2007 Undergraduate Student Awards in Environmental Chemistry
Eryn C. Andrews
Department of Environmental Engineering
University of Nevada Reno
Citation:
Ms. Andrews is an undergraduate in our Environmental Engineering program
and is an exceptional student. She is one of my undergraduate student
advisees and she is a delightful individual. She is a very industrious,
thorough and hard working student in our undergraduate program. Ms.
Andrews is not afraid to ask some very in-depth questions and as a
result is gaining an excellent knowledge of environmental engineering
and chemistry. This quality is all too often missing in many of our
undergraduate students today. She recently participated in the MARS
exploration project and had a great experience. Ms. Andrews is the type
of student that will go the extra mile to succeed.
V. Dean Adams
Associate Dean, Professor
Kyle Bibby
Department of Civil Engineering & Geological Sciences
University of Notre Dame
Citation:
Academics:
With a cumulative GPA of over 3.8, Kyle is on to the top students in the
College of Engineering. As a junior in Civil Engineering (environmental
concentration), Kyle earned an "A" in his upper level Environmental
Chemistry course (CE 40320/60320). Kyle was an excellent scholar in the
class, displaying a good attitude and sincere interests in environmental
chemistry and science.
Research:
Kyle has actively participated in Environmental Engineering research
since the end of his freshman year. He first assisted in a project
studying total nitrogen (TN) removal from wastewater via a hollow-fiber
membrane biofilm reactor. Last summer he was awarded a Notre Dame Slatt
fellowship for undergraduate research to study microbial fuel cells for
wastewater treatment, and he continues to work on this project. This
summer, he will be in New York City assisting with pilot-scale testing
of the membrane biofilm reactor that he worked on previously in the lab
for TN removal.
David I. Kreller, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor
Audrey Bone
Departments of Chemistry; Environmental Engineering and Science
Clemson University
Citation:
Audrey Bone was selected for nomination based on her work in the
laboratory of Dr. David L. Freedman. Audrey has been working in Dr.
Freeman's laboratory, in the Department of Environmental Engineering &
Science, since the fall of 2006. Her primary duties are working with
doctoral students on two projects. One deals with evaluating the
potential for natural attenuation and biostimulation of gasoline spills
that contain the leaded-gasoline additives ethylene dibromide and
1,2-dichloroethane. Thousands of locations in the US are contaminated
with these compounds and very little is known about their biodegradation
when present with gasoline. The other project is focused on developing
an enrichment culture that chlororespires trichloroethene using acetate
as an electron donor. This process has been reported in the field but
never verified in the laboratory. Audrey has become proficient in gas
chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and anion
analysis, and she is currently learning quantitative PCR. She is making
a very valuable contribution to the research. Her abilities in the
laboratory are a good reflection of why she was admitted into Clemson
University's Calhoun Honors College. She is currently a sophomore
majoring in Chemistry.
David L. Freedman
Professor and Graduate Coordinator
Daniel Breetz
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Cincinnati
Citation:
In addition to being a full-time undergraduate student in a five year
program that includes 6 quarters of Co-op industrial experience, Dan
Breetz is spending significant time in research dealing with
environmental catalytic chemistry and environmental nanotechnology. He
is participating in research projects dealing with Advanced Oxidation
Technologies for the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of
reactive membranes and sensors (funded through the NSF-REU program) and
the phyto-mining and phyto-remediation potential for two species of
plants grown in a variety of dissolved metals and nanomaterials (US EPA
P3 Student Design Competition for Sustainability Project). Dan has
strong analytical skills and passion for environmental chemistry
research. He is a creative, innovative, self-motivated, and hard working
individual. In all his projects so far, Dan has a significant
intellectual contribution.
