Environmental Internship Program - 2021 Booklet
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<strong>2021</strong> SUMMER OF LEARNING<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
<strong>Internship</strong> <strong>Program</strong><br />
1
<strong>2021</strong> Summer of Learning<br />
In summer <strong>2021</strong>, 127 Princeton students from 23 academic<br />
departments worked with University faculty, researchers<br />
from other scientific enterprises, government agencies, and<br />
not-for-profit organizations on projects focused on pressing<br />
environmental challenges.<br />
Students engaged in research, public outreach, policy<br />
analysis, communications and other practical assignments<br />
that contributed meaningfully to research and scholarship<br />
in the areas of biodiversity and conservation, alternative<br />
energy, climate change, environmental policy, urban<br />
resilience, water, and human health. Several students<br />
contributed to the development of new technologies, while<br />
others pursued service-based research with a focus on<br />
sustainability and environmental justice.<br />
This booklet provides an overview of student experiences<br />
during the <strong>2021</strong> environmental internship program. The<br />
diversity of students’ backgrounds, talents, interests and<br />
contributions is captured in the descriptions of their<br />
individual projects. For many, the internship will serve as<br />
the foundation for continuing research and academic study.<br />
2
We applaud the determination and dedication of the <strong>2021</strong><br />
interns. Several students were able to work in the field,<br />
abiding by changing public health protocols, while many<br />
students necessarily pursued their internships as remotely<br />
mentored assignments. They worked with remarkable<br />
independence while contributing meaningfully to research<br />
and scholarship.<br />
The HMEI <strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Internship</strong> <strong>Program</strong> provides a<br />
unique opportunity for students to complement their<br />
academic interests with hands-on work experiences and is<br />
designed to enrich students’ perspectives and prepare them<br />
as leaders. Interns also benefit from strong ties to the HMEI<br />
Grand Challenges <strong>Program</strong>, an integrated research and<br />
teaching program designed to address critical<br />
environmental issues for the 21st century. For more<br />
information, please contact us at envintern@princeton.edu.<br />
3
Index of Students<br />
(Alphabetical)<br />
Caroline Adkins ’22 82<br />
Anubhav Agarwal ’23 8<br />
Tiffany Agyarko ’23 83<br />
Bryan Alfaro ’24 99<br />
Juan Pablo Alvarado ’23 125<br />
Jack Anderson ’23 52<br />
Kaleb Areda ’24 84<br />
Darin Avila ’23 66<br />
Manali Badwe ’24 100<br />
Sonika Bagchi ’23 101<br />
Manyu Banerjee ’23 53<br />
Sreeta Basu ’24 9<br />
Malachi Benjamin ’23 116<br />
Hanne Borstlap ’22 10<br />
Jesse Brewer ’22 32<br />
Ben Buchovecky ’23 11<br />
Madeleine Burns ’24 73<br />
Hayden Burt ’22 12<br />
Justin Cai ’24 85<br />
Emilio Cano Renteria ’23 74<br />
Ashley Cao ’23 33<br />
Nicabec Casido ’23 54<br />
Darcy Chang ’23 34<br />
Luisa Chantler Edmond ’22 35<br />
Alina Chen ’24 13<br />
Calif Chen ’23 55<br />
Kevin Chen ’24 14<br />
Katharine<br />
Contreras-Godfried ’22 102<br />
Gavin Cotter ’23 103<br />
Samuel Cryan ’22 56<br />
Bridget Denzer ’23 104<br />
Francesca DiMare ’23 105<br />
Yaxin Duan ’23 106<br />
Keenan Duggal ’23 86<br />
Maddie Esposito ’23 15<br />
Ryan Eusebi ’22 16<br />
Joseph Feng ’22 75<br />
Xuefei Gao ’22 117<br />
Lilianna Gittoes ’24 87<br />
Sierra Gonzales ’22 57<br />
Julian Gottfried ’24 36<br />
Max Gotts ’24 37<br />
Noa Greenspan ’23 88<br />
Ananya Grover ’24 17<br />
Tejas Gupta ’24 89<br />
Bryant Hall ’22 107<br />
Yun Hallowell ’23 38<br />
Alex Heine ’24 39<br />
Joseph Himmelfarb ’24 40<br />
Annika Hsi ’23 41<br />
Kenny Huang ’23 76<br />
Sloan Huebner ’23 58<br />
Tanéyah Jolly ’24 59<br />
Eva Jordan ’24 42<br />
Michael Kim ’23 18<br />
Katie Kolodner ’24 60<br />
Nora Kreike-Martin ’24 118<br />
4
Anna Krokhine ’24 19<br />
Joshua Ku ’22 67<br />
Rachel Kulchar ’23 68<br />
Chirag Kumar ’23 69<br />
Kenzo Lacuarta ’22 61<br />
Madeleine Lausted ’24 20<br />
Megan Leinenbach ’23 43<br />
Amélie Lemay ’24 126<br />
Aaron Leung ’23 77<br />
Jonathan Lin ’24 62<br />
Zihan Lin ’23 108<br />
Grace Liu ’23 90<br />
Colton Loftus ’23 91<br />
Caleb Lunsford ’23 109<br />
Heather Madsen ’24 70<br />
Aneesha Manocha ’23 78<br />
Laura A. Marsh ’23 92<br />
Daniela Martinez ’24 127<br />
Anika Maskara ’23 79<br />
Andrew Matos ’23 119<br />
Aidan Matthews ’24 93<br />
Katie McLaughlin ’23 71<br />
Marissa Mejia ’23 44<br />
Sullivan Meyer ’24 80<br />
Joyce Mo ’24 45<br />
Rosy Monaghan ’24 110<br />
Natasha Montiel ’22 128<br />
Bradley Moorehead ’23 129<br />
Alex Moosbrugger ’24 21<br />
Jahir Morris ’24 46<br />
Emily Murray ’23 120<br />
Ryan Neapole ’23 130<br />
Cam My Nguyen ’23 121<br />
Tanvi Nibhanupudi ’23 63<br />
Rachel Pang ’23 22<br />
Srija Patcha ’23 72<br />
Matthew Pickering ’24 47<br />
Alec Pirone ’24 111<br />
Elijah Pomerantz ’22 23<br />
Carmina Rangel-Pacheco ’23 94<br />
Elena Remez ’23 95<br />
Sophia Richter ’23 48<br />
Isabel Rodrigues ’23 24<br />
Charlotte Root ’22 122<br />
Zachary Sahin ’23 49<br />
Harvin Sangha ’23 81<br />
Hugh Shields ’24 25<br />
Nathan Sima ’23 131<br />
Devdigvijay Singh ’24 112<br />
Adira Smirnov ’23 26<br />
Ethan Sontarp ’24 132<br />
Jessica Stikons ’23 27<br />
Nicole Svensson ’24 64<br />
Mina Takegami ’23 113<br />
Mayu Takeuchi ’23 65<br />
Ashley Teng ’23 96<br />
Ipsita Tingi ’23 114<br />
Sam Vasen ’23 50<br />
Evan Wang ’24 28<br />
Cathleen Weng ’24 123<br />
Morgan Wiese ’23 133<br />
Lois Wu ’23 124<br />
Karena Yan ’23 97<br />
Demetra Yancopoulos ’22 29<br />
Kevin Yeung ’23 115<br />
Jasmine Zhang ’24 30<br />
Kevin Zhang ’24 51<br />
Zoey Zhang ’23 98<br />
Yaakov Zinberg ’23 31<br />
5
Student Projects by Category<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
Anubhav Agarwal ’23 8<br />
Sreeta Basu ’24 9<br />
Hanne Borstlap ’22 10<br />
Ben Buchovecky ’23 11<br />
Hayden Burt ’22 12<br />
Alina Chen ’24 13<br />
Kevin Chen ’24 14<br />
Maddie Esposito ’23 15<br />
Ryan Eusebi ’22 16<br />
Ananya Grover ’24 17<br />
Michael Kim ’23 18<br />
Anna Krokhine ’24 19<br />
Madeleine Lausted ’24 20<br />
Alex Moosbrugger ’24 21<br />
Rachel Pang ’23 22<br />
Elijah Pomerantz ’22 23<br />
Isabel Rodrigues ’23 24<br />
Hugh Shields ’24 25<br />
Adira Smirnov ’23 26<br />
Jessica Stikons ’23 27<br />
Evan Wang ’24 28<br />
Demetra Yancopoulos ’22 29<br />
Jasmine Zhang ’24 30<br />
Yaakov Zinberg ’23 31<br />
CONSERVATION AND<br />
BIODIVERSITY<br />
Jesse Brewer ’22 32<br />
Ashley Cao ’23 33<br />
Darcy Chang ’23 34<br />
Luisa Chantler Edmond ’22 35<br />
Julian Gottfried ’24 36<br />
Max Gotts ’24 37<br />
Yun Hallowell ’23 38<br />
Alex Heine ’24 39<br />
Joseph Himmelfarb ’24 40<br />
Annika Hsi ’23 41<br />
Eva Jordan ’24 42<br />
Megan Leinenbach ’23 43<br />
Marissa Mejia ’23 44<br />
Joyce Mo ’24 45<br />
Jahir Morris ’24 46<br />
Matthew Pickering ’24 47<br />
Sophia Richter ’23 48<br />
Zachary Sahin ’23 49<br />
Sam Vasen ’23 50<br />
Kevin Zhang ’24 51<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY<br />
AND SOCIETY<br />
Jack Anderson ’23 52<br />
Manyu Banerjee ’23 53<br />
Nicabec Casido ’23 54<br />
Calif Chen ’23 55<br />
Samuel Cryan ’22 56<br />
Sierra Gonzales ’22 57<br />
Sloan Huebner ’23 58<br />
Tanéyah Jolly ’24 59<br />
Katie Kolodner ’24 60<br />
Kenzo Lacuarta ’22 61<br />
Jonathan Lin ’24 62<br />
Tanvi Nibhanupudi ’23 63<br />
Nicole Svensson ’24 64<br />
Mayu Takeuchi ’23 65<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
Darin Avila ’23 66<br />
Joshua Ku ’22 67<br />
Rachel Kulchar ’23 68<br />
Chirag Kumar ’23 69<br />
6
Heather Madsen ’24 70<br />
Katie McLaughlin ’23 71<br />
Srija Patcha ’23 72<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
Madeleine Burns ’24 73<br />
Emilio Cano Renteria ’23 74<br />
Joseph Feng ’22 75<br />
Kenny Huang ’23 76<br />
Aaron Leung ’23 77<br />
Aneesha Manocha ’23 78<br />
Anika Maskara ’23 79<br />
Sullivan Meyer ’24 80<br />
Harvin Sangha ’23 81<br />
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE<br />
Caroline Adkins ’22 82<br />
Tiffany Agyarko ’23 83<br />
Kaleb Areda ’24 84<br />
Justin Cai ’24 85<br />
Keenan Duggal ’23 86<br />
Lilianna Gittoes ’24 87<br />
Noa Greenspan ’23 88<br />
Tejas Gupta ’24 89<br />
Grace Liu ’23 90<br />
Colton Loftus ’23 91<br />
Laura A. Marsh ’23 92<br />
Aidan Matthews ’24 93<br />
Carmina Rangel-Pacheco ’23 94<br />
Elena Remez ’23 95<br />
Ashley Teng ’23 96<br />
Karena Yan ’23 97<br />
Zoey Zhang ’23 98<br />
TECHNOLOGY AND<br />
INNOVATION<br />
Bryan Alfaro ’24 99<br />
Manali Badwe ’24 100<br />
Sonika Bagchi ’23 101<br />
Katharine<br />
Contreras-Godfried ’22 102<br />
Gavin Cotter ’23 103<br />
Bridget Denzer ’23 104<br />
Francesca DiMare ’23 105<br />
Yaxin Duan ’23 106<br />
Bryant Hall ’22 107<br />
Zihan Lin ’23 108<br />
Caleb Lunsford ’23 109<br />
Rosy Monaghan ’24 110<br />
Alec Pirone ’24 111<br />
Devdigvijay Singh ’24 112<br />
Mina Takegami ’23 113<br />
Ipsita Tingi ’23 114<br />
Kevin Yeung ’23 115<br />
URBAN PLANNING<br />
AND SUSTAINABLE<br />
COMMUNITIES<br />
Malachi Benjamin ’23 116<br />
Xuefei Gao ’22 117<br />
Nora Kreike-Martin ’24 118<br />
Andrew Matos ’23 119<br />
Emily Murray ’23 120<br />
Cam My Nguyen ’23 121<br />
Charlotte Root ’22 122<br />
Cathleen Weng ’24 123<br />
Lois Wu ’23 124<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
Juan Pablo Alvarado ’23 125<br />
Amélie Lemay ’24 126<br />
Daniela Martinez ’24 127<br />
Natasha Montiel ’22 128<br />
Bradley Moorehead ’23 129<br />
Ryan Neapole ’23 130<br />
Nathan Sima ’23 131<br />
Ethan Sontarp ’24 132<br />
Morgan Wiese ’23 133<br />
7
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Application of New<br />
Machine Learning Tools for<br />
the Study of Ooids and<br />
Their Ancient Tropical<br />
Marine Environments<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Maloof Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Adam Maloof, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Bolton<br />
Howes, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Anubhav Agarwal ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificates: Statistics and Machine Learning,<br />
Applied and Computational Mathematics<br />
I worked with ooids, which are small sedimentary<br />
grains that form in shallow bodies of water.<br />
Ooids go through several size changes due to<br />
many factors such as currents or ocean chemical<br />
composition. My work focused on automating<br />
the analysis of 2D images of ancient giant ooids<br />
captured from the rock record. I worked on using<br />
a fully convolutional neural network to separate<br />
each individual ooid from the background in the<br />
image. Most of my summer was spent working<br />
to optimize the region proposal network and<br />
the inside/outside classifiers aspects of this<br />
network for the ooid problem. Throughout this<br />
process, I learned the advancements that have<br />
been made from the most basic convolutional<br />
networks, to the cutting-edge work that’s done<br />
in computer vision today. I also realized the<br />
increased difficulty in optimizing networks of<br />
this complexity. Overall, this internship was an<br />
amazing opportunity that cemented my desire to<br />
work with complex machine networks as I pursue<br />
independent research in the future.<br />
8
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Spray Generation by<br />
Bubbles Bursting<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Deike Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Luc Deike, Assistant<br />
Professor of Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Daniel Shaw,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering<br />
Sreeta Basu ’24<br />
MATHEMATICS<br />
I studied the formation of film drops on the<br />
ocean surface that are created by bursting<br />
sea-spray bubbles. Studying this process may<br />
help us understand how compounds and<br />
contaminants from the ocean are released into<br />
the atmosphere. My internship focused on<br />
studying how different ocean conditions affect<br />
the formation and physiochemical properties<br />
of film drops over a large range of bubble sizes.<br />
I used the programming language Python to<br />
extract data from high-speed videos of a single<br />
bubble bursting under lab-controlled conditions.<br />
During this process, I learned image processing<br />
techniques and how to plot data in Python. This<br />
experience was very rewarding and allowed me<br />
to apply my knowledge of computer science to<br />
research.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
9
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Characterizing the Diurnal<br />
Pattern of Gross<br />
Photosynthesis in Coral<br />
and Algae Species<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Bermuda Institute of<br />
Ocean Sciences (BIOS)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Yvonne Sawall, Assistant<br />
Scientist (BIOS)<br />
Hanne Borstlap ’22<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
During my 12-week remote internship with the<br />
Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), I<br />
studied the diurnal (daytime) photosynthesis<br />
and respiration patterns of certain algae and<br />
coral species. Daytime respiration has not<br />
been well described due to the difficulty of<br />
measuring respiration under natural light<br />
conditions, and instead has just been assumed<br />
to be similar to nighttime respiration. However,<br />
we hypothesized that this could be a gross<br />
underestimation of daytime respiration. A large<br />
experiment was conducted at BIOS from which<br />
data were collected for daytime respiration and<br />
photosynthesis. I analyzed these data using<br />
Python and R software, and we concluded that<br />
there is indeed a difference between daytime<br />
and nighttime respiration. This difference<br />
is important to correctly characterize gross<br />
photosynthesis, which is the sum of respiration<br />
and photosynthesis. Throughout this internship,<br />
I learned a lot about marine biology. Due to<br />
this internship being virtual, my work mainly<br />
consisted of data analysis, which significantly<br />
improved my coding skills. I look forward to<br />
using the skills and knowledge I gained in my<br />
senior thesis, as well as my future graduate<br />
research.<br />
10
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Potential Predictability of<br />
the Spring Bloom in the<br />
Southern Ocean Sea-Ice<br />
Zone<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sarmiento Group,<br />
<strong>Program</strong> in Atmospheric<br />
and Oceanic Sciences,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Jorge Sarmiento, George<br />
J. Magee Professor of<br />
Geoscience and<br />
Geological Engineering,<br />
Emeritus, Professor of<br />
Geosciences, Emeritus;<br />
Alex Haumann, Associate<br />
Research Scholar,<br />
Atmospheric and Oceanic<br />
Sciences; Graeme<br />
MacGilchrist,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Atmospheric<br />
and Oceanic Sciences;<br />
Mitchell Bushuk, Visiting<br />
Research Collaborator,<br />
Atmospheric and Oceanic<br />
Sciences<br />
Ben Buchovecky ’23<br />
GEOSCIENCES<br />
I studied the predictability of the spring<br />
phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean.<br />
Each spring, phytoplankton grow rapidly along<br />
the edge of retreating sea ice and provide a<br />
crucial food source for marine organisms that<br />
helps sustain the Southern Ocean ecosystem.<br />
Our goal was to determine if these blooms could<br />
be predicted using an Earth system model.<br />
Using data from model simulations, I analyzed<br />
12 key variables across six regions, with net<br />
primary production (NPP) as the main indicator<br />
for phytoplankton blooms. To quantify each<br />
variable’s predictability, I computed a unique<br />
metric using many slightly different model<br />
simulations to provide insight into the variable’s<br />
maximum possible predictability. I found that<br />
it is possible to make a skillful prediction of<br />
NPP approximately one year in advance for<br />
all Southern Ocean regions except the Ross<br />
Sea. Moreover, I proposed a mechanism for<br />
describing how sea-ice predictability propagates<br />
into biogeochemical predictability with a time<br />
lag. Through this internship, I gained valuable<br />
experience using the software Python for data<br />
analysis and I deepened my understanding of<br />
Earth system modeling and oceanography. This<br />
amazing opportunity reinforced my desire to<br />
pursue independent research in oceanography.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
11
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Interactions Between Soil<br />
Formation, Landscape<br />
Evolution and Hydrologic<br />
Cycle<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Porporato Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
The Watershed Institute,<br />
Pennington, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Amilcare Porporato,<br />
Thomas J. Wu ’94<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Professor of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute<br />
Hayden Burt ’22<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
My research was motivated by the questions<br />
surrounding how soil formation over geological<br />
timescales is based on environmental forcing.<br />
I worked at The Watershed Institute exploring<br />
the interactions between hydrology, topography<br />
and soil properties. My project consisted of<br />
analyzing hydrologic data for the Stony Brook-<br />
Millstone watershed; soil samples collected<br />
at The Watershed Institute; and 3D digital<br />
reconstructions of a field experiment conducted<br />
on site. I continued the work of 2020 HMEI intern<br />
Maria Fleury by updating her characterization<br />
of local ecohydrology with data from the<br />
past year, and I expanded on the correlation<br />
between streamflow discharge and groundwater<br />
levels. I also assisted in implementing the field<br />
experiment, for which we collected soil samples<br />
from three locations — a topographic ridge, a<br />
valley and an intermediate location — to map<br />
the distribution of clay and other soil properties.<br />
At the ridge and valley, we constructed a cubic<br />
hole and mound and monitored them by taking<br />
photographs to create 3D reconstructions using<br />
the structure from motion (SfM) technique. I<br />
learned about hydrology, soil chemistry and clay<br />
formation, and landscape evolution. I am excited<br />
to continue working with the Porporato Research<br />
Group during the <strong>2021</strong>-22 academic year.<br />
12
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Drivers of Opposing<br />
Seasonal Cycles of Mixed<br />
