Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Margalefidinium Polykrikoides Cyst Resuspension In The Lafayette River, A Sub-Tributary Of The Chesapeake Bay, Gabrielle Greaney, Eduardo Perez Vega, Katherine Crider, Dreux Chappell, Kimberly Powell, Richard Hale, Peter Bernhardt, Margaret Mulholland

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Harmful Algal Blooms are a collection of algae in a body of water that can cause serious environmental issues and health problems in both people and aquatic organisms. Dinoflagellates are microscopic, unicellular, and eukaryotic organisms that are well known for forming harmful algal blooms because of eutrophication. Coastal Virginia suffers from HABs in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. A common species of dinoflagellate, known as Margalefidinium polykrikoides exists in the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of this study is to determine if sediment resuspension produced by wind generated surface gravity waves cause cysts (dinoflagellate resting stages) to be suspended into …

Exploring The Use Of Covellite As A Proxy For Corrosion Of Native Copper By Sulphur Reducing Bacteria, Manan K. Joshi

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

We are analyzing the effect of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, and using that evidence to further support the initiative of having a deep geological repository to store nuclear material. Sulphate reducing bacteria are a concern for the deep geological repository as they cause the corrosion of regular copper. However native copper has gone billions of years without corrosion, which could either mean that it had not been exposed to sulphate reducing bacteria over the billions of years, or native copper is able to withstand corrosion despite the contact of sulphate reducing bacteria. We can find out by trying …

Pilot Study: Geoenvironmental Controls Of Residential Radon Cedar Falls, Iowa, Maya Mallavarapu, Chad Heinzel Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

• The leading cause of lung-cancer for individuals who do not smoke is exposure to abnormally high radon concentrations. If radon concentrations within a person’s basement is above 4 pCi/L, the EPA recommends further testing and possible decontamination of the area to mitigate one’s exposure to radon.

• Radon is a radioactive gas that originates from the decay series of Uranium-238. The decay series begins with Uranium-238 and finishes with an end product of Lead-206. However, during this decay process before Lead-206 is culminated, intermediates such as Uranium-234, Thorium-230, Radium-226, and Radon-222 are also produced

The Next Small Step, Samiya Henry

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

As of right now, NASA and other space programs are estimating that by 2026, there will be people living in Space. Whether it be the Moon or Mars, one cannot have a functional society without a proper source of laws, especially since no one country has ownership over space. "One Small Step" will produce this source of laws, called the “Space Bill of Rights,” that will outline important matters like the trade of resources, medical care, government officials, and will ensure the preservation of our physical and figurative footsteps in space. This Space Bill of Rights is made up of …

Land Cover Classification And Change During Mine Reclamation In Northeast Florida Using Multispectral Imagery, Daniel Burow, Robert Brown, Alexis Caldwell, Patrick Hunter, Jett-Ramy Kaddour, Alexander Kingma, Justin Kozicki, Blake Neal, Abigail Neff, Rylan Randolph, Devon Tanner, Isaiah Vahos

Sustainability Conference

Titanium is commonly used in the aerospace industry because it is lightweight and durable in extreme temperatures. The Green Cove Springs Mine, near Green Cove Springs, Florida, was used for mining and processing titanium and other minerals from 1972 until 2009. Since then, the mine area is being reclaimed, or rehabilitated and restored to its natural state, as required by Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulations. In this study, we use high-resolution multispectral satellite and aerial imagery obtained from 2016 to 2022 to examine land cover (LC) changes at the Green Cove Springs Mine during this reclamation period. We use …

Do Environmental Toxins Predict Violent Crimes?, Tyler Stahl

Symposium of Student Scholars

Do chemical pollutants that persistent in the environment and bioaccumulate in the body affect human health and behavior? Could these Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) chemicals play a role in the cause of violent crimes due to deterioration of mental and cognitive functions? In the past, Mercury, a PBT chemical, has been shown in salmon to be associated with aggression. Could similar aggression occur in humans exposed to mercury through a toxic spill? Two sources of data are utilized in this analysis. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Annual Toxic Release Inventory publishes data on toxic releases into the environment and …