Dionysios D. Dionysiou
Assoc. Professor of Environmental Engineering
Kristy D. Cross
Department of Environmental Science
Southeast Missouri State University
Citation:
Ms. Kristy D. Cross is completing a B.S. in Environmental Science with a
minor in Chemistry. She completed a research project on environmental
fate of coal combustion byproducts during her class in Environmental
Chemistry. Ms. Cross has been employed by the College of Science and
Mathematics for the conduct of laboratory safety inspections. She is
currently completing her intership experience with the Center for
Environmental Analysis at Southeast Missouri State University.
Stephen R. Overmann
Director of Environmental Science
Michael Keen
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of South Florida
Citation:
Mr. Keen is an undergraduate student in the Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida, pursuing a
BS in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering Concentration) with
the eventual goal of MS in Environmental Engineering. Supported by the
College of Engineering's Research Experience for Undergraduates Program
and working with graduate students, Michael is currently conducting
research on reverse osmosis membranes for water treatment. The project
team is examining the nature of RO membrane fouling and testing
strategies for improved membrane cleaning, with the goal of improving
overall performance and extending membrane life. Before the current
project, Michael also assisted on a number of environmental projects
related to landfill leachate, wetlands and water quality in general. He
is bright, responsible, resourcefu., and shows great potential for
graduate research in topics related to environmental chemistry.
Daniel H. Yeh, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor
Kaprice J. Knaup
Department of Chemistry
Carroll College
Citation:
Kaprice has shown a great deal of independence and resourcefulness in
conducting this cooperative research project with the city and the UWM
Great Lakes WATER Institute.
Joseph J. Piatt
Associate Professor of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Rachel A. Lundeen
Department of Chemistry
University of St. Thomas
Citation:
Rachel is a senior chemistry major at the University of St. Thomas
(UST). She will graduate with a B.S. In Chemistry (ACS-Certified) in May
2007. Rachel has performed research in the department since the summer
following her freshman year. For the past year, she has been studying
environmental photochemistry of antibiotics in my lab. She presented her
findings on this project earlier this week at the ACS National meeting
in Chicago, IL.
Rachel is a strong student and has shown an interest in environmental
chemistry throughout her time at UST. She also managed to take an
environmental chemistry course when studying abroad in Scotland last
spring.
Kristine H. Wammer
Assistant Professor
Cresten Mansfeldt
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Minnesota
Citation:
This award is made to Cresten Mansfeldt for exemplary performance in the
field of environmental chemistry. Cresten has demonstrated mastery of
theoretical concepts by taking several environmental chemistry courses,
including those at the highest graduate level. He has received all A's
in these courses. He has also mastered applied concepts of environmental
chemistry through his outstanding performance in laboratory research
both at the University of Minnesota and at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
Paige Novak
Associate Professor
Rose Brittany Merola
Department of Chemistry
Bucknell University
Citation:
Outstanding achievements in environmental chemistry research.
Molly McGuire
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Hadijatu Mumini
Department of Chemistry
Tennessee State University
Citation:
Hadijatu is extremely deserving of this award. She is currently working
diligently on an important project in the area of Environmental
Chemistry. The title of her project is "Interaction between heavy metal
contaminants and DNA".
Since her arrival at Tennessee State University several years ago,
Hadijatu has shown herself to be an outstanding model student. She has
great potential as a future chemist, and to see her receive this award
would be an absolute delight.
Dr. Nsoki Phambu
Assistant Professor
Dung Duc Nguyen
Department of Biology
Claflin University
Citation:
Mr. Nguyen is a student in Claflin University's School of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics. He is majoring in Environmental Science and is also a member of the University's honors college. In addition to
possessing superior intellect, Mr. Nguyen is a very loyal, dedicated,
hard working, and professional individual. Mr. Nguyen currently has a
3.98 grade point average and, I have no doubt that he will graduate with
honors. In addition to being an excellent student, Mr. Nguyen is also an
outstanding research assistant (he is currently working for me). He is
always on time and works extremely hard at making sure everything runs
smoothly. As a research assistant, Mr. Nguyen does not need much
supervision and, in fact, he is quite capable of handling research
projects by himself. Mr. Nguyen is a very special and unique individual.