Layer Oxygen in the<br />
Southern Ocean Sea-Ice<br />
Zone<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sarmiento Group,<br />
<strong>Program</strong> in Atmospheric<br />
and Oceanic Sciences,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Jorge Sarmiento, George<br />
J. Magee Professor of<br />
Geoscience and<br />
Geological Engineering,<br />
Emeritus, Professor of<br />
Geosciences, Emeritus;<br />
Alexander Haumann,<br />
Associate Research<br />
Scholar, Atmospheric and<br />
Oceanic Sciences;<br />
Graeme MacGilchrist,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Atmospheric<br />
and Oceanic Sciences<br />
Alina Chen ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificate: Neuroscience<br />
I studied the factors driving spatial and temporal<br />
variations in primary production and ocean<br />
biogeochemistry in the high-latitude Southern<br />
Ocean. Phytoplankton growth supports vast<br />
marine ecosystems and plays a critical role in<br />
regulating the global ocean carbon cycle. Due<br />
to the harsh conditions around Antarctica,<br />
there have been sparse historical observations<br />
of the Southern Ocean and little is known about<br />
the processes that drive primary production. I<br />
analyzed data from cutting-edge robotic floats<br />
deployed in the past five to 10 years in the Ross<br />
Sea to understand regional biogeochemistry and<br />
its evolution as global warming progresses. Using<br />
the programming language Python to perform<br />
my analyses, I identified opposing oxygen<br />
seasonal cycles in the ocean’s mixed layer that<br />
vary spatially across the Ross Sea. I then created<br />
plots to dissect the drivers of this variability. I<br />
learned through this internship how to analyze<br />
and visualize data using computational software,<br />
and I became familiar with the literature on<br />
Southern Ocean water masses, circulation<br />
and biogeochemistry. I also was encouraged<br />
to explore more environmental research<br />
opportunities and take additional classes in data<br />
analysis/visualization and geosciences.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
13
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Real-time Forecasting<br />
System for Hurricane<br />
Hazards and Risk<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Hurricane Hazards and<br />
Risk Analysis Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ning Lin, Associate<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering; Avantika<br />
Gori, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
Kevin Chen ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
I used synthetic storm data, published weather<br />
data, and rainfall values for hurricanes to help<br />
determine how dangerous future storms could<br />
be to any given area. I collected and found<br />
ways to specifically calculate the year-on-year<br />
surge values for the severity of a storm. This<br />
will be used for a real-time hurricane analysis<br />
chart in the future so that people in coastal<br />
zip codes can see how storms will affect them.<br />
I also investigated ways to help the research<br />
group by creating statistical and web-scraping<br />
tools for their project. During my research, I<br />
learned to code with statistical libraries in the<br />
programming language Python and worked<br />
with the software MATLAB. These are all skills<br />
that will help me in the future. This internship<br />
increased my interest in seeing how I can use<br />
programming in environmental studies and<br />
data analysis. I am excited to continue learning<br />
more about these topics and seeing what I can<br />
accomplish.<br />
14
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Investigation of Nitrogen<br />
Sources Contributing to<br />
Sapropel Formation in the<br />
Eastern Mediterranean<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sigman Research<br />
Laboratory, Department<br />
of Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Sigman, Dusenbury<br />
Professor of Geological<br />
and Geophysical<br />
Sciences, Professor of<br />
Geosciences; Ellen Ai,<br />
Ph.D candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Maddie Esposito ’23<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
I studied sapropel events in the Eastern<br />
Mediterranean by analyzing the nitrogen<br />
isotopic composition of organic matter<br />
preserved in foraminifera fossils. Sapropel<br />
events are periods of intense biological activity<br />
in the Mediterranean basin. Intensified<br />
summer monsoons are hypothesized to trigger<br />
sapropels by discharging excess freshwater<br />
into the Mediterranean and disrupting nutrient<br />
conditions, which results in oxygen-poor deep<br />
water and the deposition of organic matter<br />
(sapropels). Analyzing the nitrogen isotopic<br />
composition of foraminifera shells may provide<br />
insight into the nitrogen sources that fuel<br />
sapropel events. My role was to pick forams for<br />
future isotopic analysis, which involved using<br />
a basic microscope and specialized picking<br />
equipment to select individual fossils from<br />
a larger pool of sediment and isolate them<br />
according to species. I visually identified five<br />
different species of forams, picking two species<br />
per sample from 35 different samples. I refined<br />
and expanded my laboratory and samplepreparation<br />
skills through this experience.<br />
Additionally, I was introduced to the field of<br />
biogeochemistry, which is one avenue I can<br />
consider pursuing in my future independent<br />
work to bridge the gap between my interests in<br />
chemistry and geosciences.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
15
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
Ryan Eusebi ’22<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificates: Applied and Computational<br />
Mathematics, <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Statistics<br />
and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Submesoscale Variability<br />
in the Eastern Pacific from<br />
Underway Observations<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Scripps Institution of<br />
Oceanography, University<br />
of California–San Diego<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
San Diego, California<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sarah Gille, Professor,<br />
Scripps Institution of<br />
Oceanography; Teresa<br />
Chereskin, Research<br />
Oceanographer, Scripps<br />
Institution of<br />
Oceanography; Saulo<br />
Soares, Postdoctoral<br />
Researcher, Scripps<br />
Institution of<br />
Oceanography<br />
For this internship, I cleaned, reconstructed<br />
and analyzed near-surface ocean temperature<br />
and salinity data collected off the coast of<br />
Los Angeles in August 2020. The major goals<br />
were to examine the structure, variability, and<br />
nature and extent of density stratification in the<br />
two-dimensional profiles that were sampled.<br />
Turner angles were calculated to ascertain<br />
that temperature variations contributed more<br />
to density variations than salinity, and that<br />
the upper ocean’s density in this region was<br />
in fact compensated. Using spectral analysis<br />
via the discrete Fourier transform, we found<br />
significant submesoscale (lengths of one to tens<br />
of kilometers) variability showing signatures of<br />
internal waves. This variability was isotropic<br />
(independent of direction) and scale features in<br />
the profiles seemed to persist for time periods<br />
greater than six to nine days. This internship<br />
afforded me valuable experience in the field of<br />
oceanography and taught me various dynamic<br />
fluid analysis techniques that can be applied to<br />
numerous situations. The experience definitely<br />
helped me confirm that I want to pursue a career<br />
involving research related to geosciences and<br />
climate science.<br />
16
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Real-time Forecasting<br />
System for Hurricane<br />
Hazards and Risk<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Hurricane Hazards and<br />
Risk Analysis Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ning Lin, Associate<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering; Avantika<br />
Gori, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
Ananya Grover ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificate: Cognitive Science<br />
There are two main aspects to hurricane surge<br />
modeling — real-time forecasting and long-term<br />
risk analysis. I worked on real-time forecasting,<br />
which is important for evacuation planning<br />
and recovery. I was tasked with visualizing<br />
hazard risks for online interactive maps the<br />
research uses to model wind, rainfall, storm<br />
surges and waves associated with hurricanes. I<br />
worked on developing a way to enable updates<br />
to map visualizations in real time as new<br />
predictions are generated based on the latest<br />
data. Through my internship, I learned about<br />
hurricane hazards and how to model them. I<br />
contributed to the automatic forecasting system<br />
by building a web app with Python Flask, and I<br />
learned to create web-based visualizations and<br />
geospatial-data presentations using services<br />
such as Mapbox, ArcGIS and Datawrapper. My<br />
internship helped me gain valuable technical<br />
abilities, problem-solving skills, and knowledge<br />
of natural calamities such as hurricanes. I<br />
am inspired to continue exploring the use of<br />
modeling, computational analysis and webbased<br />
presentation in environmental research<br />
applications that can have a tremendous realworld<br />
impact.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
17
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
North Atlantic Ocean<br />
Nutrient-Consumption<br />
Changes During Climate<br />
Events of the Last Glacial<br />
Period<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sigman Research<br />
Laboratory, Department<br />
of Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Sigman, Dusenbury<br />
Professor of Geological<br />
and Geophysical<br />
Sciences, Professor of<br />
Geosciences; Jesse<br />
Farmer, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Michael Kim ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
I participated in a team whose main focus is to<br />
correlate oceanic nutrient levels in the fossil<br />
record with climate patterns, specifically in<br />
the North Atlantic Ocean since the last ice age.<br />
Studying this correlation is useful both for<br />
creating models of regional climate from this<br />
time period, as well as extrapolating future<br />
changes in oceanic nutrient density as our planet<br />
experiences unprecedented climate change due<br />
to human activity. My summer work consisted<br />
of identifying and picking out fossil shells of<br />
foraminifera (forams) in sediment samples<br />
taken from the North Atlantic Ocean. These<br />
shells could then be processed by my mentor,<br />
who dissolved the shells and isolated their<br />
isotopic nitrogen; due to COVID-19 restrictions,<br />
I was unable to participate in this portion of the<br />
internship work. I developed skills in scientific<br />
research through my experience, and I am more<br />
confident than before that I will want to pursue<br />
research as a career. I have been invited to stay<br />
with the research team, and I plan to continue<br />
this work through the <strong>2021</strong>-22 academic year.<br />
18
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Application of New<br />
Machine Learning Tools for<br />
the Study of Ooids and<br />
Their Ancient Tropical<br />
Marine Environments<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Maloof Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Adam Maloof, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Bolton<br />
Howes, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Anna Krokhine ’24<br />
MATHEMATICS<br />
My objective was to use applied mathematics<br />
and machine learning to analyze growth rings<br />
on ooids, a type of sedimentary grain. Ooids<br />
form their size and shape over time in response<br />
to various environmental factors such as ocean<br />
chemistry and current velocity. Observing their<br />
growth rings can provide key evidence toward<br />
understanding ancient ocean climate. I manually<br />
traced rings to create training data and built<br />
various programs to process and model these<br />
data. The most important tool we looked at were<br />
physics-informed neural networks (PINNs),<br />
which are neural networks enriched by partial<br />
differential geometry equations in our case. The<br />
idea was to use PINNs to write an algorithm that<br />
would parameterize ooid rings and indicate the<br />
factors behind their growth history. Throughout<br />
this process, I strengthened my image processing<br />
skills, got my first experience with machine<br />
learning, and learned how to incorporate work<br />
from the larger research community. I saw a<br />
fascinating application of mathematics (my<br />
concentration) to uncovering the Earth’s past<br />
climate, and I am looking forward to working<br />
more with machine learning.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
19
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
The History of Eastern<br />
Tropical North Pacific<br />
Oxygen Since the Last Ice<br />
Age<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sigman Research<br />
Laboratory, Department<br />
of Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Sigman, Dusenbury<br />
Professor of Geological<br />
and Geophysical<br />
Sciences, Professor of<br />
Geosciences; Matthew<br />
Lacerra, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Madeleine Lausted ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificates: Global Health and Health Policy,<br />
French Language and Culture<br />
High productivity and slow circulation in the<br />
Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) results<br />
in one of the world’s largest oxygen deficient<br />
zones (ODZ). Organisms there rely on nitrate<br />
for respiration via water column denitrification<br />
(WCD). Reconstructing how rates of WCD in ODZs<br />
have changed since the last glacial maximum<br />
has important implications for understanding<br />
past changes in ocean circulation and abyssal<br />
carbon storage. During WCD, the expression of<br />
a large isotope effect elevates the 15 N nitrogen to<br />
14<br />
N nitrogen ratio of nitrate supplied for primary<br />
productivity above ODZs. This allows the Sigman<br />
Lab to make inferences about the extent of WCD<br />
based on the 15 N/ 14 N of fossil-bound organic<br />
matter deposited on the ocean floor. I prepared<br />
fossil foraminifera samples from a ETNP core<br />
site to be analyzed for a new nitrogen-isotope<br />
record covering the last glacial-interglacial<br />
transition. The hands-on work strengthened my<br />
skills in microscopy. In our weekly meetings,<br />
my mentor improved my understanding of the<br />
fields of paleoclimatology and oceanography<br />
through paper readings and discussions, and of<br />
the research process in general. I look forward<br />
to exploring these fields further and drawing<br />
on this experience for my own studies and<br />
independent research.<br />
20
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Nutrient Consumption in<br />
the Southern Ocean During<br />
the Last 1 Million Years<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sigman Research<br />
Laboratory, Department<br />
of Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Sigman, Dusenbury<br />
Professor of Geological<br />
and Geophysical<br />
Sciences, Professor of<br />
Geosciences; Jesse<br />
Farmer, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Alex Moosbrugger ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
The aim of my project was to analyze nitrogen<br />
isotopes in fossilized single-celled organisms<br />
called foraminifera from the Southern Ocean in<br />
order to gain an understanding of the region’s<br />
nutrient makeup. The samples I analyzed ranged<br />
from 325,000-493,000 years old. Specifically, my<br />
job was to identify and collect/sort two species<br />
of foraminifera found in core samples drilled<br />
from the Southern Ocean seafloor in 2019. After<br />
sorting these foraminifera, I sent them to my<br />
mentor, who processed them using methods<br />
created by the Sigman Lab to determine the<br />
ratios of nitrogen isotopes present. We compared<br />
these data to similar data from other time<br />
periods to contextualize our findings. I found<br />
this work to be intellectually interesting and<br />
a fun introduction to laboratory science and<br />
research. I learned how to work in a lab, how to<br />
analyze historical geoscience data, and about<br />
the possible role of nutrients in influencing<br />
climatic shifts over the past 500,000 years.<br />
This experience motivated me to incorporate<br />
more geosciences background into my study<br />
of environmental engineering, look for more<br />
opportunities to do field research, and possibly<br />
even pursue a geological engineering certificate.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
21
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Remote Sources of<br />
Oceanic Heat Delivery to<br />
the Ross Sea Continental<br />
Shelf<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Scripps Institution of<br />
Oceanography, University<br />
of California–San Diego<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
San Diego, California<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sarah Gille, Professor,<br />
Scripps Institution of<br />
Oceanography; Lynne<br />
Talley, Professor, Scripps<br />
Institution of<br />
Oceanography; Channing<br />
Prend, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Scripps Institution of<br />
Oceanography<br />
Rachel Pang ’23<br />
PHYSICS<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Visual Arts<br />
I worked on the Southern Ocean Carbon and<br />
Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM)<br />
project investigating the pathways that bring<br />
warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) to the<br />
Antarctic ice sheet where it is a primary cause<br />
of melting. Numerous studies have examined<br />
the mechanisms that transport CDW onto the<br />
continental shelf. However, less attention has<br />
been paid to the processes farther offshore that<br />
bring CDW from the Antarctic Circumpolar<br />
Current (ACC) to the shelf-break region in the<br />
first place, which is a necessary precursor to<br />
the cross-shelf heat exchange that has been<br />
studied in more depth. For our analysis,<br />
we complemented data from autonomous<br />
Biogeochemical-Argo floats deployed in the<br />
Southern Ocean around Antarctica with<br />
the Biogeochemical Southern Ocean State<br />
Estimate produced through SOCCOM. We found<br />
