Trinity College Environmental Science Program

Vol. 1, Issue #1, Fall 2011

*Name our newsletter! Suggestions for our newsletter’s real name will be accepted through the Academic year 2011-2012. Winner will receive a new ENVS t-shirt!

EXTENSION OF YOUR ARM — Notes from the lab

I’m pleased to report some exciting

new projects that are in their devel-

opment stages, including a collabo-

ration with the Engineering Depart-

ment at Batterson pond to monitor

nutrient pollution. The engineers

are working on a remote sensor

that could monitor nitrate levels in

the pond and the ENVS program has

been looking to expand their sam-

pling capabilities in larger bodies of

water.

On a different front I have teamed

up with students and faculty in

Computer Science to develop new

apps for the Android phone

platform that can be used in the

field. At the moment we have

worked on a tree height calculator

and a strike and dip mapping tool.

We used the tree height calculator

this past spring in the ENVS 149 lab

that tracks the size of trees on the

LSC quad. — JG

ENVS HIRES NEW POST-DOC

A generous endowment from the family of Trinity

alum Thomas McKenna Meredith (‘48), has allowed

the ENVS program to hire a 2-year post-doctoral fel-

low in Environmental Chemistry. Our current Fellow,

Sarah Cullison Gray, earned her PhD in Environmen-

tal/Analytical Chemistry from The University of Mon-

tana for her work on pH cycling in coral reefs.

Sarah will teach ENVS 110: The Earth’s Climate, in the

Fall of 2011, CHEM230L: Environmental Chemistry, in

the Spring of 2012 and 2013, as well as an elective

course in the Fall of 2012. She will also conduct re-

search, along with

Trinity students, on

inorganic carbon cy-

cling in CT rivers.

Be on the lookout for

the exact date of

Sarah’s seminar this

fall entitled:

“Are Our Oceans

Acidic? Developing

New Instruments to

Find Out!” — SCG

Congratulations to 2011 ENVS graduates!

Class of 2011 Honors in Envi-ronmental Science:

Emily Quinton (ENVS Presidential Fellow) Thesis title: “Magnetic Analysis of Soils From the Wind River Range, Wyoming” Advisor: Prof. Geiss

Rachel Lynch

Thesis title: “Toxicity of Diuretic Pharmaceuticals on Daphnia magna” Advisor: Prof. Draper

Pooja Shakya

Thesis title: Synergism and Antago-nism in Toxicity of Mixtures of Pharmaceuticals to Daphnia magna” Advisor: Prof Draper

Class of 2011 ENVS Majors

Victoria Done Conor Garvie Tomas Kavanaugh Nellie Laskow Alex Lerma, III Giuliani Lopez Theresa Meehan Katie Sausen

Emily sampling soils in the Wind River Range

OK, we cheated: this is Andrew measuring dbh in Washington,

many years ago

Recently graduated ENVS minors Nathan Sell (‘10) Payden Sra (‘11)

Vicki and Giuliani, Methods in ENVS, Fall 2009

This field trip was a bit different from previous trips: we took a group of alumni and

students plus President Jones to Iceland for a week of geology and awesome hiking.

Our group left Boston on June 20th and arrived the next morning in Reykjavik where

we spent a day exploring the town. After the classic Golden Circle tour (Gullfoss,

Geysir, Þingvellir) we started on our six-day hike along the classic Laugarvegur. Com-

pared to our hike three years ago, we had it easy this time around: an outfitter carried

all our luggage and provided all our meals. We began at Skógafoss and hiked up to

Baldvinskáli, where we enjoyed an awesome cod dinner before we went on to the new

