VT EPSCoR Streams Project NSF EPSCoR
VT EPSCoR :: UVM
 
2011-2012 Undergraduate Students

 
Ruth Addante
University of Vermont
My name is Ruth Addante and I will be entering my senior year at the University of Vermont. I am majoring in Environmental Sciences with a focus on Water Resources. I will be doing research during the 2011-2012 academic year and working in the water quality lab. My research project will compare the effect of riparian buffers with differing vegetative compositions on the water quality of nearby streams. During my free time I enjoy running, biking, hiking, rowing, crocheting, knitting, baking, reading, writing, and relaxing outdoors.

 
 
 
 
Sam Beguin
Middlebury College
My name is Sam and I am a Conservation Biology major at Middlebury College, where I will be a junior next academic year. This summer, I am conducting a sedimentation experiment to examine the potential impacts of fine sediment deposition on macroinvertebrate abundance and richness in both forested and urban streams. After college I intend to do graduate work in conservation biology, environmental science, or ecosystem management. Besides science, I like to run, play the clarinet, and travel. I will be studying abroad this fall in Poitiers, France.

 
 
 
 
Helen Birk
University of Vermont
My name is Helen Birk and I am a Senior at UVM studying Environmental Science in the Rubenstein School. I am interested in applying my Environmental Science degree to pursue my passions of Conservation Biology and Sustainability Education. This year, for the STREAMS Project I am helping conduct research on total phosphorous and identifying source species of E. Coli in the Lamoille River Basin. I will then be helping to identify if different types of landuse such as agricultural, commercial, urban, and forested contribute to different types of E. Coli in the river basin.

 
 
 
 
Evelyn Boardman
University of Vermont
I am a rising junior Environmental Science major in the Rubenstein School at UVM. As a high school participant in the Streams Project I first realized my interest in aquatic ecology. Last summer I conducted research on tropical streams at the El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico before transitioning into a school year internship in the water quality lab. I had the opportunity to travel with other Streams participants to the February 2011 ASLO meeting in Puerto Rico to present my summer research as well. This summer I am excited to continue my involvement with Streams and learn new skills as a member of the macroinvertebrate team at St. Michael's!

 
 
 
 
Anne Burnham
Saint Michael's College
My name is Anne and I am a junior at Saint Michael's College, where I am a Biology and Environmental Studies double major. I love the outdoors and anything to do with it! This is my first year with streams, and this summer I will be conducting a trophic cascade experiment to investigate the effects of Lemna minor (duckweed!) on the macroinvertebrate communities in ponds. Outside of Streams, I enjoy running, hiking, skiing, traveling and reading. After I graduate, I hope travel and earn my masters degree in either Environmental Management or Conservation Biology.


Alexandra Colon Muller
Universidad Metropolitana
My name is Alexandra Colon Muller, I'm in my third year of college at Universidad Metropolitana at San Juan, P.R. My major is in Cellular and Molecular Biology. This is my first internship in Vermont EPSCoR Streams Project. This summer I will be working in the Water Quality Lab investigating the relationship between total phosphorus and urban land use. The expected outcome is a model to predict TP based on urban land use in streams with similar environmental background and land use.

 
 
 
 
Amanda Costa
Saint Michael's College
My name is Amanda, and I am a rising Junior at Saint Michael's College. I am a Biology major but I also have a great interest in Chemistry. I hope to eventually become a pharmacist. This summer, I am working in the Water Quality Lab and conducting my independent research on three streams that lead into Shelburne Bay. I will be comparing the E.coli, total suspended solids, and total Phosphorus levels from each stream and determining which stream is carrying the most of these constituents to Shelburne Bay.

 
 
 
 
Colin Delaney
Saint Michael's College
My name is Colin Delaney. I am a junior Environmental Engineering student at Saint Michael's College. I'm working as a bioinformatics intern for the Vermont Genetic network. Towards the end of the summer, our focus will be helping with a project through the New England Cyberinfrastructure Consortium, analyzing cyanobacteria blooms in lakes and ponds in New England. I'm an athlete in many disciplines (primarily nordic skiing, biking, and triathlons), but I also enjoy more leisurely outdoor activities. I also enjoy listening to music, as well as playing guitar for masses at Saint Michael's. I'm really excited to get exposure to bioinformatics this summer, as it's a field I may have otherwise not been able to delve in to through the typical Environmental Engineering tract.

