Water Quality Lab Interns
 

Harold Manrique Hernandez University of Puerto Rico

My name is Harold Manrique Hernandez, I am a senior in the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. My major is in Biology, with a concentration in Coastal Marine Biology. This summer I'm going to be working in the water quality lab looking for the effects of crossroads on a stream's water quality. For this, we will measure three parameters: phosphorous, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and total Coli form. The experiment is called before and After Control Impact, because we will be measuring this parameters upstream and downstream the crossroad to determine the effect on the stream. I'm planning to go to grad school in the environmental science department and specialize in limnology. For the future I would like to put on test all my knowledge gained during my studies because, as we know, the river always ends up in the sea.

Calines Guerrero Diaz Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Calines Guerrero Diaz and I just finished my senior year at Universidad Metropolitana in Biology major. This summer I will be working in the water quality lab, and for my research I'll be looking for the impact that the roads have in the streams. This is my first time working on streams and in Vermont, so I am very excited. My hobbies are going to the movies, kayaking with friends, going to the beach and spending time with my family.

Maggie Ecker Saint Michael's College

My name is Maggie Ecker and I am currently a senior at St. Michael's College. I am a biology major with a pre-med concentration. My research this summer focused on rain gardens built in the Burlington area and how effective these gardens are at reducing the phosphorus level in storm water runoff. When I am not working in the water quality lab and studying biology I enjoy singing and performing in musicals. I am thrilled to be able to continue to work in the Streams water quality lab as a lab technician.

Evelyn Boardman University of Vermont

My name is Evelyn Boardman. I am a sophomore Environmental Science major in the Rubenstein School at UVM, runner, gardener, and insatiable reader. I am conducting research on tropical streams at the El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico this summer before transitioning into a school year internship in the water quality lab. I participated on one of the high school teams in 12th grade, realized my interest in stream ecology as a result, and am excited for the opportunity to continue pursuing that interest via the Streams Project!

Maya Thomas University of Vermont

I am a senior in the Rubenstein School with an Environmental Science major, a concentration in Environmental Resources, and a minor in Geospatial Technologies. My interests lie primarily in the fields of soil science, water quality, and spatial analysis. My research with the EPSCoR Streams Project looks at the effect of road metrics on streams water quality data. I intend on starting my career following graduation, utilizing my familiarity and skills with spatial analysis and remote sensing. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and Vermont has been a pleasant place to obtain my degree.

GIS Lab Interns
 

Edgardo Martinez University of Puerto Rico

Bio Coming Soon!

Perla Martinez Rosario Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Perla M. Martinez Rosario, I am a Cell and Molecular Biology major at Universidad Metropolitana at San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is my first summer internship working with the Vermont EPSCoR Streams Project. I am sure this will help me to expand my knowledge. This summer I will be working observing the quantity of landscape in agriculture and urban area together for see the effects on E. coli in this land using GIS and existing data on Vermont's water bodies. My future goals are pursuing master studies in Pathology or Microbiology, branches related in the Cell and Molecular Biology. My hobbies are: going to the beach, listening to music, yoga, the outdoors, and sharing with my family and friends.

Nelybeth Santiago Yance Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Nelybeth Santiago Yance, I am a senior Cell and Molecular Biology major at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This summer I will be working in the Vermont EPSCoR Streams Project with the GIS program, and different samples of E.coli, TSS and phosphorus. My future plans are to continue medical school so I continue my studies in medicine. I know that this experience at the EPSCoR Streams Project will bring me more understanding of my area of study and in other areas too, with this skills I will be able to continue with my goals with better knowledge.

Eamon Harrity University of Vermont

I am a senior at the University of Vermont pursuing a degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Ecological Design. Beyond academics I am an outdoor enthusiast, enjoy playing soccer, and love skiing. Throughout this academic year I will be investigating the impacts of beaver activity on the E. coli levels in Duck Brook of Bolton, Vermont. My analyses will be enhanced by the use GIS technologies.

Macroinvertebrate Lab Interns
 

Ramon Pena Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Ramon Pena. I'm going to enter my fifth year as a Biology Major at the Universidad Metropolitana in Puerto Rico. My plans are to study Medicine and be an Oncologist/Hematologist Pediatric. This summer, I'll be working how the PH in the streams affects the Biodiversity in Macro invertebrates. In my free time I enjoy to go to the beach, play basketball, volleyball, go to the movies and be with my friends and family.