southeastward flowing CDW bifurcating around<br />
the Marie Byrd Seamounts toward the Ross and<br />
Amundsen continental shelves in narrow streams<br />
steered by topography. I developed a strong<br />
knowledge of computational programming<br />
as applied to ocean dynamics and physics. I<br />
became even more fascinated by oceanography<br />
and the complexity of the Southern Ocean, and<br />
I am excited to continue this work for my junior<br />
project.<br />
22
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Ice Hardness Inversion in<br />
1D With Physics-Informed<br />
Neural Networks<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Lai Research Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ching-Yao Lai, Assistant<br />
Professor of Geosciences<br />
Elijah Pomerantz ’22<br />
PHYSICS<br />
I worked with a physics-informed neural<br />
network (PINN) to develop an inversion model<br />
for determining a temperature-dependent<br />
parameter that characterizes the hardness of<br />
an ice shelf. PINNs can embed the knowledge of<br />
any physical laws that govern a given data set in<br />
the learning process. We worked on developing<br />
the tools to solve idealized problems as we move<br />
toward applying the PINN to real-world data for<br />
ice in Antarctica. The goal of this work was to<br />
identify places in ice shelves where we expect<br />
ice to be softer, which will help determine where<br />
ice shelves may be susceptible to breaking. I<br />
found that our PINN model can make good<br />
predictions about the ice-hardness parameter<br />
for our idealized problems, even when subject to<br />
noisy, sparse or oscillatory data. I learned how to<br />
apply novel machine learning techniques to solve<br />
challenging physics problems. It was fascinating<br />
to see the ways that computer science, physics<br />
and climate science can intersect to help us<br />
better understand how our polar regions will<br />
react to a warming climate.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
23
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Genomic Variations in<br />
Hydrogenophilus<br />
thermoluteolus Genomes<br />
Across a Small-scale Hot<br />
Spring Soil Gradient and<br />
Global Geothermal<br />
Environments<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Geomicrobiology<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Tullis Onstott, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Zachary<br />
Garvin, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Isabel Rodrigues ’23<br />
GEOSCIENCES<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Finance<br />
Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus is an<br />
understudied microorganism found globally<br />
in hot spring environments. It was identified<br />
in a series of four soil samples collected<br />
around the Polloquere Hot Springs in Lauca<br />
National Park, Chile. The soil surrounding<br />
Polloquere is characterized by stark differences<br />
in temperature, biology and chemistry. Yet,<br />
previous investigations of this soil found that<br />
H. thermoluteolus was somehow present in<br />
about the same amount across the studied area.<br />
I compared four genomes reconstructed from<br />
Polloquere soil samples to each other and to<br />
publicly available H. thermoluteolus genomes. I<br />
was able to identify several differences between<br />
soil samples taken closest to and farthest from<br />
the hot spring, as well as between the soil<br />
samples and the externally gathered genomes.<br />
The most intriguing discovery was an increased<br />
capability of all soil genomes to process nitrogen.<br />
Pangenomics was an integral part of this project,<br />
as was command-line programming and use of<br />
the open-source genomics application Anvi’o.<br />
This project directly influenced the topics I plan<br />
to study for my independent work and beyond,<br />
and vastly improved my confidence in analyzing<br />
biological data. I hope to continue this research<br />
in some form in the coming year.<br />
24
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Extinction of the<br />
Dinosaurs Recorded in an<br />
Andean Paleolake<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Maloof Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Adam Maloof, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Bolton<br />
Howes, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Hugh Shields ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
I primarily focused on ooids, grains of calcium<br />
carbonate that form in shallow waters. Ooids<br />
grow by precipitation and shrink by abrasion.<br />
For this reason, their shape can reveal data<br />
about ancient ocean chemistry, currents and<br />
depth. I analyzed cross sections of rock samples<br />
containing ooids, specifically trying to develop<br />
a machine vision program that would outline<br />
ooid cross sections within the images. Individual<br />
cross sections could then be stacked to produce<br />
a 3D model of the entire ooid, allowing for the<br />
measurement of sphericity and ellipticity. To<br />
complete the segmentation task, I used the<br />
software TensorFlow to implement Mask Region<br />
Based Convolutional Neural Networks (Mask<br />
R-CNN), a machine learning model for object<br />
detection. After tuning the network, I finally<br />
reached the point where the model was obtaining<br />
relatively high accuracy scores, and I began to<br />
transition toward applying the network to a wider<br />
variety of samples. The model I trained revealed<br />
that segmentation could be done successfully<br />
using Mask R-CNN without hours of laborious<br />
manual tracing. Ultimately, the project gave me<br />
the theoretical and practical experience needed<br />
to implement a cutting-edge machine vision<br />
model and revealed the wide applicability of<br />
machine vision.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
25
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
The Role of Parasites in<br />
Controlling Phytoplankton<br />
Community Composition<br />
and Ocean Productivity<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Ward Lab, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Bess Ward, William J.<br />
Sinclair Professor of<br />
Geosciences and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jenna Lee, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Geosciences<br />
Adira Smirnov ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
I studied the community composition in samples<br />
of seawater from six stations sampled by the Tara<br />
Oceans Project. Three were in high-productivity<br />
regions off coastlines, and three were in gyres<br />
and oligotrophic (lower productivity) regions.<br />
I used the QIIME bioinformatics platform to<br />
classify over 100 million sequences of DNA.<br />
I used these data to create stacked bar charts<br />
showing the community composition of each<br />
species at the supergroup level, and I compared<br />
the differences in relative abundance between<br />
high-productivity and oligotrophic stations. As<br />
expected, I found a higher relative abundance<br />
of diatoms in high-productivity stations. I also<br />
looked at the relative abundance of Syndiniales,<br />
an order of parasitic species, and measured how<br />
it varied in relation to the relative abundance<br />
of diatoms. I gained experience in using QIIME<br />
to analyze FASTQ files, and I learned how to<br />
assign genetic samples to taxonomic groups. I<br />
was fascinated to learn about the importance<br />
of parasites in community composition, and I<br />
hope to further study how species interactions<br />
can be as important in determining community<br />
composition as environmental factors.<br />
26
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Responses of ENSO to<br />
Volcanic Eruptions in<br />
High-Resolution Climate<br />
Model Simulations<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Vecchi Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Gabriel Vecchi, Professor<br />
of Geosciences and the<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Wenchang Yang,<br />
Associate Research<br />
Scholar, Geosciences<br />
Jessica Stikons ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificates: Statistics and Machine Learning,<br />
Language and Culture<br />
I studied how the El Niño-Southern Oscillation<br />
(ENSO) — an interannual, acyclic fluctuation<br />
in tropical Pacific sea-surface temperatures<br />
and winds over multiple years — responds to<br />
volcanic eruptions. ENSO is a major driver of<br />
natural climate variations in many parts of<br />
the world, making it an important factor in<br />
understanding the global climate. My role in<br />
this internship was to extract and visualize data<br />
obtained from climate model simulations to<br />
uncover patterns that could yield insight into the<br />
impact of volcanic eruptions on ENSO. I learned<br />
how to conduct data analysis and visualization<br />
using the programming language Python. I am<br />
particularly grateful that I had the opportunity<br />
to become familiar with working with large data<br />
sets, a task that seemed daunting before. What<br />
I found most interesting was that I could take<br />
massive, opaque data sets and transform them<br />
into compact, interpretable figures that provided<br />
insights into the mechanisms by which our world<br />
operates. Overall, I gained a deeper appreciation<br />
for the value of data visualization and I hope to<br />
incorporate similar methods into my work at<br />
Princeton and beyond.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
27
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Using Machine Learning to<br />
Analyze Earth’s First<br />
Reefs<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Maloof Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Adam Maloof, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Ryan<br />
Manzuk, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Evan Wang ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
I studied archaeocyathids, which were ancient<br />
reef-building organisms. The motivation for<br />
studying these organisms is twofold. First,<br />
since reefs provide an abundance of habitats<br />
and nutrients, there may be a significant link<br />
between archaeocyathids and the Cambrian<br />
explosion of 500 million years ago during which<br />
biodiversity skyrocketed. Second, in the face<br />
of climate change, predicting reef behavior<br />
is crucial and obtaining empirical data from<br />
Earth’s history can bolster our modern models.<br />
I analyzed a data set of fossil images taken from<br />
the Yukon territory in Canada with the goal of<br />
understanding how archaeocyathids and other<br />
sediments moved and progressed through time.<br />
I worked on automating a process for identifying<br />
and classifying sediments in image data that<br />
involved using a convolutional neural network —<br />
a type of machine learning model — to segment<br />
parts of images. This process included converting<br />
old training data to a more useful format,<br />
creating my own training data, and improving<br />
the neural network. I gained experience working<br />
with the programming languages MATLAB and<br />
Python, and I loved being able to apply coding<br />
to novel research. My internship reaffirmed my<br />
interest in the intersection of computer science<br />
and the environment.<br />
28
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Zinc Chemistry in Oceans<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Molecular <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Geochemistry Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Satish Myneni, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Jianshu<br />
Duan, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences; Kewei Zhao,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Chemistry<br />
Demetra Yancopoulos ’22<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Sustainable Energy<br />
Biological activity in the Southern Ocean directly<br />
impacts the global ocean and atmosphere. In<br />
nutrient-rich waters, marine biota are typically<br />
able to grow at high rates and, in the process, fix<br />
loads of atmospheric carbon. In the Southern<br />
Ocean, however, biological productivity is<br />
relatively low despite high concentrations<br />
of major nutrients. This has previously been<br />
explained by exceedingly low concentrations of<br />
bioavailable iron, an essential trace nutrient. My<br />
research focused on zinc, a less explored trace<br />
metal in the Southern Ocean. Like iron, zinc is<br />
an essential trace nutrient for marine biota. We<br />
inquired whether there is enough zinc — and<br />
enough bioavailable zinc — to meet the nutrient<br />
requirements of marine biota. To answer these<br />
questions, I investigated the distribution and<br />
speciation of zinc in seawater. I conducted<br />
thermodynamic modeling of zinc speciation<br />
using realistic estimates of seawater parameters<br />
to determine which zinc minerals have the<br />
potential to precipitate in different marine<br />
conditions. This information can help us refine a<br />
schematic for the biogeochemical cycling of zinc<br />
in the Southern Ocean, which directly influences<br />
large-scale ocean and atmosphere dynamics.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
29
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Using Machine Learning to<br />
Analyze Earth’s First<br />
Reefs<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Maloof Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Adam Maloof, Professor<br />
of Geosciences; Ryan<br />
Manzuk, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Jasmine Zhang ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
I investigated the fossils of 500 million-year-old<br />
reef-building organisms called archaeocyathids.<br />
To better understand the role that modern coral<br />
reefs play in mitigating climate change, we<br />
need to examine their prehistoric counterparts<br />
to determine the structure of these organisms<br />
and their interactions with their environment.<br />
My goal was to create an automated machine<br />
learning system known as a convolutional neural<br />
network to identify pixels of archaeocyathids<br />
from images of fossil samples. Before training<br />
the neural network, I created training data by<br />
segmenting and labeling archaeocyathid crosssection<br />
images. After training the network,<br />
I adjusted different parameters to improve<br />
its predictions with the goal of creating a 3D<br />
model of the archaeocyathids. As a result of this<br />
internship, my knowledge of computer vision and<br />
machine learning greatly increased, and I now<br />
have significant experience using MATLAB and<br />
Python software. I’m incredibly grateful to this<br />
internship for providing me with an informative<br />
and thought-provoking introduction to both<br />
geoscience and research, two areas I am excited<br />
to continue exploring.<br />
30
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Designing Probes for a<br />
nosZ Microarray<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Ward Lab, Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Bess Ward, William J.<br />
Sinclair Professor of<br />
Geosciences and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Naomi Intrator,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Geosciences<br />
Yaakov Zinberg ’23<br />
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY<br />
I designed the probes for a microarray for nosZ,<br />
the gene responsible for the conversion of<br />
nitrous oxide — a potent greenhouse gas — into<br />
elemental nitrogen as part of the denitrification<br />
pathway. The Ward Lab will use the microarray<br />
to determine the organisms that are present in<br />
their samples and the versions of nosZ these<br />
organisms use. I began by consolidating all<br />
nosZ sequences in the National Center for<br />
Biotechnology Information database with the<br />
Ward Lab’s own sequences, then used programs<br />
such as CD-HIT, MAFFT and EMBOSS to cluster<br />
sequences based on similarity. I then generated<br />
alignments and consensus sequences that<br />
allowed me to ultimately choose the 70 base pair<br />
regions from each cluster to use as individual<br />
probes on the microarray. I improved upon my<br />
programming skills during this internship by<br />
writing programs in R, shell script, and Slurm<br />
Workload Manager. Additionally, I gained<br />
exposure to marine biology research and the<br />
world of academic research more broadly, which<br />
will help inform my studies in molecular biology.<br />
CLIMATE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Water<br />
and the Environment Challenge project, “Fate of<br />
Nitrite Determines Nitrogen Removal in Coastal<br />
Waters.”<br />
31
Jesse Brewer ’22<br />
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
USDA Forest Service<br />
Southern Research<br />
Station<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
U.S. Department of<br />
Agriculture (USDA)<br />
Forest Service Southern<br />
Research Station<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Jennifer Moore Myers,<br />
Communications Team<br />
Leader, USDA Forest<br />
Service Southern<br />
Research Station<br />
I participated in a virtual internship with the<br />
communications team of the U.S. Department<br />
of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Southern<br />
Research Station. My primary activities<br />
included reading primary literature produced<br />
at the Southern Research Station, interviewing<br />
scientists about their work, and drafting<br />
articles summarizing their research findings<br />
for the USDA news site, CompassLive. This<br />
was an important task because it allowed me<br />
to share complex research findings with a<br />
wide audience by breaking them down into<br />
relatable and understandable terms. I gained<br />
a lot of knowledge and experience throughout<br />
this internship, particularly in my ability to<br />
communicate scientific research. As a pre-med<br />
molecular biology major, this skill will help me<br />
as I continue to interact with primary scientific<br />
literature throughout my career.<br />
32
Ashley Cao ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Million Tree Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Shanghai Roots & Shoots<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Xian Liu, Million Tree<br />
Project Director, Shanghai<br />
Roots & Shoots; Hanlong<br />
Chen, Million Tree Project<br />
Coordinator, Shanghai<br />
Roots & Shoots; Kai<br />
Wang, Million Tree Project<br />
Regional Manager,<br />
Shanghai Roots & Shoots<br />
I had the great opportunity to work on the<br />
Million Tree Project (MTP) with Shanghai Roots<br />
& Shoots, a nongovernmental organization<br />
whose work centers around large-scale tree<br />
planting projects to combat climate change and<br />