 
 
 
 
Dayanara Lebron Aldea
Universidad Metropolitana
My name is Dayanara Lebron Aldea and I'm studying Bio-Mathematics at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is my first summer research internship will help me to expand my knowledge, improve my English and develop as a good researcher. I'm in the Macroinvertebrate Lab with Declan McCabe as mentor and my research will be focused in how the effects of sedimentation and canopy cover affects the macroinvertebrate community productivity in urban and forested streams by measuring dissolved oxygen. My goals are to enter a Medicine School to pursue my goal of being a dermatologist or Forensic Pathologist. I love Mathematics, singing and traveling.

 
 
 
 
Jacob Menken
University of Vermont
My name is Jacob Menken and I am a senior B.S. Environmental Science concentration Environmental Resources and B.A. Geology double major in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Vermont as well as a self-taught Benthic Ecologist. This summer I am living and working in the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. The research I am conducting is located at the El Verde Research Station under the guidance of the Scientific Direction J. Alonso Ramirez. My work focuses on the effect of low pH water on the growth rate and mortality of aquatic macro-invertebrates, specifically the Mayfly species Leptophlebiidae. The implications of this research have the potential to be far reaching in both tropical and temperate climates when considering the increased acidity of many hydrologic systems. While I am not the typical stream ecologist, I am extremely excited to contribute my work to both the Streams Project and the scientific community at large.

 
 
 
 
Chelsea Mitchell
University of Vermont
Bio coming soon!

 
 
 
 
Susan Molzon
Saint Michael's College
My name is Susan Molzon and I am a senior at St. Michael's College. I am pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. This fall I will be conducting research in the macroinvertebrates lab. I also enjoy backpacking and most any outdoor activity. I am looking forward to gaining experience in the laboratory setting and incorporating my studies with the STREAMS Project.

 
 
 
 
Abbie Murphy
Johnson State College
My name is Abbie Murphy, I am a sophomore and Johnson State College and I am studying biology there. With this research opportunity I plan on looking at the initial site and habitat descriptions and seeing if those help predict the amount and source of E.coli in the tributaries in the lamoille valley.

 
 
 
 
Ismael Orengo Sanchez
Universidad Metropolitana
I am Ismael Orengo Sanchez a senior at Universidad Metropolitana in Puerto Rico. My Biology major is my passion, make questions is my duty and find answers is my job. Came to Streams Project at Vermont was a good decision because I have been exposed to a new environment of knowledge and wonderful people. I would like to become a good professor in general biology and this internship is a great opportunity to try out another branch of science. In my research in trying to find how channelization affect the macroinvertebrate colony. With the results of this investigation, I hope to show people how humans affect the environment. Design anime figures, paint and read short books are some of my hobbies.

 
 
 
 
Greisha Ortiz Hernandez
Universidad Metropolitana
My name is Greisha and I study Biology with a Chemistry minor in the Universidad Metropolitana at puerto Rico. Next August I will be starting my junior year. This is my first time doing a summer internship and I very excited to do my first research here in the Streams Project. I would be working with the willows in the Potash Brook stream looking for his levels of phosphorus absorbtion, avoiding that large quantities of phosphorus can reach the stream. Actually I am a math tutor and I love to dive. My future plans are represent my country and myself in differents science conferences and continue my studies in odontology, and this is a good opportunity to expand my knowlegde in Biology.

 
 
 
 
Gabriel Perez-Byer
Universidad Metropolitana
My name is Gabriel Perez Byer, and I am a going to be a junior at Universidad Metropolitana in Puerto Rico, where I am majoring in Environmental Science. This is my first year as an intern in the Streams Project. In my investigation I will be using Microbial Source Tracking to identify sources of E. coli from 19 sites within the Lamoille River Basin. I will also be working to enlarge the ribotyping library to help identify the E. coli that we find. My graduate academic goals are to earn a masters and a Ph.D in Environmental Health. In my free time I like to watch movies, hike, read, scuba dive, and chill out.