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

Scan Of The Advantage Of Using Biofuels, Ethanol, Ana Carla Bueno

Symposium of Student Scholars

The environment is the big sink where all the human waste produced is deposited, mainly the pollutant gases from cars. It is inevitable not to contaminate drinking water, air, and all other ecosystems on the planet, and it was from these concerns that scientists began to develop alternative ways to mitigate the side effects of pollution. Currently, there are many strategies to soften the emission of pollutant gases into the atmosphere, and the biggest competitor of traditional fossil fuel is biofuels. The big challenge in the production of this type of fuel is the competition with the conventional fossil fuel, …

Media Analysis Of Coverage Of Environmental Issues In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Alexandria N. Miller, Lucia A. Bolles

Thinking Matters Symposium

This research aimed to answer the question “has the coronavirus impacted the print media’s coverage of important environmental issues?” The research analyzed 2 different print newspapers - The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal - to determine if there was a change in coverage of environmental news as the coronavirus spread in the US. Data for stories published in the first four days of every month from March through September was compiled for 2019 and 2020. Our findings showed a 78.85% decrease in coverage of environmental issues between 2019 and 2020 when stories related to the coronavirus pandemic …

Pakistan's Ordeal Against Climate Change: The Main Contributors And The Way Forward, Fasih Zulfiqar

CBER Conference

This poster takes a detour through the challenges facing Pakistan in tackling climate change and progress hitherto. It analyzes the main culprits of air pollution in Pakistan and where Pakistan stands relative to other developing nations. The poster concludes on a hopeful note, given the recent government initiatives.

Lulling Waters: A Poetry Reading For Real-Time Music Generation Through Emotion Mapping, Ashley Muniz, Toshihisa Tsuruoka

Electronic Literature Organization Conference 2020

Through a poetic narrative, “Lulling Waters” tells the story of a whale overcoming the loss of his mother, who passed away from ingesting plastic, as he attempts to escape from the polluted oceanic world. The live performance of this poem utilizes a software system called Soundwriter, which was developed with the goal of enriching the oral storytelling experience through music. This video demonstrates how Soundwriter’s real-time hybrid system was able to analyze “Lulling Waters” through its lexical and auditory features. Emotionally salient words were given ratings based on arousal, valence, and dominance while the emotionally charged prosodic features of the …

384— Chimney Swift Conservation Project, Brian Zapfel, Hiina Asami

GREAT Day Posters

The Chimney Swift Project is a student team promoting conservation for Chimney Swifts, a species of small insectivorous bird found throughout the eastern United States and Canada during their breeding season. In a natural setting, Chimney Swifts nest in hollow trees which were common in the old-growth forests prominent in the United States before European colonization. Currently, Chimney Swifts population is on a steep decline primarily due to human caused habitat destruction. Overall, 75% of the population has been lost since 1970. Our project aims to promote the conservation of Chimney Swifts through the construction of a nesting tower and …

Near Real-Time Determination Of The Prevalence Of Cannabinoids, Cathinones, And Synthetic Opioids, Catherine O'Rourke, Bikram Subedi

Scholars Week

Unregulated new psychoactive substances (NPS) in “pure” or “preparation” forms are designed to mimic the effects of controlled substances, and are introduced and reintroduced in the market as a cheap substitute of established regulated drugs in quick succession to loophole the law enforcement efforts on combating drugs. For example, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid activates the opioid receptors similar to morphine but it is astoundingly potent compared to a typical drug of abuse (100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine). Based on the cost- and time-intensive forensic analysis, National Drug Early Warning System reported the …

An Industrial Hygiene Assessment Of Lead In Potable Water Outlets At Rowan University, Tyra Thomas, Rosemary Roberto, Thomas Boyle

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) discovered lead in the water of a number of buildings on the Glassboro campus. This finding triggered the need for a comprehensive study to determine if lead was in the drinking water on the main campus.

Rowan University then partnered with an independent consultant to create a Lead Sampling Plan, collect water samples and to find a certified laboratory to provide water sample analysis.