desertification. Their newest MTP effort focuses<br />
on planting trees in the Bangliang Gibbon<br />
National Nature Reserve to connect and restore<br />
the existing fragmented habitats of the critically<br />
endangered cao vit gibbon (CVG). I contributed to<br />
the MTP by taking on a number of my own small<br />
projects, from redesigning the outdated learning<br />
guide, to creating introductory materials for<br />
the newest CVG program. I exercised my design<br />
skills in particular, working on the online design<br />
platform Canva to put together promotional<br />
and educational materials ranging from “Save<br />
the Gibbon” stickers to “Desertification 101”<br />
infographics. Perhaps the most interesting part<br />
of my work was being able to witness firsthand<br />
how to build the foundations for a program in<br />
active restoration. This internship reignited my<br />
passion for conservation, and I would like to<br />
learn more about restoring and strengthening<br />
ecosystem health as I continue in my academic<br />
career.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
33
Darcy Chang ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Climate Change, Plant-<br />
Pollinator Interactions and<br />
Hummingbird Color Vision<br />
in the Rocky Mountains<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Stoddard Lab,<br />
Department of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Rocky Mountain<br />
Biological Laboratory,<br />
Gothic, Colorado<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Mary Caswell Stoddard,<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
I studied hummingbird foraging behavior<br />
at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. I<br />
worked placing time-lapse cameras near flowers<br />
pollinated by broad-tailed hummingbirds so the<br />
research team could quantify visitation rates for<br />
different flower species. This long-term project<br />
in the Stoddard Lab will elucidate the foraging<br />
decisions of broad-tailed hummingbirds, which<br />
could be useful in predicting how these key<br />
pollinators will respond as climate change<br />
initiates misalignments in phenology, or the<br />
seasonal timing of biological events. I also<br />
helped use a spectrophotometer to measure<br />
the reflectance spectra of flower species in the<br />
study site, both those visited by hummingbirds<br />
and those pollinated by other mechanisms.<br />
Similarly, we used an ultraviolet-sensitive<br />
camera to photograph these flowers in visible<br />
and ultraviolet light. Both projects add to our<br />
understanding of how hummingbirds perceive<br />
potential food sources and how they choose<br />
flowers to visit. Overall, my experience taught<br />
me a lot about hummingbird behavior and<br />
visual systems, and it invigorated my interest<br />
in ecology. I also refined my observational and<br />
problem-solving skills, gained experience in<br />
working with field equipment, and improved my<br />
ability to design methodologies.<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Climate<br />
and Energy Challenge project, “Investigating the<br />
Effects of Climate Change on Hummingbird Sensory<br />
Landscapes.”<br />
34
Luisa Chantler Edmond ’22<br />
ANTHROPOLOGY<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Northern Kenya<br />
Conservation Clubs<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University; Mpala<br />
Research Centre<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
The goal of my internship was to assist the<br />
Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs in creating<br />
active-learning lesson plans that will teach<br />
children in Laikipia County, Kenya, about<br />
the value of their local environment and its<br />
conservation. The biggest project that my fellow<br />
intern, Yun Hallowell, and I undertook was<br />
designing lesson plans for World Elephant Day.<br />
These lesson plans aimed to teach students<br />
not only about the animals and the ecological<br />
processes they are focused on, but also about<br />
elephants’ inherent value and positive effect<br />
on the students’ lives. By needing to work<br />
across multiple time zones, I learned how to<br />
best communicate with my project leaders and<br />
fellow intern about the challenges I was facing.<br />
I also relied on and challenged my creativity<br />
in writing the lesson plans as we had to think<br />
about how best to translate the work from paper<br />
to a physical activity the students would enjoy.<br />
I found listening to the Mpala researchers talk<br />
about their work to be one of the most interesting<br />
parts of the internship. Hearing not only about<br />
their projects, but their journeys into research<br />
was fascinating!<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
35
Julian Gottfried ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Climate Change, Plant-<br />
Pollinator Interactions,<br />
and Hummingbird Color<br />
Vision in the Rocky<br />
Mountains<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Stoddard Lab,<br />
Department of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Rocky Mountain<br />
Biological Laboratory,<br />
Gothic, Colorado<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Mary Caswell Stoddard,<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
I studied hummingbird-flower interactions<br />
and hummingbird color vision to understand<br />
how shifting climatic factors are causing a<br />
timing mismatch between pollinators and the<br />
flowers they visit. I worked setting up field<br />
cameras on dozens of flower species so the<br />
research team could quantitatively assess how<br />
hummingbirds use resources, and how their<br />
usage is changing over the years. We introduced<br />
techniques to monitor difficult flower species<br />
and expanded the scope of the project to more<br />
flowers. We also used spectrophotometry and<br />
ultraviolet imaging to build a database of color<br />
measurements for regional flowers that could<br />
help us determine how hummingbirds use color<br />
vision in pollination. The range of imaging<br />
technologies was fascinating and challenging,<br />
each requiring different methodologies. Finally,<br />
we created protocols for floral transects to<br />
collect data on shifting populations. I learned<br />
how to troubleshoot sensitive equipment in<br />
the field, gained experience in developing and<br />
testing scientific protocols, and honed my skills<br />
in natural history. This internship gave me an<br />
excellent frame of reference for what fieldwork<br />
and ecological research entail, and I look forward<br />
to processing and analyzing the summer’s data<br />
as I continue to work with the lab.<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Climate<br />
and Energy Challenge project, “Investigating the<br />
Effects of Climate Change on Hummingbird Sensory<br />
Landscapes.”<br />
36
Max Gotts ’24<br />
UNDECLARED<br />
Certificates: Linguistics, Planets and Life<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Impact of Grazing Regimes<br />
on Rangeland Quality and<br />
Wildlife and Livestock Use<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University; Mpala<br />
Research Centre<br />
Our research related to the Mpala Research<br />
Centre in Kenya sought to integrate wildlife<br />
biodiversity and cattle farming. We were<br />
particularly interested in finding a way for<br />
grazing cattle that is minimally detrimental, or<br />
even positively mutualistic. To do so, we used<br />
vegetative transect data, herd observations,<br />
satellite imagery, machine learning models, the<br />
software Wildbook, the geographical software<br />
QGIS, programming in R, and a multitude of<br />
research figures. Our immediate goal for much of<br />
the project was to gain an understanding of the<br />
drivers of zebra movement, and to help herders<br />
move cattle to where we expected there to be the<br />
best terrain with respect to vegetative quality<br />
and proximity to zebras.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
37
Yun Hallowell ’23<br />
ANTHROPOLOGY<br />
Certificates: Language and Culture, Creative<br />
Writing<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Northern Kenya<br />
Conservation Clubs<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University; Mpala<br />
Research Center<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
I worked with the Northern Kenya Conservation<br />
Clubs, an afterschool program that teaches<br />
environmental science with a focus on<br />
conservation. I worked virtually with my fellow<br />
intern to create new, and organize existing,<br />
teaching materials. In between Swahili lessons<br />
and attending lectures by Mpala scientists, I<br />
wrote lesson plans with my fellow intern on a<br />
wide variety of topics. Our goals were to include<br />
as much experiential learning and active<br />
learning as possible, and to choose topics that<br />
were relevant to local environmental issues. By<br />
far the most challenging — and rewarding —<br />
part of the process was incorporating economic,<br />
political and sociocultural perspectives into<br />
the games and activities we designed. This<br />
experience made me think a lot about the<br />
intersection between environmental science and<br />
history, and the benefit of teaching these subjects<br />
as interrelated issues. As someone who is<br />
interested in a career in education, the potential<br />
of this interdisciplinary approach to bring a<br />
different kind of understanding really stood out<br />
to me, and it is something I’ll carry with me as I<br />
continue to think about methods of teaching and<br />
learning.<br />
38
Alex Heine ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificates: Archaeology, <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
“Go to the Ant Thou<br />
Sluggard, Consider Her<br />
Ways and Be Wise”:<br />
Buffelgrass Seed<br />
Preferences, Predation<br />
and Dispersal in Kenya<br />
Home Range by Messor<br />
Harvester Ants<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Mpala Research Centre<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Dino Martins, Executive<br />
Director, Mpala Research<br />
Centre, and Visiting<br />
Research Scholar,<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
I examined pictures and videos of Messor<br />
harvester ants and their preference for<br />
buffelgrass seeds in Laikipia County, Kenya.<br />
The predation of buffelgrass by harvester ants<br />
could provide insights into how to manage the<br />
plant's population in areas where it is invasive,<br />
such as the United States. During the study, I<br />
observed and documented the ants via video<br />
as they selected seeds from a pile collected by<br />
researchers in the field. Then, I ran an analysis of<br />
variance model to determine if the differences in<br />
seed preference were statistically significant. My<br />
efforts contributed to the study’s continuing data<br />
collection, which will further the understanding<br />
of the relationship between these two species.<br />
This internship provided me the opportunity<br />
to learn basic Swahili, gain practical data<br />
processing skills, and gain new perspectives on<br />
conservation’s impact on humans. Due to this<br />
experience, I further developed my confidence in<br />
pursuing research in conservation biology, and<br />
I now have new possibilities and ideas for future<br />
research.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
39
Joseph Himmelfarb ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Urban Biodiversity and<br />
Conservation at NYC Parks<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Natural Resources Group,<br />
New York City Department<br />
of Parks and Recreation<br />
(NYC Parks)<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
New York City, New York<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Georgina Cullman,<br />
Ecologist, NYC Parks;<br />
Clara Holmes, Plant<br />
Ecologist, NYC Parks;<br />
Jamie Ong, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Protection Project<br />
Manager, NYC Parks;<br />
Heather Platt, Ecological<br />
Restoration Project<br />
Assistant, NYC Parks;<br />
Desiree Yanes, Vegetation<br />
Monitoring Technic, NYC<br />
Parks<br />
Cities are commonly regarded as ecological<br />
deserts, but they are often overlooked refuges<br />
for biodiversity. For my internship, I worked on<br />
conserving native plant species in New York<br />
City with the conservation team of the New<br />
York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s<br />
(NYC Parks) Natural Resources Group. My<br />
primary responsibility was to draft conservation<br />
action plans (CAPs) for several locally sensitive<br />
wildflowers. CAPs provide ecological and<br />
biological details on how to protect and conserve<br />
specific species. I studied the scientific literature<br />
on the target wildflower species and their close<br />
relatives to compile information that would be<br />
useful for conservation efforts. I also assisted<br />
in fieldwork, traveling to a range of parks across<br />
the five boroughs to conduct rare-plant surveys<br />
and manage existing populations. I experienced<br />
the ongoing efforts by NYC Parks to conserve<br />
and restore natural areas, from salt marshes<br />
to woodlands. My internship provided an<br />
opportunity to conduct both the research that<br />
enables species management and the fieldwork<br />
that pushes that research forward. I learned<br />
firsthand the value of urban conservation,<br />
and I am eager to continue learning about the<br />
ecosystems that persist alongside industrial<br />
landscapes.<br />
40
Annika Hsi ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Applications of Computing<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Impact of Grazing Regimes<br />
on Rangeland Quality and<br />
Wildlife and Livestock Use<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University; Mpala<br />
Research Centre<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
I studied the interaction between zebras and<br />
cattle at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya.<br />
Identifying the effects of cattle on the behavior<br />
of plains and Grévy’s zebras during this past<br />
summer’s drought can help efforts to reduce<br />
human-wildlife conflict within the context of<br />
climate change. I created heat maps showing the<br />
locations and movements of zebras and cattle<br />
using the software QGIS. These maps were then<br />
given to herders to guide where they moved their<br />
cattle. Additionally, I used Wildbook, a software<br />
that recognizes individual zebras by their stripes,<br />
to process photos and field data. This allowed<br />
me to create home ranges for several Grévy’s<br />
zebras, which helped us understand differences<br />
in their behavior and reactions to cattle. I gained<br />
a deeper understanding of zebra behavior — from<br />
mating systems to water dependency — and the<br />
importance of sustainable livestock ranching. I<br />
also gained skills in processing and analyzing<br />
large data sets using R code and computer<br />
software. This internship gave me an invaluable<br />
skill set that will help me as I continue studying<br />
ecology and sustainability.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
41
Eva Jordan ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Urban Biodiversity and<br />
Conservation at New York<br />
City Parks<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Natural Resources Group,<br />
New York City Department<br />
of Parks and Recreation<br />
(NYC Parks)<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
New York City, New York<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Georgina Cullman,<br />
Ecologist, NYC Parks<br />
I worked with the New York City Department<br />
of Parks and Recreation’s Natural Resources<br />
Group (NRG) to conduct an ongoing wildlifemonitoring<br />
project that is assessing the habitat<br />
and hydrological connectivity within two salt<br />
marshes bisected by roads. This study will<br />
continue in the coming years after these roads<br />
have been reconstructed with environmentally<br />
minded features such as culverts and<br />
ecopassages. Monitoring before and after<br />
reconstruction will allow the NRG to assess the<br />
efficacy of these technologies in mitigating the<br />
impacts of the built environment on nature,<br />
and provide evidence to support this type of<br />
reconstruction in the future. I spent most of<br />
my time conducting fieldwork, which included<br />
setting and retrieving traps, marking and<br />
measuring diamondback terrapins and minnows,<br />
and gaining hands-on experience in saltmarsh<br />
ecosystems. I also worked with the management<br />
and analysis of our mark-recapture data. This<br />
internship was a valuable opportunity for me<br />
to become more familiar with conservation<br />
work through government organizations and<br />
to solidify my interest in pursuing ecological<br />
fieldwork. It also allowed me to further explore<br />
the intersection of ecology and engineering,<br />
which I hope to apply to my future independent<br />
research.<br />
42
Megan Leinenbach ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Global Health and Health Policy<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Plant Ecology and<br />
Ecosystem Health<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
U.S. Department of<br />
Agriculture (USDA)<br />
Forest Service Southern<br />
Research Station<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Timothy Bowden, Owner,<br />
Bowden Brothers LLC<br />
I worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture<br />
(USDA) Forest Service Southern Research<br />
Station to build out the CompassLive website<br />
that the communications team uses to post<br />
popular-science articles about the research and<br />
accomplishments of Forest Service scientists.<br />
My daily activities included reading new<br />
scientific publications, interviewing scientists,<br />
drafting and editing articles, and composing<br />
social media posts about publications. These<br />
tasks improved my ability to understand and<br />
translate science so that technical concepts and<br />
data can be understood by a general reader. This<br />
internship built skills that are essential in any<br />
communications-driven career beyond science<br />
writing, from entrepreneurship to health care.<br />
With these skills, I can now freely communicate<br />
with scientists and help them understand how<br />
their work applies to broader audiences.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
43
Marissa Mejia ’23<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Molokai, Hawaii<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Tiani Puaa Kawaauhu-<br />
Cook, Executive Director,<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
I had the incredible opportunity to work with Ka<br />
Honua Momona (KHM) International, a Native<br />