 
 
 
 
Mariana Quinones
University of Puerto Rico
Hi! My name is Mariana Quinones. I am a junior at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus majoring in Environmental Sciences. This summer I'm working in the Water Quality lab and also conducting my own research comparing the concentrations of TSS and sources of Fecal Coliforms in streams surrounded by forested and agricultural land uses. After completing my bachelors degree I hope to earn a masters focused in natural resources and work with the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws in my Country. I enjoy almost everything that has to do with outdoors, water, and nature.

 
 
 
 
Karoline Rios-Rodriguez
Universidad Metropolitana
Hello everyone! My name is Karoline Rios-Rodriguez and I am a Cell and Molecular Biology at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm going to my senior year in August at my college and expect graduate in May 2012. This is my fourth time working with Streams Project. I'm very glad to be going back to Burlington, Vermont and have the opportunity to applied all the concepts and techniques learning during my Science Courses. During the summer, I will be studying the effects of E. coli and Total Suspend Solids (TSS) in different land uses (Forested and Urban sites) using data collected in 2009 and take my own samples for see the impact of the different land uses. My future plans are pursuing graduate studies related with Microbiology, Pathology or Molecular Biology and represent my country (Puerto Rico) in all the Scientific Conferences celebrated around the world.

 
 
 
 
Juan Pablo Rivera Rodriguez
Universidad Metropolitana
Hi, my name is Juan Pablo Rivera Rodriguez and I am realizing a bachelor in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry. In the next year I will be starting my junior year in Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan PR. This is my first internship and my first research like as scientist. This opportunity in Streams Project is awesome for me because I am expanding my science knowledge in Biology. I am working on the Water Quality Lab and I am realizing my research in Cooperas stream located nearly to Ely Mine. My objective in this research is trying to understrand how the population of E. coli can be affected before and after by the impact of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). My future plans are to continue growing as a scientist, make good researches and be accepted into a medicine college. My hobbies are doing sports, specially basketball and diving. I thank God for this opportunity.

 
 
 
 
Mariana Rivera-Figueroa
University of Puerto Rico
Hi, my name is Mariana Rivera Figueroa and I am a senior student at University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. My major is in Physical Geography and I am interested in pursuing a Master's Degree in Earth Sciences. This summer of 2011, I am doing research and working for the Streams Project's Water Quality Lab. My research is about the relationship between riparian vegetation and the geomorphology of the stream channel. This study is also going to evaluate how land use in the catchment area affects the channel geomorphology. I enjoy the outdoors and water sports.

 
 
 
 
Janel Roberge
Saint Michael's College
Bio coming soon!

 
 
 
 
Laura Salazar
Universidad Metropolitana
My name is Laura Salazar Guarin. I am a senior cell and molecular biology student at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I will be working in the Ribotyping lab measuring how the diet of the E.coli affects their growth and tracking the E.coli species on different streams. Beyond academics I'm an outdoor person, I enjoy hiking and diving. After completing my bachelor, my major goal is to get into medical school, and become a neuro surgeon.

 
 
 
 
Steve Strella
University of Vermont
I study Natural Resource ecology within the Rubenstein School (of the Environment and Natural Resources) at the University of Vermont. Personally, fishing has always been my major outlet. The thought of fish swimming around and the complex food webs that support them is probably what gets me out of bed most mornings. Whether I find myself within academic or industrial fields, I would like to contribute to the development of economies that strengthen ecosystem complexity rather that deteriorate it. I am currently spending my summer studying at the El Verde Field station within El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico. My project is exploring the influences of hurricane disturbances on the metabolic processes and food webs of headwater streams. Working in the Caribbean has allowed me to expand my perspective within ecology and has been a great opportunity to work with some excellent researchers.

 
 
 
 
Ian Sullivan
Saint Michael's College
My name is Ian Sullivan. I am a senior at St. Michael's College majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. I plan on continuing on to graduate school to study biochemistry. My project will focus on analyzing GIS data to look for correlations between land use patterns and the structure of macroinvertebrate populations in surrounding streams. Outside of academics I am a writing coach, treasurer of the Science Club, and enjoy running, biking, traveling, listening to music, and animals.

 
 
 
 

 

                                                                               Website questions? Contact: Steven.Exler@uvm.edu
 
Funding for this Web Site provided by NSF EPS Grant #0701410        © 2011 Vermont EPSCoR – Burlington, Vermont 05405