A comprehensive plumbing survey of the campus also took place to determine how water is supplied to campus and how it is distributed to and throughout each building. …

Does Clean Energy Make Or Break A Country?, Madhav Parthasarathy, Aidan T. Stueck, Xander Van Horn

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

With the world running low on fossil fuels and energy sources, it is as vital as ever to educate ourselves on the newest forms of alternative energy sources. Countries as of now are extremely reliant on energy and this reliance affects all aspects of life including school life, home life, and social life as well. By statistically comparing traits of successful countries to the cleanness of their energy, we can discover the benefits of implementing a clean, efficient energy system to replace the fossil fuels in our country. Whether it be a higher GDP, a thriving economy, or quality education, …

Strategic Analysis Of New Jersey's Lsrp Program By Applying A Combined Swot-Ahp Technique, Robert Oleksy

Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium

In 2009 the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) was established which created the Licensed Site Remediation Professions (LSRP) program. LSRPs can provide remediation services without delayed approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The result allows for prompt development of contaminated sites. Ten years after its passage, SRRA 2.0 will soon be introduced. To assist in its strategic development, a modified Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats - Analytical Hierarch Process (SWOT-AHP) will be applied to four stockholder groups to determine each groups' preferences of the current LSRP program. The four groups include government/legal entities, business/trade organizations, non-government …

Risk Assessment For Tce Contamination At The Plymouth Tube Sitegila River Indian Reservation, Az, Eric Canteenwala

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Trichloroethylene or TCE is a volatile organic compound and Group A known human carcinogen that has been widely used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications and is one of the most common types of environmental contaminants found at industrial sites. A human health risk assessment was conducted using indoor air, soil vapor and groundwater monitoring well sample data to assess whether historic contamination posed a current risk to workers occupying a factory at the former Plymouth Tube Site in Chandler, Arizona. Sample data was analyzed using US EPA guidance and basic risk assessment calculations to quantify the cancerous …

Risk Assessment For Tce Contamination At The Plymouth Tube Sitegila River Indian Reservation, Az, Eric Canteenwala

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Trichloroethylene or TCE is a volatile organic compound and Group A known human carcinogen that has been widely used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications and is one of the most common types of environmental contaminants found at industrial sites. A human health risk assessment was conducted using indoor air, soil vapor and groundwater monitoring well sample data to assess whether historic contamination posed a current risk to workers occupying a factory at the former Plymouth Tube Site in Chandler, Arizona. Sample data was analyzed using US EPA guidance and basic risk assessment calculations to quantify the cancerous …

Using X-Ray Fluorescence To Analyze Fire Impacted Soil And Vegetation Composition, Dylan Darter

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

In our lab, I am using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to measure the concentrations of metals in sediments from subalpine lakes. Our goal is to measure the biogeochemical consequences of wildfires over the last 2000 years. This study looks at the elemental composition of different lake cores, and vegetation samples from areas of the “Big Burn” fire of 1910. This fire burned across several states in the Rocky Mountain region. With our XRF data we are able to see how the fire impacted the soils and how long after the fire proper soil composition can occur. This study can be …

Hour-Level Resolution On Consumption Pattern Of Substance Abuse, Jarrett Mauk, Rhiannon Huffines, Brittney Nelson, Tara Croft, Bikram Subedi

Scholars Week

Conventional survey-based approaches of determining the consumption statistics of drugs in communities are suffered from non-response biases, and typically underestimate the actual consumption. Time and cost-intensive conventional approaches, therefore, can’t be utilized to determine high-resolution temporal variability in drug consumption. In this study, the temporal trend of consumption of 10 illicit and 26 prescribed neuropsychiatric drugs was determined at hour-level resolution utilizing wastewater-based epidemiology. The hourly composite raw wastewater (every 10 minutes) samples were collected for three consecutive days in a typical week (total of 72 samples), analyzed for target drug residues using UPLC-MS/MS, and back-calculated the consumption rate of …

Monitoring Lesser Known Harmful Algal Blooms On The Oregon Coast, Taylor Dodrill, Tawnya D. Peterson, Matthew Hunter, Micah Rogers

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Ocean warming has expanded the niche of harmful algal blooms (HABs), including HABs previously believed to pose little risk of shellfish contamination in the Pacific Northwest. Monitoring efforts in Washington and California have demonstrated that Dinophysis spp. is a HAB of emerging concern and has been linked to diarrhetic shellfish poisoning events. However, quantitative monitoring for Dinophysis spp. on the Oregon Coast has been limited. This analysis provides a preliminary characterization of risk that Dinophysis spp. poses to shellfish consumers in Oregon. Furthermore, we assess the predator-prey interaction between Dinophysis spp. and its prey, Mesodinium rubrum, to determine whether …