Fímmvörðuháls hut which sits on top of a dramatic ridge. The next day we crossed the

still steaming lava of last year’s Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption and climbed the newly

formed craters Móði and Magni (named after the sons of Thor) before crossing the

“knife-edge” of Katie Sausen fame. At Þórsmörk we enjoyed grilled lamb chops (no

sleeping bag rice this time around!). The hike along the Markarfljót to was relatively

uneventful. It is amazing how much easier things go without a gigantic pack. The next

day, a few hours across the windswept plains, past volcanic peaks that were mostly

shrouded in mist brought us to the huts at Álftavatn, where, thanks to President

Jones , we had the run of the old hut and enjoyed dinner. The hut at Hrafntinnusker

was inaccessible for vehicles and, more important, for our chef. Therefore we skipped

the Hauskerdingur assault climb and hiked straight from Álftavatn across the snow-

fields to Landmannalaugar. That part of the hike was rough as we were blasted by

impressive winds. We warmed up at Hrafntinnusker before we pressed on towards

Landmannalaugar, which we reached a few hours later. We lucked out: the Mountain

Mall (two old busses that had been converted into a shop and cafe) had opened just

the previous day and was open for business. The hot springs were a bit on the cold

side (too much snowmelt) but that didn’t keep us from getting a decent soak. For im-

ages go to: http://www.trincoll.edu/~cgeiss/FT_2011/ -default.htm.— CEG

ENVS in the field

2011 Emily Quinton is co-author, with Prof. Geiss, on the publication “Magnetic analyses of soils from the Wind River Range, Wyo-ming, constrain rates and pathways of magnetic enhancement for soils from semiarid climates” that was recently accepted by the journal G3. She recently started a teaching internship at the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY. Along with teaching biology and chemistry she is assistant varsity soccer coach and assistant JV basketball coach, and is working as a dorm affiliate.

Rachel Lynch is working for Teach for America in Mississippi.

Giuliani Lopez is keeping up his great service record at Trinity; during the upcoming year he will be working as a Graduate As-sistant for the Office of Community Service and Civic Engage-ment, and in Fall 2011 will begin his Master's Degree in Trinity's Public Policy program. He also currently serves as advisor to a variety of students-run organizations including Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity, and F.A.C.E.S. (Friends Active in Civic En-gagement & Service).

2010 Jon Quinn recently moved to Redlands, CA, where he will be working as a Desktop Technical Support Analyst for ArcMap, with ESRI. He will be providing support for end-users using inci-dent tracking, knowledge bases, and other support services. He is also going to look into either part time school for a Masters degree in GIS or possibly take two years to go to a dual masters degree program at George Mason University that he was ac-cepted into but declined because of his job.

Liz Cianciola is in Boston, working for The Cadmus Group, Inc., a non-profit group that helps government, non-profit, and corpo-rate clients address critical challenges in the environmental and energy sectors. A document focused on Healthy Watersheds that she has been working on can be found here http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/watershed/index.cfm.

Isabel Iwachiw writes that she is currently working in Sandy Hook, CT, for Arcadis, an environmental consulting company. She is in the field many days of the week taking soil and ground-water samples for their Phase I, II, and III investigations. She also just finished a trip to the Presidential range and Mount Katahdin in Maine. She, Colby Tucker (‘09), and Maggie Thomas (‘10) all had an excellent time on the recent Iceland Field Trip!

2009 Since graduation Isabel Gottlieb has worked on wildlife projects in Montana, Costa Rica, and Florida, and is now living in Fort Collins, CO working for the Larimer County Youth Conservation Corps. She is also playing rugby, volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, taking art classes, climbing moun-tains, riding bicycles, enjoying Colorado's many microbreweries,

and preparing to apply for graduate school in the field of Con-servation Biology.

Colby Tucker is currently teaching chemistry and environmental science at the Pomfret School, a private boarding school in Pom-fret, CT. Over the summer he participated in the Trinity College field trip to Iceland. He also traveled to Cambodia to learn about Khmer history and sustainable development.

2008 Michelle Smith is carrying on the Bantam Legacy having been recently hired as the head Women’s Lacrosse coach at Babson College.