Hawaiian environmental conservation nonprofit.<br />
I contributed to the organization’s mission of<br />
being a model for sustainability — “mauka a<br />
makai” (“from the mountains to the sea”) —<br />
by engaging in hands-on conservation work.<br />
I was involved in the preservation of ancient<br />
Hawaiian fishponds, monitoring the island’s<br />
coral reef and limu (seaweed) populations,<br />
planting hundreds of native-plant seedlings,<br />
and aiding in the removal of thousands of<br />
pounds of invasive species. I also redesigned the<br />
organization’s website to improve its aesthetics<br />
and make it more user-friendly; spearheaded<br />
the creation of the Āhā’ilono (KHM’s monthly<br />
newsletter); and directed, filmed and produced<br />
“‘Ike Kūhohonu,” a documentary featuring the<br />
island’s “kupuna” (elders) and their insight on<br />
Hawaiian fishponds. This experience taught me<br />
about Native Hawaiian cultures and ecosystems,<br />
showed me how empowering it can be to live<br />
in a space inhabited by people who look like<br />
me, solidified my desire to pursue a career in<br />
environmentalism, and shifted my perspective<br />
on conservation to incorporate more holistic<br />
and sustainable approaches created by Native<br />
Hawaiians.<br />
44
Joyce Mo ’24<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Molokai, Hawaii<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Tiani Puaa Kawaauhu-<br />
Cook, Executive Director,<br />
Ka Honua Momona<br />
International<br />
I worked in Hawaii with Ka Honua Momona<br />
International, a nonprofit based in Molokai,<br />
Hawaii, that seeks to be a model of sustainability,<br />
or “mauka a makai” (“from the mountains to the<br />
sea”). My project focused on fishpond restoration,<br />
specifically removing invasive mangroves<br />
and the seaweed gorilla ogo, and testing water<br />
quality for salinity, temperature, turbidity and<br />
dissolved oxygen levels. Ka Honua Momona<br />
also seeks to perpetuate traditional Hawaiian<br />
knowledge through five core values inspired by<br />
our “kupuna,” or wise elder. I created a series<br />
of botanical illustrations of native Hawaiian<br />
plants with descriptions of the plants’ cultural<br />
significance with their Hawaiian, common and<br />
scientific names. I also listened to stories from a<br />
kupuna, learned ocean and coral reef monitoring<br />
skills from a kupuna known for sustainable<br />
ocean practices, and planted native plants with<br />
a kupuna known for his homestead farmland<br />
and environmental stewardship. As a result of<br />
my time in Molokai, I am more aware of, and<br />
intend to keep a more open mind to, different<br />
perspectives and aspects of sustainability.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
45
Jahir Morris ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Urban Biodiversity and<br />
Conservation at NYC Parks<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Natural Resources Group,<br />
New York City Department<br />
of Parks and Recreation<br />
(NYC Parks)<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
New York City, New York<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Heather Platt, Ecological<br />
Restoration Project<br />
Assistant, NYC Parks;<br />
Jamie Ong, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Protection Project<br />
Manager, NYC Parks<br />
I worked as a member of the wetlands team<br />
monitoring populations of diadromous fish —<br />
which are species that spend portions of their<br />
life cycle both in freshwater and at sea — in<br />
the Bronx River. The goal of the Diadromous<br />
Fish Restoration Project is to minimize the<br />
obstructive effects that dams along the Bronx<br />
River have on the upstream migration of river<br />
herring and American eels through the use of a<br />
fish passage and eel ladder at the 182nd Street<br />
Dam. I worked on site collecting anatomical<br />
data on captured American eels, temperature<br />
values at several points, and additional notes<br />
on the overall functionality of the equipment.<br />
Off site, I reviewed video footage from within<br />
the fish passage to help compile a record of the<br />
number, species and frequency of fish using the<br />
passage to scale the dam. Ideally, these data will<br />
be used to provide insight into the effectiveness<br />
of mitigation strategies, such as fish passages<br />
and eel ladders, in restoring migration activity at<br />
dam construction sites.<br />
46
Matthew Pickering ’24<br />
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL<br />
AFFAIRS<br />
Certificates: Humanistic Studies, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Studies, History and the Practice of Diplomacy<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Million Tree Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Shanghai Roots & Shoots<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Xian Liu, Million Tree<br />
Project Director, Shanghai<br />
Roots & Shoots<br />
The goal of the Million Tree Project (MTP),<br />
an initiative of Shanghai Roots & Shoots, is to<br />
combat desertification and habitat degradation<br />
in China through specialized tree planting.<br />
While I worked on a variety of projects, I mainly<br />
focused on the marketing side, i.e., appealing to<br />
our corporate and school sponsors. For instance,<br />
I learned to use the software ArcGIS to plot a<br />
visually attractive map of our forest sites. I also<br />
helped create posters about MTP’s work for<br />
schools and used the application StoryMaps to<br />
update our learning guide. In addition, I delved<br />
into website development, using SXL.com to<br />
overhaul and streamline the MTP website. I<br />
found it intriguing how much of the work done by<br />
nongovernmental organizations revolves around<br />
fundraising so that they’re able to do the actual<br />
work — in this case, the planting of millions<br />
of trees. I appreciated that this internship<br />
combined my two potential career tracks of<br />
policy related to China or the environment,<br />
and my work solidified my interest in pursuing<br />
a degree in one of those policy areas from the<br />
Princeton School of Public and International<br />
Affairs.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
47
Sophia Richter ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Estimating the Recovery<br />
Potential of Threatened<br />
Species<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Policy<br />
Research on Energy<br />
and the Environment<br />
(C-PREE), School of Public<br />
and International Affairs,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
David Wilcove, Professor<br />
of Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology and<br />
Public Affairs and the<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Rebecca Senior,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs and<br />
C-PREE<br />
My project focused on identifying the remaining<br />
habitat of threatened animal species to gauge<br />
the need for conservation action before these<br />
animals are extinct. My mentor used fineresolution<br />
satellite mapping to identify the<br />
area of habitat (AOH) within a species’ range<br />
that matches their required habitat conditions.<br />
Using these AOH data, I identified 2,488 species<br />
with too little habitat remaining to recover<br />
without ecosystem restoration. A small habitat<br />
area can increase the risk of extinction. I also<br />
conducted a pattern analysis among species<br />
with a small AOH to identify the countries and<br />
regions in which they occur. We can use this<br />
information to identify the species and regions<br />
for which habitat restoration and conservation<br />
will be the most impactful. After conducting my<br />
data analysis, I contributed to a manuscript on<br />
these findings that will be submitted to a peerreviewed<br />
journal. I learned about how species are<br />
classified by their risk of extinction and how to<br />
help endangered species. I also gained technical<br />
skills by working with spatial data and improved<br />
my scientific writing skills. I hope to continue<br />
with independent research on conservation, and<br />
I have also begun to think more seriously about<br />
research as a career.<br />
48
Zachary Sahin ’23<br />
ENGLISH<br />
Certificates: American Studies, Near Eastern<br />
Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
The Impact of Large<br />
Mammalian Herbivores on<br />
Small Invertebrates: A<br />
Literature Review<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Pringle Lab, Department<br />
of Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Robert Pringle, Professor<br />
of Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology; Joel<br />
Abraham, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology;<br />
Finote Gijsman, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology; Erin<br />
Phillips, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology<br />
My internship aimed to provide a better<br />
understanding of ecological communities as<br />
part of the ongoing effort to restore Gorongosa<br />
National Park in Mozambique, while also<br />
inspiring a love for the greater study of ecology. I<br />
conducted a literature review and meta-analysis<br />
of more than 20 years of research related to<br />
the impact of large mammalian herbivores<br />
on small invertebrates, one of many topics I<br />
discussed with my advisers before the start of<br />
the internship. The review involved reading<br />
and retrieving relevant data and information<br />
from 3,678 papers published on this topic,<br />
which I retrieved from the Web of Science<br />
databank through a search cue devised by my<br />
advisers. Through my internship, I enhanced<br />
my ecological knowledge, gained a newfound<br />
love and appreciation for many of the topics<br />
I researched, and am now fully capable of<br />
engaging in a meta-analysis of my own. I can<br />
conduct a large-scale research project that<br />
involves compiling and connecting 20 years<br />
worth of data into a succinct high-level report —<br />
a valuable skill in any field.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Water<br />
and the Environment Challenge project, “Causes<br />
and Consequences of Water-Mediated Pattern<br />
Formation in Arid African Rangelands.”<br />
49
Sam Vasen ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Reserve and Forest<br />
Stewardship <strong>Internship</strong><br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
The Watershed Institute<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Pennington, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Steve Tuorto, Director of<br />
Science and Stewardship,<br />
The Watershed Institute;<br />
Erin Stretz, Assistant<br />
Director of Science and<br />
Stewardship, The<br />
Watershed Institute;<br />
Allison Jackson,<br />
Stewardship Coordinator,<br />
The Watershed Institute<br />
My internship focused on the stewardship and<br />
management of the 950-acre property that<br />
constitutes The Watershed Institute, a land<br />
and water conservation organization in New<br />
Jersey. Guided by Stewardship Coordinator<br />
Allison Jackson, I worked to foster and promote<br />
healthy native ecosystems across the property.<br />
We met this goal in many different ways: tree<br />
planting, invasive-species removal, building a<br />
habitat for native birds, protecting vegetation<br />
from excess herbivory, promoting stewardship to<br />
the public, and monitoring plant growth across<br />
different ecosystem types. The vast majority<br />
of the work was done in the field, but we also<br />
spent time doing research on plant species and<br />
compiling literature to educate the public about<br />
stewardship practices during The Watershed<br />
Institute’s annual Butterfly Festival. I gained<br />
valuable skills in plant identification and<br />
ecosystem management, as well as important<br />
fieldwork experience. This organization and<br />
internship opened my eyes to many different<br />
aspects of important environmental work that I<br />
will continue to pursue.<br />
50
Kevin Zhang ’24<br />
UNDECLARED<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Reserve and Forest<br />
Stewardship <strong>Internship</strong><br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
The Watershed Institute<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Pennington, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Steve Tuorto, Director of<br />
Science and Stewardship,<br />
The Watershed Institute;<br />
Erin Stretz, Assistant<br />
Director of Science and<br />
Stewardship, The<br />
Watershed Institute;<br />
Allison Jackson,<br />
Stewardship Coordinator,<br />
The Watershed Institute<br />
The main goal of my internship was to assist<br />
with property maintenance at The Watershed<br />
Institute. I gained significant experience<br />
identifying and clearing invasive plants along the<br />
main trail on the property, along with planting<br />
trees and maintaining tree tubes. I also assisted<br />
with collecting data and monitoring the impact<br />
of deer on native plants, including monitoring<br />
young saplings as a measure of forest health,<br />
both in the forest and within deer exclosures.<br />
Additionally, I helped run the stewardship stand<br />
at The Watershed Institute’s annual Butterfly<br />
Festival. We provided information to the public<br />
on the impact of deer and invasive species in the<br />
region, and shared informational documents we<br />
created on invasive plant identification and local<br />
native-plant nurseries. Overall, this internship<br />
was a very rewarding opportunity for me to gain<br />
hands-on experience in, and knowledge about,<br />
environmental work, and it greatly raised my<br />
interest in a career in conservation.<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
AND BIODIVERSITY<br />
51
Jack Anderson ’23<br />
ECONOMICS<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Federal Energy Regulatory<br />
Commission, Office of<br />
Energy Market Regulation<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Office of Electric<br />
Reliability, Federal Energy<br />
Regulatory Commission<br />
(FERC)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
David Ortiz, Deputy<br />
Director, Office of Electric<br />
Reliability, FERC; Nicole<br />
Businelli ’13, Energy<br />
Industry Analyst, FERC<br />
I was an intern in the East Division of the<br />
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s<br />
Office of Energy Market Regulation (OEMR).<br />
FERC is an independent federal agency tasked<br />
with regulating the interstate transmission of<br />
electricity, natural gas and oil. The East Divison<br />
of OEMR advises FERC on economic regulation of<br />
the electric utility industry in the eastern United<br />
States. My work included evaluating requests for<br />
electric rate and tariff changes from stakeholders<br />
in eastern energy markets — such as generators,<br />
distribution utilities, and regional transmission<br />
organizations/independent system operators<br />
(RTOs/ISOs) — and drafted response orders to be<br />
issued by FERC. I also worked alongside FERC’s<br />
compliance team for Order No. 2222, a landmark<br />
order issued in September 2020 that required<br />
RTOs/ISOs to establish market rules allowing<br />
distributed energy resources to participate in<br />
wholesale electricity markets. My work over<br />
the summer was a great learning experience,<br />
allowing me to experience firsthand the<br />
complexities of energy markets and work within<br />
a federal agency.<br />
52
Manyu Banerjee ’23<br />
ECONOMICS<br />
Certificates: Finance, Statistics and Machine<br />
Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Anomalous Weather and<br />
Business Activity<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Policy<br />
Research on Energy<br />
and the Environment<br />
(C-PREE), School of Public<br />
and International Affairs,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Michael Oppenheimer,<br />
Albert G. Milbank<br />
Professor of Geosciences<br />
and International Affairs<br />
and the High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Elmira Kalhor,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs<br />
I worked on a project to determine the economic<br />
effects of hurricanes using measures of<br />
business activity around the time of Hurricane<br />
Harvey. My mentor Elmira Kalhor intends<br />
to analyze these data using a difference in<br />
differences (DiD) regression with a synthetic<br />
control (i.e., comparing economic trends in<br />
Harvey-affected regions against a control<br />
group of regions not affected). I assisted her by<br />
formulating a regression model that found the<br />
effect of anomalous weather on different types<br />
of businesses, which is necessary to justify<br />
assumptions for the DiD model. I used a fixed<br />
effects regression model that took advantage<br />
of the data set's multiple observations across<br />
time to produce an unbiased estimate of the<br />
effect of anomalous weather on different<br />
business types. This internship showed me how<br />
economic concepts and tools could be applied<br />
creatively to other fields such as the study of<br />
climate change. It also provided me with an<br />
invaluable opportunity to formulate a model<br />
while considering potential sources of bias and<br />
acknowledging practical limitations. This project<br />
inspired me to continue research that helps<br />
inform public policy without limiting myself to<br />
traditionally economic spheres.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
53
Nicabec Casido ’23<br />
NEUROSCIENCE<br />
Certificate: Linguistics<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Contextualizing Social<br />
Norms<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Johanna Matt-<br />
Navarro, Research Lab<br />
Manager, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Gregg<br />
Sparkman, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate,<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment<br />
I contributed to several focused meta-analysis<br />
projects during my internship. Two of these<br />
meta-analyses focused on the applicability<br />
of in-lab research to the real world by looking<br />
at the relationship between environmental<br />
behaviors, risky behavior, and how a person plays<br />
economic games in laboratory experiments. The<br />
meta-analysis I primarily focused on examined<br />
when people are most influenced by social<br />
norms — our understanding of what others most<br />
commonly do or believe. Our analysis of studies<br />
on this topic consisted of defining the context,<br />
norm messages and who delivered the messages,<br />
as well as creating a digital library of the many<br />
studies found. Once our papers were analyzed,<br />
we created data visualizations of the variety of<br />
study content (including the types of social-norm<br />
