UA SRP Trainees Win Awards at Earth Week 2015
April 7, 2015
Each year, the University of Arizona (UA) School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES) hosts Earth Week, a joint conference organized by graduate students in the six SEES departments. And each year, UA Superfund Research Program (SRP) trainees get involved – planning, participating, and winning awards! This year the event was held April 7-11, 2015, in Tucson, AZ, and provided an opportunity for students to share their research with peers, faculty, industry representatives, and the University of Arizona community.
The SWESx Day, hosted by the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science (SWES) Graduate Student Council, boasted 20 oral and 37 poster student presentations that were well-attended. This year, UA SRP undergraduate students ruled!
Catherine Gullo (UA SRP mentor: Raina Maier) won 1st place in the undergraduate oral competition with her presentation “The Effect of Mine Tailings of Phytostabilization in a Semi-Arid Environment on Abundance of Microbial Populations.”
Yadi Wang (UA SRP mentor: Jon Chorover) won 1st place for his undergraduate poster “Assessment of phytostabilization success in metalliferous acid mine tailings” and 2nd place for his undergraduate oral presentation “Investigating sulfide redox behavior to determine the acid generating potential in acid sulfate soil.”
Ariel Friel (UA SRP mentor: Raina Maier) won 3rd place for her undergraduate oral presentation “Exploring the Interplay of Microbial Diversity with Fluctuations in Plant Cover.”
Our graduate student representatives did well also:
Corin Hammond (UA SRP mentor: Jon Chorover) won 1st place for her graduate oral presentation: “Synchrotron-based Study on Use of Native Plants to Efficiently and Cost Effectively Stabilize Arsenic in Iron Sulfide Mine Tailings.”
Kayla Virgone (UA SRP mentor: Mark Brusseau) won 3rd place for her graduate poster “Evaluating the impact of modern copper mining on ecosystem services in southern Arizona.”
Congratulations to our excellent trainees!