Courtney Hugo finished a Masters of Energy and Environmental Policy at Univ. of Delaware in 2010 and is currently living in Bel Air, MD and working at an engineering firm called KCI Technolo-gies. She works with their stream restoration design and moni-toring group and just earned her nutrient management license, which means she can assess fertilizer practices of large farms in the area.

2007 Anthony Michetti writes that he is about to enter his second year at Antioch Univ. New England in Keene, NH where he is getting his Master of Science in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Development and Climate Change. He currently lives in Boston, MA and just finished an internship with the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Greater Boston where he was helping them with their Sustaina-ble Business Leader Program (SBLP). This initiative works with small to mid-sized local, independently owned businesses through a certification process that helps them become more green and sustainable in their everyday practices. After gradu-ating from Trinity, he worked for an environmental services and consulting firm, Triumvirate Environmental, Inc. (TEI), in Boston for 3 years before deciding to go back to school.

Kyle Pias is a graduate student in the Dept. of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the Univ. of Florida working on conserva-tion and management of the Snail Kite, an endangered raptor.

Jacques Swanepoel is also carrying on the Bantam Legacy work-ing at Columbia University, where, in 2009, he was named the first-ever Head Coach of Squash for the Lions, before the men’s squash program began varsity competition in Fall 2010.

2006 Nikki LaBella is working as an environmental project manager at Spectra Energy.

Mosammat Fatema received an MPH at SUNY Albany an is now working for the NYC Health Department .

OK guys, it’s up to you all to make this section work. Thanks to everyone who sent verbage this time, but we hope to hear from more of you for future editions of the Nameless Newsletter. Feel free to send photos, stuff about what you are doing both professionally and personally, weblinks, etc. And if we have incorrectly printed something, let us know! — JLM

ENVS students go to China!

In June, Prof. Morrison participated for the third year, along

with Prof. Lestz (History) and Prof. Chen, Dean of the Center for

Urban and Global Studies, in the summer study abroad program

“Megacities of the Yangtze River—A Traveling Investigation of

the Transformation of China’s River Cities.” This exciting pro-

gram offers an interdisciplinary investigation into the historical,

social, and environmental transformation of the Yangtze River

and several of its megacities including Chongqing, Chengdu,

Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai. The first nine days of the pro-

gram are spent in Hartford, where students receive background

information on Chinese history, urbanization in China, and en-

vironmental issues associated with urbanization. Students also

conduct comparative investigations of the history of urbaniza-

tion in New England, particularly along the Connecticut River.

They even visit the CRRA Trash Museum and the MDC

Wastewater Treatment Plant. Everyone then travels to China

where they cruise the Yangtze River stopping in each of the

megacities, where students conduct field visits and investiga-

tions, listen to lectures by local professors and urban planners,

and interact with NGOs and government officials. Highlights of

the trip include visits to a high-tech wastewater treatment plant

in Chongqing and a site that uses traditional methods of ter-

raced ponds and plant communities to treat wastewater; also,

the Three Gorges Dam, testing water quality along the Yangtze

River, and tasting a variety of traditional Chinese foods. Stu-

dents receive 1 credit each for 3 courses: – SOCL 229

(Megacities of the Yangtze River, Challenges and Opportunities),

HIST 396 (River Cities of China: The History of Urban Culture

Along the Yangtze) , and ENVS 123 (Environmental Challenges

Posed by Urban Life Along the Yangtze). During the past 3

years the program has enrolled a total of 55 Trinity students

from a variety of personal, family, and academic backgrounds

and interests, and including both ENVS majors and minors.

Prof. Morrison will participate in this program again, in summer

2012, when we may expand our travels to the Mekong River,

within Cambodia and Viet Nam. — JLM

Students testing water quality along the Yangtze River in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, China, 2010

Students and Professors at the Three Gorges Dam, Yichang, Hubei Province, China, June 2010

2005 Our research suggests that Andrew Grosvenor is studying at Vermont Law School, and that Dan Scollan recently graduated with a Master of Science in Forestry from the University of Mis-souri.