manipulations used and the populations studied)<br />
using PowerPoint and the statistical software R.<br />
The diversity of projects I collaborated on was a<br />
wonderful experience that helped influence my<br />
perspective on social psychology and my career<br />
interests moving forward.<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Urban<br />
Challenge project, “Norm Dynamics as Agents<br />
of Urban Social Change and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Sustainability: Investigating Cross-Cultural<br />
Differences and Longevity of Intervention.”<br />
54
Calif Chen ’23<br />
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL<br />
AFFAIRS<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Corporate Climates<br />
Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Jordana<br />
Composto, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Psychology;<br />
Pooja Vijay Ramamurthi,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Princeton School of Public<br />
and International Affairs<br />
My internship involved working on two projects:<br />
India’s Coal Transitions and Corporate Climates.<br />
The goal of the India’s Coal Transitions project is<br />
to identify and examine India’s policy network.<br />
I conducted data cleaning for stakeholder<br />
interviews, coded a node list and edge list of<br />
actor interactions for social network analysis,<br />
and assisted in developing research methods<br />
to identify consistent themes within the<br />
stakeholder interviews. The second project I<br />
worked on is Corporate Climates. The goal of my<br />
work within the project was to study the effects<br />
of company sustainability commitments and<br />
statements of varying narratives. Specifically,<br />
we wanted to examine how effective specific<br />
versus vague statements are in galvanizing<br />
stakeholders. I conducted a broad literature<br />
review of research on framing narratives<br />
and corporate statements. At the end of my<br />
internship, I compiled an overview of the<br />
literature, a list of dimensions commonly studied<br />
for messaging, and a list of commonly studied<br />
outcome variables. Overall, I gained a deeper<br />
understanding of the process behind developing<br />
research methods and the skills to conduct a<br />
literature review.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Urban<br />
Challenge project, “Norm Dynamics as Agents<br />
of Urban Social Change and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Sustainability: Investigating Cross-Cultural<br />
Differences and Longevity of Intervention.”<br />
55
Samuel Cryan ’22<br />
GEOSCIENCES<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Coastal Zone Management<br />
and National Estuarine<br />
Research Reserve System<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
National Oceanographic<br />
and Atmospheric<br />
Administration (NOAA)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Erica Seiden, <strong>Program</strong><br />
Manager, NOAA<br />
I worked with the National Estuarine Research<br />
Reserve System to analyze the different estuarine<br />
(areas where rivers meet the sea) nature reserves<br />
and determine how resilient the reserves will<br />
be in the face of climate change and rising sea<br />
levels. I looked at specific features of each reserve<br />
such as erodibility and the percentage of area<br />
below higher high water (the highest high tide)<br />
to determine risk and identify ways to reduce<br />
it. I also conducted greenhouse gas audits and<br />
worked on getting some of the sites designated<br />
as internationally important by the Ramsar<br />
Convention on Wetlands treaty. I learned a lot<br />
about coastal management practices to better<br />
protect estuaries, as well as how to work with<br />
geographic information system (GIS) mapping.<br />
I also gained a lot of insight into the structure<br />
of NOAA and the many important projects they<br />
work on. I loved the experience and hope to<br />
continue studying coastal management.<br />
56
Sierra Gonzales ’22<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Contextualizing Social<br />
Norms<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Johanna Matt-<br />
Navarro, Research Lab<br />
Manager, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Gregg<br />
Sparkman, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate,<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment<br />
I studied how social norms in interventions<br />
can be effective for change. A social norm is<br />
a perception of what others commonly do or<br />
believe in a given context. Previous research<br />
has conducted experimental work in different<br />
content areas to test the effectiveness of specific<br />
phrasing. I focused on reading those research<br />
papers and categorizing them into different<br />
types of mediums, or ways to implement the<br />
norm message, as well as confirming previous<br />
coders’ interpretations about whether the study<br />
should remain in our meta-analysis. The most<br />
interesting part of this work was being exposed<br />
to the wide variety of social-norm research, as<br />
well as discovering areas that still need more<br />
exploration. For this reason, I plan to conduct an<br />
experiment for my senior thesis in which I will<br />
use a social-norm intervention to try to reduce<br />
body-dysmorphic thoughts and actions, as my<br />
previous research has been on eating disorders.<br />
This internship was incredibly rewarding and<br />
helpful in improving my research abilities and<br />
discipline.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Urban<br />
Challenge project, “Norm Dynamics as Agents<br />
of Urban Social Change and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Sustainability: Investigating Cross-Cultural<br />
Differences and Longevity of Intervention.”<br />
57
Sloan Huebner ’23<br />
SOCIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: American Studies<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Trade-offs in Individual/<br />
Collective Behavior in<br />
Response to COVID-19 and<br />
in Anticipation of Climate<br />
Change<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Levin Lab, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Simon Levin, James S.<br />
McDonnell Distinguished<br />
University Professor in<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Elke Weber,<br />
Gerhard R. Andlinger<br />
Professor in Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Sara Constantino,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton School<br />
of Public and International<br />
Affairs and the <strong>Program</strong> in<br />
Science, Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Elisabeth Krueger,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and Lecturer,<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute<br />
I examined how residents of New York City<br />
perceive short-, medium- and long-term risks,<br />
and how those perceptions align with the<br />
priorities of the city’s governance structure. The<br />
COVID-19 pandemic provides a particularly apt<br />
context in which to study the effect of a crisis in<br />
an urban environment on people’s perceptions<br />
of climate change, which may seem like a longterm<br />
issue despite the reality. I coded a survey<br />
using the software Qualtrics for distribution to<br />
selected populations via flyer distribution and<br />
Facebook recruitment. I compiled a catalog of<br />
pertinent local and regional governance actors,<br />
including municipal government officials,<br />
academics, nonprofit organizers, corporate<br />
actors, and state government officials. I also<br />
pulled relevant academic literature for a review<br />
on social-norm formation, mediating governance<br />
institutions and social change, and governance<br />
and power embeddedness. I enjoyed getting my<br />
first work experience in a research lab setting,<br />
and I acquired skills for creating surveys and<br />
conducting literature reviews that have prepared<br />
me for my independent work and graduate<br />
research. I hope to continue the research I<br />
conducted on social-norm and belief formation<br />
in my future research.<br />
58
Tanéyah Jolly ’24<br />
SOCIOLOGY<br />
Certificates: African American Studies, Gender<br />
and Sexuality Studies, Theater<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
New York Lawyers for the<br />
Public Interest<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
New York Lawyers for the<br />
Public Interest (NYLPI)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Hayley Gorenberg, Legal<br />
Director, NYLPI<br />
I worked with New York Lawyers for the Public<br />
Interest on an environmental justice campaign<br />
in response to NRG Energy’s proposal to build<br />
a new fossil fuel plant in Queens, New York.<br />
The campaign was initiated by the PEAK<br />
Coalition, which consists of environmental<br />
justice organizations in New York that focused<br />
on people of color. I attended weekly PEAK<br />
meetings, researched information about<br />
investing practices, and created a social media<br />
campaign for people to write letters to the<br />
New York State Department of <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Conservation. I developed skills in coalition work<br />
and community outreach, and I learned the ways<br />
in which community organizations can support<br />
each other to better serve their communities.<br />
In a more academic tone, I learned about<br />
organizing practices called the Jemez Principles,<br />
which I will carry into many other aspects of<br />
my life. This was a great opportunity for me to<br />
learn more about myself and develop skills in<br />
community organizing and coalition building. I<br />
now have more clarity on how I want to include<br />
environmental justice in my studies and analyses<br />
of social systems and inequities.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
59
Katie Kolodner ’24<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Applications of Computing, Statistics<br />
and Machine Learning<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Local Damages From<br />
Hurricanes: Application of<br />
Machine Learning With<br />
Satellite Data<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Policy<br />
Research on Energy<br />
and the Environment<br />
(C-PREE), School of Public<br />
and International Affairs,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Michael Oppenheimer,<br />
Albert G. Milbank<br />
Professor of Geosciences<br />
and International Affairs<br />
and the High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Rachel Young, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs<br />
Estimates of the damages caused by natural<br />
disasters are a source of growing debate and<br />
uncertainty as the frequency and intensity of<br />
disasters increase due to climate change. Local<br />
economic and political conditions can influence<br />
the quality of self-reported damage estimates<br />
and skew estimates of a disaster’s impact. To help<br />
correct for this data limitation, I constructed a<br />
novel data set of building-level damages using<br />
satellite images of communities impacted by<br />
hurricanes, and I developed supervised machine<br />
learning methods. This new source of damage<br />
data will allow researchers and policymakers to<br />
better identify impacted households in order to<br />
evaluate the effectiveness of disaster relief and<br />
determine how disasters impact local economic<br />
conditions. I gained a broader understanding<br />
of the importance of computer science and<br />
economics in understanding the urban impacts<br />
of climate change through my research, and I<br />
hope to continue utilizing machine learning and<br />
data analysis for beneficial global change.<br />
60
Kenzo Lacuarta ’22<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Global Health and Health Policy<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Trade-offs in Individual/<br />
Collective Behavior in<br />
Response to COVID-19 and<br />
in Anticipation of Climate<br />
Change<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Levin Lab, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Simon Levin, James S.<br />
McDonnell Distinguished<br />
University Professor in<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Elke Weber,<br />
Gerhard R. Andlinger<br />
Professor in Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Sara Constantino,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton School<br />
of Public and International<br />
Affairs and the <strong>Program</strong> in<br />
Science, Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Elisabeth Krueger,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and Lecturer,<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute<br />
I studied multilevel governance within New<br />
York City and looked at existing models of<br />
governance that could inform policymaking.<br />
More specifically, my goal was to understand<br />
how access to health care could be increased<br />
by modeling the dynamic relationship between<br />
public and private health insurers and uninsured<br />
individuals. This was done using the software<br />
Python to simulate a three-player game that<br />
incorporated evolutionary game theory and<br />
a payoff matrix. I later conducted a literature<br />
review of other studies and their impacts on<br />
policy decision-making. I improved my coding<br />
skills, but also learned how ecological models<br />
could be used for a wide range of interactions<br />
between individuals and groups. With the help<br />
of my mentors and adviser, I hope to use my<br />
preliminary model as a foundation for my senior<br />
thesis.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
61
Jonathan Lin ’24<br />
ECONOMICS<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Trade-offs in Individual/<br />
Collective Behavior in<br />
Response to COVID-19 and<br />
in Anticipation of Climate<br />
Change<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Levin Lab, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Simon Levin, James S.<br />
McDonnell Distinguished<br />
University Professor in<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Elke Weber,<br />
Gerhard R. Andlinger<br />
Professor in Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Sara Constantino,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton School<br />
of Public and International<br />
Affairs and the <strong>Program</strong> in<br />
Science, Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Elisabeth Krueger,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and Lecturer,<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute<br />
My project explored how physical location and<br />
socioeconomic factors affect risk perceptions<br />
and attitudes related to climate change impacts<br />
and policy. This project involved distributing a<br />
household survey on climate change attitudes<br />
to key neighborhoods in New York City. I<br />
worked with geographic information systems<br />
(GIS) to identify target neighborhoods, then<br />
used a software called QGIS to map data from<br />
a previous study that quantified climate risk<br />
across the city. That survey measured different<br />
areas’ physical risk from climate change, as<br />
well as their level of susceptibility based on how<br />
difficult it would be to endure and recover from<br />
harmful climate impacts. I was able to determine<br />
specific Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs)<br />
that fit into four different key categories: high<br />
hazard-high susceptibility; high hazard-low<br />
susceptibility; low hazard-high susceptibility;<br />
and low hazard-low susceptibility. I helped<br />
sample the identified neighborhoods by traveling<br />
to New York to distribute flyers for our survey,<br />
as well as engaging residents through social<br />
media advertising. In addition to gaining a better<br />
understanding and appreciation of the processes<br />
involved in academic research, I enjoyed learning<br />
GIS and creating useful visual representations of<br />
complicated data. My experience heightened my<br />
interest in conducting research related to social<br />
sciences and policy.<br />
62
Tanvi Nibhanupudi ’23<br />
ECONOMICS<br />
Certificates: Journalism, Finance<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Corporate Climates<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Sara Constantino,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs and<br />
the <strong>Program</strong> in Science,<br />
Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jordana<br />
Composto, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Psychology;<br />
Melissa Tier, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs<br />
I investigated individual and institutional<br />
climate change awareness and action through<br />
surveys of individual perspectives on COVID-19<br />
and climate change, as well as data on financial<br />
institutions’ environmental, social and<br />
governance (ESG) performance. Our goal was to<br />
produce a behaviorally informed understanding<br />
of the cognitive and social mechanisms that<br />
influence personal and institutional action<br />
on COVID-19 and climate change. These<br />
analyses will help inform stronger corporate<br />
and government policies by providing greater<br />
knowledge of the ways in which individuals,<br />
institutions and government bodies connect and<br />
interact to effect change. In these projects, I used<br />
the programming language R to compile data and<br />
extract trends for global financial actors across<br />
financial and ESG metrics, as well as examine<br />
the influence of perceptions of government<br />
COVID-19 and climate change action on personal<br />
action and trust in institutions. Overall, this<br />
experience gave me invaluable skills in cleaning<br />
and analyzing data sets that have real-world<br />
impact and inspired me to continue this work<br />
by adopting a more data-driven and behavioral<br />
focus in my economics concentration. This<br />
internship was an incredible opportunity for me<br />
to shape my own research, and I hope to continue<br />
this in my future independent work.<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Urban<br />
Challenge project, “Norm Dynamics as Agents<br />
of Urban Social Change and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Sustainability: Investigating Cross-Cultural<br />
Differences and Longevity of Intervention.”<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
63
Nicole Svensson ’24<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Inequality, Economic<br />
Precarity, and Disruptive<br />
Events<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Sara Constantino,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs and<br />
the <strong>Program</strong> in Science,<br />
Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute<br />
I studied how the onset of COVID-19 shaped<br />