Tyler Gillingham Saint Michael's College

I will be a Senior at Saint Michael's College in the Fall. I plan on taking a year or two off after graduation and possibly volunteer in the Peace Corps. Afterwards, I hope to attend Medical School or recieve my masters in Public Health. I recently studied abroad in Costa Rica and hope to return and spend part of my future. I am a member of the Cross Country team at school and volunteer at Fletcher Allen as well. I also like to hike, listen to music, and do yoga. With the Streams Project I will be working with the Macroinvertebrate team and looking at water velocities and its correlation with species richness. This is also my second year working with the Streams Project.

Bridget Levine Saint Michael's College

My name is Bridget, and I am a junior at Saint Michael's College with a major in Biology and a minor in English. This is my second year working with the Streams Project. I am an instructor with the Saint Michael's Wilderness Program, and I love to hike, snowboard and cross-country ski. I plan on going to graduate school with a focus in conservation biology. For my research project, I will be comparing macroinvertebrate density and richness in pools and riffles of forested and urban streams.

Janel Roberge Saint Michael's College

My name is Janel and I'm a rising junior at Saint Michael's College. I'm a biology major with environmental and religious studies minors. I'm very interested in helping people and I love bugs! This summer I'll be looking at the relationship between the amounts of phosphorus and the overall diversity of macroinvertebrates in some local streams. My long term goals include helping as many people (and as many other little critters!) as I can, and to achieve this, I plan to attend graduate school to get my masters in Public Health.

Natalia Santiago Merced Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Natalia Santiago Merced, and I will be starting my sophomore year at the Universidad Metropolitana this fall as a Biomathematics major. This summer I will be working in Macroinvertebrates laboratory with Macroinvertebrates Diversity in Channelized and Sinuous Urban Streams. My future plans are finishing my BS Degree and continue to make a MS Degree in Forensic Investigator.

Yeseira Lazzu Lopez Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Yeseira Lazzu Lopez. I am a senior Cellular and molecular biology major at Universidad Metropolitana in Puerto Rico. This summer I am working in the EPSCoR Program in the macroinvertebrates laboratory and my research consist of a comparison between the macroinvertebrates of wetlands and ponds. My future plans are to continue my studies in the medicine school and this is a good opportunity to expand my knowledge in other areas of biology.

Erin Hayes-Pontius University of Vermont

My name is Erin Hayes-Pontius, and I'm a senior at UVM. I'd have roughly four majors if I had the time. Sadly, I do not, so I've settled on a Zoology major with a minor in statistics. My non-science-related obsessions include sewing, tea, and dancing on the University of Vermont's ballroom dance team. Since I'm most interested in entomology, I'll be spending the summer at the Streams Project's macroinvertebrate lab at Saint Michael's College examining differences in diversity among urban-impaired, agriculturally-impaired, and forested streams.

Scott Ritter University of Vermont

My name is Scott Ritter and I am a senior Environmental Science major and Forestry minor at the University of Vermont. I am particularly interested in forest ecology and am considering graduate school in the next year or two. This is my first year working with the Streams Project in the macroinvertebrate lab at St. Michael's and my project is comparing the biodiversity and composition of the macroinvertebrate samples that are collected by the project's high school volunteers and those collected by the undergraduate Streams interns. My other interests include hiking, skiing, playing ultimate frisbee, and generally anything that gets me into the outdoors.

Bacteria Ribotyping Lab Interns
 

Saul Blocher Johnson State College

I am Saul Blocher from Dummerston, VT. I am entering my senior year at Johnson State College where I am majoring as a field naturalist with a minor in chemistry. I am looking forward to spending my summer with the Johnson team doing microbial source tracking of E.coli and monitoring phosphorus levels in the Lamoille River watershed. I plan to use GIS data to analyze our results and try to understand how they fit into the larger landscape. Since I am an avid outdoorsman, any free time that I have will probably be spent outside, or restoring and using my grandfathers folding kayak.

Ryan Joy Johnson State College

I am a junior biology major at Johnson State College. The chance to be involved in a project that could make a difference is very exciting. The Johnson group (Team II) will be investigating water quality, total phosphorous, and E. Coli source species. Collaboration between academic institutes is becoming a powerful network and has great potential. Meeting such a diverse group of professors and students at training was a unique opportunity, and one day I hope to work side by side with each of them.