Craig-Curtis Schneider (Square) recently graduated from the University of New Haven with a MSc in Environmental Science Ecology, where he studied erosion of coastal marshes in Long Island Sound. Square is now teaching science at Malden Catholic high school in Malden, MA.

2004 Megan Connolly is working as an Environmental Resources Spe-cialist for Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd, in Rosemont, IL

Last we heard from Jeff Abrams, he was in a MSc program in Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University, in CA.

Thanks and best wishes to Dr. Reza Ghanbarpour, ENVS Fellow!

Dr. Ghanbarpour came to Trinity in Spring 2010, on a Fellowship provided through International Institute of Education and Trinity's own Center for Urban and Global Studies. Dr. Ghanbarpour had received his Ph.D. in Watershed Management Science and Engi-neering from the University of Tehran and was an assistant pro-fessor and researcher in the Faculty of Natural Resources at the University of Mazandaran. While at Trinity, Reza was an ac-tive member of the ENVS program, teaching a well-received course in Watershed Hydrology and regularly attending McCook-out. Reza recently accepted a research position at the Univ. of Saskatchewan, Canada, and will be involved in a watershed mod-eling project. Best of luck to Reza and his family!

Student Organizations

Green Campus—an environmentally-focused group that focus-es on sustainability on the Trinity Campus. GC is involved in improving recycling at Trinity, increasing awareness and visibil-ity of environmental issues and collaborating with other stu-dent groups as well as Chartwells. Annual events and projects include purchasing wind energy for homecoming, parents', spring and commencement weekends; participating in various clean-ups in the Hartford area; annual fall plant sale; vigilante recycling; Earth Day activities, etc. TREEHouse—The Trinity Recreation and Environmental Educa-tion House (TREEHouse), at 125 Allen Place, is a student-run facility dedicated to increasing environmental awareness on campus through sustainability practice, outdoor recreation and

gardening. In February, 5 200-watt solar panels, were installed on the south side of the roof. This installation was part of re-cent efforts to reduce the College’s carbon footprint. The 1 kW solar panel system will supply about one-quarter of the electricity needed to fuel the daily functions of The TREE-house. Outdoors Club— Their mission is to design and run exciting trips that encourage students to get off campus and enjoy the terrain New England has to offer. These trips are school-subsidized and either free or of minimal expense for students. All trips are open to the Trinity community. Aside from taking advantage of Connecticut's terrain, the Outdoors Club provides a unique opportunity to meet and talk with other students in refreshingly different settings. Our meeting place, the TREE-house, is shared with Green Campus and offers social events and a place to relax or study for students from these organiza-tions.

McCook-out Returns!

Every Thursday during Common Hour. 12:00—1:00, on the

McCook patio, rain or shine. Alums are always welcome! Join us

if you are in the area.

We are seeking an ENVS alum willing to manage the ENVS Facebook page. Keep up to date with your friends and with

what is happening in the program! Interested? Contact Prof. Gourley jonathan.gourley@trincoll.edu

Upcoming Fall Events

November 15—Common Hour: BIRD! sponsored by the Trinity Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies. Join Prof Joan Morrison, Ciaran Berry (English), and Patrick Comins (‘90, now Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon CT ) for discussion on the idea of “Bird.” Readings include Jonathan Franzen, “My Bird Problem,” New Yorker, 2005; Anne Matthews, “Wall Street Losses, Wall Street Gains,” Orion, 2001. Event is in the Washington Room and starts at noon.

Field Trip 2012—Utah!

We plan to explore the desert landscapes of Southern Utah. Besides revisiting some of our old favorites, Jon and Christoph are excited to explore some of the slot canyons in the Escalante wilderness. Trip dates are still un-der discussion but we are planning for mid May, either right be-fore or right after grad-uation. Watch this space in the Spring Newsletter for further information about the Field Trip.