peoples’ preferences for a universal basic income<br />
(UBI). I analyzed a survey conducted by the<br />
Behavioral Science for Policy Lab (BSPL) across<br />
China, Italy and the United States. A portion<br />
of the survey requested that respondents<br />
numerically rate their support for a UBI. My<br />
analysis determined that COVID-19 increased<br />
support for a UBI in Italy and the United States,<br />
but decreased support for a UBI in China. I also<br />
studied the factors that may have affected this,<br />
such as race, income, education, gender and<br />
political affiliation. I thoroughly researched<br />
each of the respective countries’ social safety<br />
nets as context for possible explanations for the<br />
change in support. I was able to build upon my<br />
data analysis skills by learning the programming<br />
language R. I had not used R much before, but<br />
I became much more comfortable with it as<br />
a result of my project. Additionally, I learned<br />
how to thoughtfully write research papers and<br />
enumerate my findings in a concise manner. I<br />
enjoyed my time working in the laboratory and I<br />
thank BSPL for this opportunity.<br />
64
Mayu Takeuchi ’23<br />
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL<br />
AFFAIRS<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Values and<br />
Public Life, Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Climate Policy Advocacy:<br />
With Equity in Research,<br />
Policy and Practice<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Defense<br />
Fund (EDF)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Katelyn Roedner Sutter,<br />
Senior Manager, U.S.<br />
Climate, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Defense Fund; Katie<br />
Schneer, High Meadows<br />
Fellow, EDF<br />
I worked with the <strong>Environmental</strong> Defense Fund<br />
(EDF) on climate policy research and advocacy<br />
in California and Washington. The California Air<br />
Resources Board (CARB) is currently developing<br />
the 2022 Scoping Plan, California’s roadmap<br />
for achieving its climate goals. As part of this<br />
process, I advocated for EDF’s priorities of:<br />
raising climate ambition, including through<br />
tighter emissions caps in the cap-and-trade<br />
program; maximizing near-term emissions<br />
reductions; and ensuring equitable processes and<br />
outcomes for communities disproportionately<br />
impacted by pollution. I coordinated public<br />
comments submitted to CARB, co-authored an<br />
EDF blog post, and developed memos on climate<br />
investments in communities. For Washington,<br />
I contributed to advocacy surrounding the new<br />
Climate Commitment Act, delving into policy<br />
and political differences between the states.<br />
Additionally, I led the development of a literature<br />
review of the effects of emissions trading systems<br />
(ETSs) on local air pollution, and I identified<br />
key benefits, harms and risks of ETSs, as well<br />
as ideas for policies to mitigate those risks and<br />
harms. Overall, I realized the importance of<br />
relationships — and who is at the table — in<br />
determining what policies get made and put<br />
into action. I am eager to continue working in<br />
the climate policy space, especially with the<br />
communities most impacted.<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
POLICY AND SOCIETY<br />
65
Darin Avila ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Applied and Computational<br />
Mathematics<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Air Quality Modeling and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Justice<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Marshall Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, University of<br />
Washington<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Julian Marshall, John R.<br />
Kiely Endowed Professor,<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, University of<br />
Washington<br />
The Marshall Research Group fights for<br />
environmental justice using both mechanistic<br />
models and empirical data to model the effects of<br />
air pollution across the country. This internship<br />
allowed me to improve my skills working with<br />
geographical data, outlining functions for<br />
complex tasks, and optimizing algorithms that<br />
work with millions of data points. I helped<br />
create a suite of functions that could quickly<br />
communicate with the group’s air-pollution<br />
model to perform certain tasks, then I applied<br />
these functions to a project that would shed light<br />
on an issue in environmental justice. We decided<br />
to look at a sample of facilities defined by the<br />
U.S. <strong>Environmental</strong> Protection Agency as power<br />
plants and assigned each an environmental<br />
justice score based on how its emissions affect<br />
minority communities’ exposure to pollutants<br />
relative to the general population. After<br />
reworking our code for further efficiency, we were<br />
left with a body of data that allowed us to glean<br />
important environmental justice insights about<br />
the power plants in question.<br />
66
Joshua Ku ’22<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Mucormycosis Burden<br />
Survey<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Disease<br />
Dynamics, Economics and<br />
Policy (CDDEP)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ramanan Laxminarayan,<br />
Senior Research Scholar,<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute,<br />
Princeton University;<br />
Ruchita Balasubramanian<br />
’19, CDDEP<br />
Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal<br />
infection with a high mortality rate. My project<br />
focused on creating a map of the mucormycosis<br />
burden (infections) on a global scale using<br />
existing literature as data. I performed a<br />
literature review on the search engines PubMed<br />
and Google Scholar, then mapped mucormycosis<br />
burden using the software QGIS. Throughout<br />
my internship, the most interesting thing to<br />
me was reading through the case reports. Each<br />
one painted a distinct picture of a different<br />
patient with mucormycosis. There were stories of<br />
mucormycosis being discovered and addressed in<br />
time, and of when it failed to be addressed. Other<br />
cases were hospital-acquired infections where<br />
quick identifications were important. Reading<br />
through these personal stories helped strengthen<br />
my resolve to pursue a career based in health<br />
care.<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
67
Rachel Kulchar ’23<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
Certificates: Global Health and Health Policy,<br />
Materials Science and Engineering<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Predicting Exposure of<br />
Children to <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Pollutants Using Their<br />
Deciduous Teeth<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Molecular <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Geochemistry Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Satish Myneni, Professor<br />
of Geosciences<br />
The premise of this internship is that human<br />
exposure to the environmental milieu is a key<br />
factor in brain development. Because human<br />
brain development is more than 80% complete<br />
by the age of 3, assessing children’s exposure<br />
to environmental toxins in their early years<br />
is central to understanding the neurological<br />
development of children living in regions where<br />
water is highly polluted. While blood analysis has<br />
been used to assess a child's recent exposure to<br />
toxins, deciduous teeth (baby teeth) can indicate<br />
long-term exposure levels. Organic contaminants<br />
such as insecticides and antibiotics can become<br />
part of the tooth’s dentin and remain in the<br />
intergranular spaces of apatite, which is the<br />
primary component of tooth enamel and bone<br />
mineral. Slow and long-term exposure to low<br />
levels of water contamination is more common<br />
in the world, and this study can provide valuable<br />
clues where commonly used blood analysis fails.<br />
68
Chirag Kumar ’23<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
Certificates: Global Health and Health Policy,<br />
Applied and Computational Mathematics<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Mitigating Neonatal<br />
Mortality: Estimates of<br />
Vaccine-Avertable<br />
Neonatal Sepsis and<br />
Antimicrobial Resistance<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Disease<br />
Dynamics, Economics and<br />
Policy<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ramanan Laxminarayan,<br />
Senior Research Scholar,<br />
High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute,<br />
Princeton University<br />
Bacterial sepsis is a leading cause of neonatal<br />
mortality. Sepsis is caused by a dysregulated<br />
host response to a bacterial infection and is<br />
commonly associated with pathogens that<br />
exhibit high degrees of antibiotic resistance.<br />
There is a critical need to introduce measures<br />
that can mitigate sepsis and, therefore, reduce<br />
neonatal mortality, which is useful toward<br />
reaching various U.N. Sustainable Development<br />
Goals. Cohort studies have been done in various<br />
low- and middle-income countries where the<br />
burden of neonatal sepsis is often worst to<br />
characterize neonatal sepsis. Nevertheless, there<br />
remain critical questions in identifying and<br />
estimating the actual burden of neonatal sepsis<br />
by pathogen and antimicrobial resistance, and in<br />
determining the impact a potential vaccine may<br />
have in mitigating neonatal sepsis. I developed<br />
a Monte Carlo-inspired model to combine data<br />
from various cohort studies in order to estimate<br />
the incidence of neonatal sepsis by pathogen<br />
across countries and World Health Organization<br />
(WHO) regions. I then used WHO data of<br />
neonatal mortality and drew inspiration from<br />
the maternal tetanus-vaccination campaign to<br />
evaluate the number of neonatal sepsis deaths<br />
that could be prevented should a vaccine for<br />
various pathogens be developed and distributed<br />
with propagated uncertainty.<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
69
Heather Madsen ’24<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Archaeology, <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Religious Environments in<br />
Roman Britain<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Kay Research Group,<br />
Department of Art and<br />
Archaeology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
Through my internship, I gleaned a background<br />
in ancient Roman archaeology and culture.<br />
We began by reading work on Roman Britain<br />
by British archaeologist Miranda Aldhouse-<br />
Green so as to establish a foundation of religious<br />
and funerary practices and customs. We then<br />
proceeded to categorize religious sites mined<br />
from the text, supplementing them with more<br />
found online. Once we had a large base of data<br />
in the online database Airtable, we embarked<br />
on independent research. I studied the health<br />
implications of Rome’s dependency on lead in<br />
Britain and, in particular, how water and aquatic<br />
cults intensified the epidemic of lead poisoning<br />
in the ancient world.<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Janet Kay, Associate<br />
Research Scholar, Art and<br />
Archaeology<br />
70
Katie McLaughlin ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificate: Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Air Quality Modeling and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Justice<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Marshall Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, University of<br />
Washington<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Julian Marshall, John R.<br />
Kiely Endowed Professor,<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, University of<br />
Washington<br />
I had the opportunity to study air pollution in<br />
the United States and how exposure correlates<br />
with demographics. I collaborated with two other<br />
Princeton students to answer environmental<br />
justice (EJ) questions using data from an InMap<br />
Source-Receptor Matrix (ISRM), a tool that can<br />
predict a change in PM 2.5<br />
pollution at a receptor<br />
location due to a change in source emissions.<br />
Our goals were to make the ISRM calculations<br />
accessible and understandable, and to assign an<br />
EJ score to power plants across the United States.<br />
We first thoroughly documented a local setup<br />
and functions guide that future researchers<br />
can use to gain an understanding of the ISRM<br />
and its potential. After completing the basic<br />
groundwork, we used the ISRM to evaluate<br />
the emissions each power plant produces<br />
and analyzed the effects on different ethnic<br />
groups, exposing a need for policy and action.<br />
Through this work, I learned a lot about our<br />
country’s history of environmental and racial<br />
injustice. I gained great insight into the process<br />
of engineering research, and I am inspired to<br />
use my technical background to address similar<br />
social and environmental issues.<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
71
Srija Patcha ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
HUMAN HEALTH<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Effect of COVID-19<br />
Lockdowns on Air Quality<br />
in Delhi, India<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Policy<br />
Research on Energy<br />
and the Environment<br />
(C-PREE), School of Public<br />
and International Affairs,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Denise Mauzerall,<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and Public<br />
and International Affairs;<br />
Disha Sharma,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Princeton<br />
School of Public and<br />
International Affairs and<br />
C-PREE<br />
I analyzed spatiotemporal air quality data for<br />
Delhi, India, to identify trends in air pollution<br />
during India’s COVID-19 lockdowns. Delhi is one<br />
of the most polluted megacities in the world,<br />
exhibiting ambient concentrations of criteria<br />
pollutants that frequently exceed the National<br />
Ambient Air Quality Standards. However, during<br />
the government-mandated COVID-19 lockdowns<br />
in 2020 and <strong>2021</strong>, multiple news outlets noted<br />
clearer skies and cleaner air throughout the city.<br />
I aimed to investigate this further by quantifying<br />
possible changes in Delhi’s air quality during the<br />
two lockdown periods. I downloaded time-series<br />
data from 39 continuous monitoring stations<br />
throughout Delhi from 2015 to <strong>2021</strong> (using 2015-<br />
19 data as a baseline) for five criteria pollutants:<br />
two forms of particulate matter (PM 10<br />
and PM 2.5<br />
),<br />
nitrogen dioxide (NO 2<br />
), sulfur dioxide (SO 2<br />
), and<br />
ozone (O 3<br />
). As the project progressed, I gained<br />
familiarity with Pandas, a data-specific library in<br />
the software Python, and learned to implement<br />
methods of spatiotemporal visualization. I<br />
also learned a lot about the network of air<br />
quality monitoring and management in<br />
India. This internship provided me invaluable<br />
exposure to the intersection of technology and<br />
environmental research, which I plan to continue<br />
pursuing in college and beyond.<br />
72
Madeleine Burns ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Applications of the<br />
Net-Zero America Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Climate Central<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Eric Larson, Senior<br />
Research Engineer,<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University; Shari Bell,<br />
Regional Director, Climate<br />
Central; Jennifer Brady,<br />
Manager, Analysis and<br />
Production, Climate<br />
Central<br />
I worked with Climate Central to research and<br />
analyze data on the shifts in employment that<br />
would result from a national transition to netzero<br />
carbon emissions. Starting with Princeton’s<br />
Net-Zero America (NZA) project, I conducted<br />
outside research and synthesized information<br />
from a wide range of sources, from projects<br />
similar to NZA in scale and granularity, to<br />
specific regional case studies. Taken together,<br />
the data provide a holistic overview of the impact<br />
of the net-zero transition on the labor market.<br />
While there will be significant job turnover, the<br />
transition would result in more high-quality<br />
jobs across the United States. Throughout<br />
this internship, I developed data analysis<br />
and visualization skills for programming in<br />
R software, and I improved my research and<br />
analysis skills. My experience with Climate<br />
Central gave me insight into how nonprofit<br />
groups can use relatable local issues such as<br />
employment to approach the public about global<br />
issues such as climate change. I found this<br />
intersection of data and public interaction to be<br />
fascinating, and it’s something I certainly hope<br />
to pursue further in my academic career, perhaps<br />
by taking classes in data application or public<br />
policy.<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
73
Emilio Cano Renteria ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Sustainable Energy, Applications of<br />
Computing, Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Wind and Solar Technology<br />
for the WeatherPower Tool<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Climate Central<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Eric Larson, Senior<br />
Research Engineer,<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University; Jennifer<br />
Brady, Manager, Analysis<br />
and Production, Climate<br />
Central<br />
Climate Central’s online WeatherPower tool<br />
forecasts daily renewable-energy production in<br />
different counties, districts and states across the<br />
United States. It is useful for demonstrating the<br />
potential for sustainable electricity generation<br />
to interested or curious consumers. My focus<br />
was on, first, improving WeatherPower’s<br />
accuracy by updating its solar- and wind-energy<br />
capacity estimates for the whole country. With<br />
a better idea of how many solar panels and wind<br />
turbines exist, the tool is able to better forecast<br />
production on any given day. I then analyzed the<br />
forecasts that WeatherPower made in the past<br />
and identified trends in regional sustainableenergy<br />
generation. With nearly one year of stored<br />
daily generation estimates, I was able to see<br />
how electricity production behaves throughout<br />
the year and propose articles or reports that<br />
could be produced from these observations. To<br />