I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him. Mr.
Nguyen has participated in two research projects that emphasized
environmental chemistry. The first project was entitled "Using gas
chromatography with solid-phase microextraction to evaluate peats for
their capacities to extract methyl tertiary butyl ether from
contaminated water" and, the second was entitled "Utilizing soybean and
rice hulls as activated carbons to remove heavy metals from contaminated
water". Mr. Nguyen has presented the results of his research at national
ACS meetings (March 2006 and March 2007). He received a certificate for
his March 2007 presentation based on outstanding content and method of
presentation. He will participate in another research project that
emphasizes environmental chemistry starting in the fall of 2007. This
project is entitled "Utilizing soybean hulls to extract phenols and
chlorophenols from contaminated water". Mr. Nguyen is becoming a very
meticulous environmental scientist. I have no doubt that he will be a
success in life. I strongly recommend Mr. Nguyen for this award. The ACS
Division of Environmental Chemistry will not be disappointed if Mr.
Nguyen is chosen.
Dr. Anthony Rizzuti
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science
Department of Chemistry
Reyn Ono
Department of Chemistry
Chapman University
Citation:
Reyn Ono, a senior chemistry major at Chapman University, has
distinguished himself as an outstanding student of environmental
chemsitry, both in the classroom and the lab. He recently presented
results of his senior capstone reasearch in a poster presentation at the
233rd National ACS meeting in Chicago, Il entitled "EFFECTS OF PARTICLE
AGGREAGATION MECHANISMS ON METAL UPTAKE TO NANOSCALE GOETHITE". This
work, studying the effects of ionic strength and pH on the aggregation
behavior of iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles and corresponding changes in
surface area and reactivity (i.e., adsorption of heavy metals), has
considerable implications for understanding the processes by which
metals are sequestered in the environment and their long-term fate in
natural aqueous systems.
Christopher Kim
Assistant Professor
Sarah E. Page
Department of Chemistry
University of Minnesota
Citation:
Sarah Page was selected to receive the 2007 Undergraduate Student Award
in Environmental Chemistry on the basis of her excellent scholastic
record and her research on the use of cobalt porphyrin complexes as
promoters of dechlorination reactions mediated by zero-valent zinc
metal. Her research, which was supervised by Associate Professor
Kristopher McNeill, has relevance to the remediation of
trichloroethylene-polluted groundwater.
Professor Christopher J. Cramer
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Cynthia Patty
Department of Environmental Science
California State University, East Bay
Citation:
Cynthia Patty is a truly extraordinary student in the field of
environmental chemistry. Her near perfect GPA is further complemented by
her gift for analysis and her driving self-motivation. She designed and
implemented her own student research project on the uptake and
transformation of Hg by Spartina species, including all background
literature research, field sampling design, laboratory experimental
design, and analysis of the integrated results of four different
chemical analysis methods. She also supervises other students on the
project, bringing them to her level of perfection. She has done research
at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab on this project, and she has
presented her work at the ACS URC in May 2006 and at the ACS National
Meeting in San Francisco in September 2006. She has been chosen to
present her results at the CSU Research Competition in May 2007. As
president and co-founder of the Hayward Environmental Awareness Team,
she has worked on restoration projects with local parks and recreation
groups, and she recently planned and hosted a public showing of Al
Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", followed by an expert panel discussion.
Overall, Cynthia is dedicated to the field of environmental science; in
the classroom, the laboratory, and in the community. Her energy and
incisive mind have made her a joy to teach.
Professor Joy Cooke Andrews
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Environmental Science Chemistry Option Advisor
Danijela Smiljanic
Department of Chemistry
Wheeling Jesuit University
Citation:
Danijela's research involved a thorough investigation of the chemical
properties of high and low octane gasolines using gas
chromatography/mass spectrometry. She found that different brands had
different composition of certain compounds within the gasoline boiling
point range.
Dr. Mary Railing
Assistant Professor, Department Chair
