigh Univ. (2023)
Gabriela is a 2nd-year M.S. student whose research focuses on long-term morphodynamics of the Shenandoah River in central Virginia. As an adept computer programmer, she is working to advance landscape evolution modeling.
M.S., Panjab Univ. Chandigarh (2020)
Vidushi is a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate whose thesis focuses on spatial trends in valley morphology in the Appalachian plateau. In May 2026 she is sharing her latest research at the CSDMS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis.
Christina Sowinski
B.S., Purdue Univ. (2025)
In Fall 2026 Christina will join the group as PhD student focused on planetary geomorphology. She is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2026).
Undergraduate student
Audrey is graduating with a double-major in environmental sciences and computer science. Her thesis research through Distinguished Majors Program focused on pattern formation in layered ice deposits on Mars. Outside the classroom, she is an avid fossil hunter.
Undergraduate student
Julia is graduating with a double major in environmental sciences and astrophysics. In her thesis for the Distinguished Majors Program, Julia studied controls on seasonal dust storms on Mars in collaboration with researchers at NASA-JPL.
Dante Ragusa
Undergraduate student
Dante is a rising 4th-year major in Environmental Sciences and Astrophysics. In summer 2026 he will work with our team to design laboratory geomorphology experiments.
Leo Wang
Undergraduate student
Leo is a visiting student from Carleton College (Minnesota) where he is a double-major in Geology and Political Science. He is also getting his hands dirty in the lab this summer.
Past group members
Undergraduate students (Distinguished Majors Program)
Medha Prakash (B.A., 2023), now Graduate student, Univ. Texas at Austin. Thesis: Morphometric comparisons of terrestrial eskers and Martian ridges reveal pathways of persistent meltwater drainage.
Victoria Thompson (B.A., 2024), now Graduate student, Duke Univ. Thesis: Numerical modeling of the effect of variable wind direction on migration of sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge, North Carolina,
Graduate students
Jake Smith (M.S., 2022), now at Apex Clean Energy (Charlottesville, VA). Thesis: Comparison of hydrologic algorithms for mapping valleys using digital elevation models.
Yuan Li (Ph.D., 2024), now postdoctoral researcher, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Indiana Univ. Thesis: Lateral migration of alluvial river channels.
Ariana Flournoy (M.S., 2024), now at Washington Geological Survey. Thesis: Martian alluvial fans: Comparing fan and catchment areas a proxy for paleoclimate.
Abby Ackerman (M.S., 2025). Thesis: Effects of debris flow disturbance on vegetation, soils, and topography in a steep landscape in central Virginia.
Postdoctoral researchers
Hongbo Ma (2021). Now Assistant Professor, Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Youwei Wang (2022-2025), now Research Scientist, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dimitri Bandou (2023-2025)