Benjamin Massey Johnson State College

My name is Ben Massey, I am a senior at Johnson State College studying Integrated Environmental Science. This summer I plan to use my research with the VT EPSCoR Streams Project to assess how river discharge influences nutrient concentrations. I will be furthering my studies this fall, when I will be conducting a Senior Thesis experiment similar to the EPSCoR Streams Project.

Danielle Mendes Johnson State College

My name is Danielle Mendes and I am a senior at Johnson State College. I hope to finish this December with a degree in Field Biology. I plan to get my veterinary technician degree, and open an animal shelter. I am very interested in stream ecology and am looking forward to working with the Johnson team this summer.

Soil Science Lab Interns
 

Karoline Rios Rodriguez Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Karoline Rios Rodriguez and I am a Cell and Molecular Biology at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is my third time that working with Vermont Epscor Streams Project. I'm very glad to be going back to Burlington, Vermont for acquire and learning new techniques related with my major. I will be studying the Total Phosphorus in the soils of the different streams, the chemicals that we can found in the soils and how these impact the streams in the areas to study. My future plans are continue graduate studies related with my major (Microbiology, Pathology and Virology) and the same time have the opportunity of represent my country in different meetings that celebrate each year around the world.

Dorielys Valentin Ortiz Universidad Metropolitana

My name is Dorielys M. Valentin Ortiz. I am a Cellular and Molecular Biology student at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After finishing my Bachelor Degree my goal is to continue to Medical School. I love reading, writing, Kung Fu, camping, running and singing. I am a volunteer at Reto Deportivo (sports for children with different disorders) and also I'm a student research mentor for high school students at the AGMUS Saturday Academy. I've always liked things that are out of the ordinary so I decided to be scientist, and my passion is Biology. This attracted me to work on the EPSCoR Streams Project at UVM. In the project I will be working on the variations of phosphorus and other nutrients in stream banks, and comparing the total phosphorus in soils with the total phosphorus in the stream.

Watershed Project Participants
 

Kayla Iuliano University of Delaware

I'm interested in the impacts that people have on water resources, and that water resources have on people. I'm looking into Army ROTC and the Army Corps of Engineers; I hope to travel and see firsthand the issues affecting the world water supply, especially in developing countries. Meanwhile, for this summer, I'm heading up a project studying the relationship of macroinvertebrate diversity in streams to the surrounding land use in the floodplain.

Tyler Dougherty University of Delaware

My name is Tyler Dougherty. I will be a senior at the University of Delaware in the fall of 2010 majoring in civil engineering. I hope to use my degree to pursue a job in coastal engineering and live by the beach where it's warm. My research project involves water quality in Delaware's White Clay Creek Watershed and its relationship to surrounding land use. When I'm not working hard on my research project, I enjoy surfing, hockey, skiing, and watching the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers win games. I look forward to discovering what my research brings and saving the world, one stream at a time.

Audrey Yorke University of Delaware

My name is Audrey Yorke and I completed my B.S. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware with a concentration in water resources and water quality. This summer I will be working on watershed science and water quality sampling in the White Clay Creek National Wild and Scenic River watershed on the UD campus in Newark, Delaware. I will be compiling information for a GIS based watershed map atlas, collecting stream data to analyze climate change impacts, and assisting with studies to examine the feasibility of removing three low dams as part of the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic American shad restoration project. I am very excited and look forward to gaining valuable, in-the-field experience.

Greg McKee Wesley College

My name is Greg McKee and I am an Environmental Science major at Wesley College. This summer I will be a part of the Delaware Watershed Project which coincides with the Vermont Streams Project. I will mainly be focusing on the applications of GIS and Computer Modeling to analyze the effect of surrounding land use on water quality. I am also a baseball player for Wesley, and am looking forward to a great summer.

Melissa Savin Wesley College

My name is Melissa Savin, and I am a sophomore at Wesley College majoring in Environmental Science. This summer I will be spending a lot of time out in the field and working with GIS in the lab as part of the Delaware Watershed Project. In my free time I enjoy going to the beach, hanging out with friends, and just being outdoors.

Taylor Hendricks Wesley College

My name is Taylor Hendricks and I am a sophomore at Wesley College where I am majoring in Environmental Science. This summer I will be working in the field and in the GIS lab as part of the Delaware Watershed Project which coincides with the Vermont Streams Project. I also play softball for Wesley and a local travel team.

Aimee Welch University of Rhode Island

Bio Coming Soon!