Fluoride Removal From Water Using A 3d Printed Calcium Carbonate Filter, Sophia Bakar, David Kahler, Benjamin S. Goldschmidt

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Groundwater containing high concentrations of fluoride is the most common source of drinking water in rural areas in parts of east Africa, India, and China. The elevated levels of fluoride cause skeletal and dental fluorosis, which is the weakening and decay of bone structures due to the leeching of calcium from the body as calcium and fluoride bond by the process of adsorption. Over 150 million people are suffering from some form of fluorosis due to the consumption of groundwater. Calcium carbonate has been demonstrated to influence fluoride removal in several forms. To make fluoride removal a cost-effective and user-friendly …

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Surface Soil Lead Contamination In Urban Neighborhoods Of Davenport, Iowa, Joseph Teresi

Celebration of Learning

Davenport, IA, is a typical Midwestern city with a population of ~102,600 residents and is characterized by aging infrastructure and housing stock. Consequently, alarmingly high rates of child lead poisoning—as a result of deteriorating lead paint—constitute a major public health concern in some urban neighborhoods. A research team conducted free home lead screenings in vulnerable Davenport neighborhoods to better understand the severity of the problem. Via appointment, 27 homes were tested for lead in their paint, dust, soil, and water. Many of the highest-risk homes were found in low-income neighborhoods. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent …

De-Icers: What Is Safe For The Environment And Is Effective?, Dylan Walker

The International Student Science Fair 2018

De-icers are a common chemical product that cities and homeowners across the world use to melt ice on the roads and around their home. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of various de-icers on grass health and compare it to the efficiency from which these de-icers actually melt ice. This was done through placing pots of soil into separate containers each filled with a little bit of a different de-icer solution to test its effect on grass by measuring the percentage of green grass is left in each pot. The efficiency was tested by filling different …

De-Icers: What Is Safe For The Environment And Is Effective?, Dylan Walker

The International Student Science Fair 2018

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the affect that various de-icers (both organic and inorganic based) had on the health of grass, as well as determine the efficiency of the de-icer in melting ice to then compare and contrast the data to find the best overall de-icer in terms of effectiveness and environmental impact.

Functions Of Ecosystems: Stream Metabolism As An Efficient And Effective Means To Gage The Health And Understand The Interworking Of Urban Streams In A Watershed Of Rock Island, Il, Ryan Johnson, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

Stream metabolism is a critical functional measure of stream health that integrates physical parameters like slope and discharge, with ecosystem functions like photosynthesis and respiration. Stream metabolism is widely studied; however, urban stream metabolism remains poorly understood. Stream metabolism was measured for five streams ranging from 1^st to 5^th orders from October 11^th to October 18^th 2017 and four streams ranging from 1^st to 4^th order from October 22^nd to 25^th 2017 located within an approximately 9.3 square kilometer watershed of Rock Island, IL that has an urban to suburban type of …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Ceilometer Measurements From The University Of Western Ontario Of Smoke From The Extraordinary Fires Of 2017 In Western Canada, Achini J K Abayakoon Ms.

Western Research Forum

Background:

The summer of 2017 saw many fires in Western Canada. Smoke from these fires was transported by winds over to London and was measured using a Lufft CHM15k ceilometer which was installed at the Cronyn Observatory of The University of Western Ontario.

Methods:

The cloud base height can be calculated by the time taken for the backscatter signal to reach the transmitter while the backscatter effects can be used to determine the atmospheric structure using the principle of light detection and ranging (LiDAR).

Results:

Smoke particle concentrations over London, Ontario were observed within 72 hours of the fires taking …

Democratic Civic Engagement: Transformative Local, Inclusive Decision-Making To Achieve Global Peace And Climate Solutions, Leah Ceperley

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The UN Sustainable Development Goals call for action on Climate (No. 13) and Strengthening Governance (No. 16) as imperative to transform our world toward one that is resilient, just, and peaceful. Climate change is a global problem, marked frequently in the U.S. by indifference, with far-reaching impacts disproportionately burdening the poor and vulnerable worldwide. Global in scope, its sources, impacts, and fields of action are local. Combating indifference at the local level can strengthen local governance structures, build trust across ideological divides, and shift the conversation from indifference to action.

Using an example from a University of Dayton-sponsored National Issues …