conduct this analysis, I learned how to use the<br />
programming language SQL and how to work<br />
with large relational databases. I also learned<br />
about the intricacies of the sustainable-energy<br />
industry, a field which I hope to enter after<br />
graduation.<br />
74
Joseph Feng ’22<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Robotics and Intelligent Systems,<br />
Engineering Physics<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
A Structured Risk<br />
Assessment of Net-zero<br />
Emissions Pathways<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Energy Systems Analysis<br />
Group, Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University; Behavioral<br />
Science for Policy Lab,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Chris Greig, Theodora D.<br />
’78 & William H. Walton III<br />
’74 Senior Research<br />
Scientist, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Richard<br />
Moss, Visiting Research<br />
Collaborator, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment<br />
Our research studied risks associated with<br />
American energy-transition programs intended<br />
to mitigate climate change. We applied a<br />
structured risk assessment framework to risks<br />
associated with different pathways to net-zero<br />
emissions that were laid out in the recently<br />
published Princeton Net-Zero America study.<br />
This framework enabled us to: identify, analyze<br />
and evaluate the execution, climate impact and<br />
complex risks of net-zero pathways; develop<br />
risk-reduction strategies in response; and<br />
draw parallels and distinctions between these<br />
pathways’ risk exposure and risk vulnerabilities.<br />
I learned to quantitatively assess risk using a<br />
structured framework that helped me evaluate<br />
the likelihood, consequence and severity of<br />
each risk. Working with a project as big as<br />
the American energy transition gave me an<br />
appreciation for not only how monumental<br />
climate change mitigation will be, but also how<br />
much effort and planning is necessary for any<br />
significant engineering project.<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
75
Kenny Huang ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Statistics and Machine Learning,<br />
Optimization and Quantitative Decision Science,<br />
Applied and Computational Mathematics<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data Science Applications<br />
for Electric Reliability<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Office of Electric<br />
Reliability, Federal Energy<br />
Regulatory Commission<br />
(FERC)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
David Ortiz, Deputy<br />
Director, Office of Electric<br />
Reliability, FERC<br />
I worked as a data science intern in the Federal<br />
Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of<br />
Electric Reliability (OER) supporting various<br />
data-related tasks that the team worked on. At<br />
a high level, OER oversees the development and<br />
enforcement of mandatory reliability standards<br />
for the electric power grid. During my internship,<br />
I completed projects in database curation, data<br />
analysis and task automation that directly helped<br />
OER’s day-to-day operations. While working<br />
on these projects, I learned about several of the<br />
different aspects of work in OER, as well as how<br />
to implement and use Python programminglanguage<br />
libraries such as SQLAlchemy,<br />
Selenium and Natural Language Toolkit. My<br />
greatest takeaway was an appreciation for what<br />
goes on behind the scenes to keep the electrical<br />
grid operating and the infrastructure that<br />
supports our daily lives running smoothly.<br />
This internship solidified for me that I’m still<br />
interested in data science as a career, likely<br />
within the realm of energy, and I’m looking<br />
forward to continuing that journey.<br />
76
Aaron Leung ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
A Structured Risk<br />
Assessment of Net-zero<br />
Emissions Pathways<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Energy Systems Analysis<br />
Group, Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University; Behavioral<br />
Science for Policy Lab,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Chris Greig, Theodora D.<br />
’78 & William H. Walton III<br />
’74 Senior Research<br />
Scientist, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Richard<br />
Moss, Visiting Research<br />
Collaborator, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment<br />
Our project aims to develop energy-transition<br />
risk management measures to enhance the<br />
resilience of the Princeton Net-Zero America<br />
(NZA) project and other energy transition<br />
programs, and to offer insight into modeling<br />
multisector transition processes. We apply a<br />
structured risk assessment framework to risks<br />
associated with two NZA net-zero emissions<br />
pathways in order to: identify, analyze and<br />
evaluate the execution, climate impact and<br />
complex risks of the pathways; develop riskreduction<br />
strategies in response; and draw<br />
parallels and distinctions in risk exposure and<br />
risk vulnerability between these pathways. The<br />
experience inspired me to cultivate my interests<br />
and skills in a breadth of areas, including: energy<br />
transition; the energy value chain; sustainability;<br />
environmental, social and corporate governance<br />
(ESG); tri-sector leadership; risk and resilience;<br />
complex systems; and global interconnectivity.<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
77
Aneesha Manocha ’23<br />
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Sustainable Energy, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Studies, Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Macro-energy System<br />
Modeling Methodologies<br />
and Applications in India<br />
for Decarbonization<br />
Pathways<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
ZERO Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University;<br />
Centre for Social and<br />
Economic Progress (CSEP)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Jesse Jenkins, Assistant<br />
Professor of Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Neha<br />
Patankar, Associate<br />
Research Scholar,<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Rahul<br />
Tongia, Senior Fellow,<br />
CSEP<br />
I conducted research with the ZERO lab and the<br />
Centre for Social Economic Progress on macroenergy<br />
system modeling methodologies and<br />
development and decarbonization pathways<br />
in India. With the urgency of decarbonizing<br />
global energy systems increasing, creating and<br />
analyzing energy system models is essential<br />
to understand possible low-carbon futures. My<br />
goal was to better understand electricity-system<br />
model planning and the policy implications<br />
of these models, and to build a model of<br />
development needs and decarbonization<br />
pathways for India. I learned about various<br />
modeling techniques, methods of approaching<br />
energy system models, and gathered data on<br />
various energy end-use sectors for the models I<br />
created. This internship reinforced my long-term<br />
interests in using energy system modeling to<br />
better understand decarbonization pathways as I<br />
continue my research over the next two years and<br />
plan to attend graduate school.<br />
78
Anika Maskara ’23<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Supporting the Case for<br />
Medium- and Heavy-duty<br />
Vehicle Electrification<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Defense<br />
Fund (EDF)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
James Fine, Director and<br />
Lead Senior Economist,<br />
Research and Analytics,<br />
EDF<br />
I worked with the energy analytics team at<br />
the <strong>Environmental</strong> Defense Fund (EDF) on<br />
issues related to zero-emissions medium- and<br />
heavy-duty vehicles. Medium- and heavy-duty<br />
vehicles make up less than 10% of vehicles on the<br />
road, but contribute more than 60% of mobilesource<br />
nitrogen oxides and particulate matter<br />
emissions, causing serious environmental and<br />
health problems. EDF’s goal is to ensure all<br />
new trucks and buses sold are zero-emissions<br />
by 2040. My primary project was to develop<br />
an interactive dashboard for estimating the<br />
emissions associated with medium- and heavyduty<br />
vehicles in all 50 states, which will allow<br />
EDF to easily calculate and share emissions<br />
profiles when promoting its policy goals. To make<br />
this dashboard, I gathered and analyzed data<br />
related to vehicle populations and emissions<br />
factors. This internship allowed me to develop<br />
my technical programming skills and gain a<br />
firm understanding of the current state of the<br />
medium- and heavy-duty vehicle market and<br />
where it might go in the future. The experience<br />
solidified my interest in using technology to<br />
promote social good and inspired me to learn<br />
more about sustainability in the transportation<br />
sector.<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
79
Sullivan Meyer ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Architecture and Engineering<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Community Attitudes to<br />
Large-scale Renewable<br />
Energy Deployment in<br />
Net-Zero America<br />
Scenarios<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in Energy<br />
and the Environment,<br />
Professor of Psychology and<br />
Public Affairs; Johanna<br />
Matt-Navarro, Research Lab<br />
Manager, Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Sara<br />
Constantino, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate,<br />
Princeton School of Public<br />
and International Affairs and<br />
the <strong>Program</strong> in Science,<br />
Technology and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Policy, and<br />
Lecturer in the High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Elisabeth Krueger,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and Lecturer, High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jordana Composto,<br />
Ph.D. candidate, Psychology<br />
The Princeton Net-Zero America (NZA) project<br />
analyzed existing technologies, natural<br />
resources and economic contexts to identify five<br />
cost-optimizing pathways for America to reach<br />
net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. As we know,<br />
however, change in America rarely comes in its<br />
most cost-efficient form. Market incumbents,<br />
entrenched political actors and other social<br />
forces also constrain our country’s path to<br />
progress. My team’s goal was to identify what<br />
these forces may be and begin assessing how<br />
they could influence NZA scenarios. The first<br />
half of my summer was devoted to conducting a<br />
literature review of studies that have examined<br />
the sociopolitical barriers to renewable-energy<br />
development and to compiling data on energy,<br />
politics, policies and demographics. I spent<br />
the second half of my internship summarizing<br />
those findings in a series of reports on 11 states<br />
identified as particularly important to the netzero<br />
transition. I learned about social science<br />
research, data collection and management, and<br />
various quantitative analysis techniques. I hope<br />
to one day work in politics, policy or engineering<br />
where I can help segue the findings of projects<br />
such as this into tangible change.<br />
80
Harvin Sangha ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Applications of Computing, Finance,<br />
Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Community Attitudes to<br />
Large-scale Renewable<br />
Energy Deployment in<br />
Net-Zero America<br />
Scenarios<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Behavioral Science for<br />
Policy Lab, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Elke Weber, Gerhard R.<br />
Andlinger Professor in<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment, Professor of<br />
Psychology and Public<br />
Affairs; Gregg Sparkman,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Andlinger<br />
Center for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Jordana<br />
Composto, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Psychology<br />
I interned with the Behavioral Science for Policy<br />
Lab (BSPL) as a part of the Princeton Net-Zero<br />
America (NZA) project. Currently, NZA is a<br />
techno-economic analysis of various pathways<br />
to decarbonizing the American economy. I<br />
incorporated organization-level data to the<br />
NZA scenarios to investigate which corporate<br />
institutions are primed for net-zero transition.<br />
I collected corporate variables related to<br />
organizational structures — such as the existence<br />
of sustainability committees or energy-reduction<br />
policies — and firm characteristics, such as<br />
the average age of the board of directors or the<br />
percentage of women in management. I analyzed<br />
the impact of these organization-level variables<br />
on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the<br />
largest producers of various energies (wind, solar,<br />
oil, hydroelectric, etc.) in 11 representative states.<br />
I learned new technical skills such as using R<br />
software, the Bloomberg Terminal, and basic<br />
data analysis. From environmental, social and<br />
governance metrics, to GHG-emissions scopes, I<br />
gained knowledge of the vocabulary and thought<br />
processes needed to address climate change from<br />
the corporate side. I’ve also gained new insights<br />
into the importance of corporate organizational<br />
structures. Through this internship, I gained<br />
familiarity with visualization techniques, and<br />
I look forward to continuing my work with the<br />
BSPL.<br />
NEW ENERGY FUTURE<br />
81
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Caroline Adkins ’22<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Global Health and Health Policy,<br />
Sustainable Energy, Engineering Biology<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Modeling Hydrogel<br />
Swelling in a Cohesive<br />
Granular Medium<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Datta Lab, Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sujit Datta, Assistant<br />
Professor of Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering;<br />
Jean-François Louf,<br />
Assistant Professor in<br />
Chemical Engineering,<br />
Auburn University<br />
On the surface, hydrogels resemble small<br />
colorful beads. In reality, these little beads can<br />
absorb about six times their weight in water,<br />
making them extremely useful water reservoirs<br />
that can be employed in a variety of contexts.<br />
The agricultural industry is a big consumer<br />
of this technology, leveraging hydrogels’<br />
absorbent potential to combat water stress<br />
in crops during drought. In some cases, the<br />
distribution of hydrogels in soil successfully<br />
increases crop yields while simultaneously<br />
reducing necessary water inputs. In other cases,<br />
for unknown reasons, we see the complete<br />
opposite outcome. To help solve this mystery, I<br />
developed a computer model to simulate how a<br />
hydrogel may (or may not) swell under varying<br />
soil conditions. Once the model was complete,<br />
we obtained quantifiable evidence that the<br />
weight and cohesivity of soil can have drastic<br />
effects on hydrogel swelling, indicating that the<br />
technology would be more effective in lighter,<br />
more compressive soils. As I enter my senior year,<br />
I will apply everything I learned — a new coding<br />
language, technical polymer physics, hydrogel<br />
mechanics and more — as I continue to work with<br />
hydrogels in the Datta Lab and explore their vast<br />
environmental potential.<br />
82
Tiffany Agyarko ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Urban Studies<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Architectural, Structural<br />
and Urban Strategies for<br />
Urban Farming<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Form Finding Lab,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sigrid Adriaenssens,<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I worked with the organization Neighborhood<br />
Growers in Baltimore to determine the<br />
structural and economic feasibility of operating<br />
commercial- and community-scale hydroponic<br />
rooftop greenhouses in city neighborhoods. I<br />
was responsible for identifying the city policies<br />
and building regulations that affect urban<br />
farming and rooftop greenhouse construction<br />
and operations. I interviewed a variety of<br />
professionals, including representatives from the<br />
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and<br />
the Baltimore City Department of Housing and<br />
Community Development. I also researched the<br />
varieties and vendors of controlled-environment<br />
agricultural systems and greenhouse<br />
technologies that are best suited for the produce<br />
that will be grown in the greenhouses. I also<br />
helped develop a methodology for analyzing the<br />
structural feasibility of placing a hydroponic<br />
greenhouse on an apartment rooftop and on<br />
a typical U.S. industrial warehouse rooftop. I<br />
am very interested in projects that allow me to<br />
explore how the built environment shapes life<br />
within cities, and this internship allowed me to<br />
explore this within the context of urban farming.<br />
This research also gave me insight into key<br />
techniques for analyzing concrete slabs.<br />
83
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Kaleb Areda ’24<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Applications of Computing, Materials<br />
Science and Engineering<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Can Soil Nutrient<br />
Availability Limit Future<br />
Food Production?<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Molecular <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Geochemistry Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Geosciences, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Satish Myneni, Professor<br />
of Geosciences<br />
Common agricultural methods deploy immense<br />
amounts of fertilizers that saturate soils<br />
with nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.<br />
Other important nutrients such as calcium,<br />
magnesium and silicon are often neglected and<br />
not replenished by farmers. I studied some of the<br />
main processes associated with plant nutrient<br />
absorption, such as mineral dissolution and the<br />
cation-exchange capacity (CEC) of different soils.<br />
I calculated the quantities of 10 key nutrients<br />
present in a certain yield of the three major<br />
crops — corn, wheat and rice — using their dry<br />
weight. I then drew from a research review I<br />
wrote to calculate CEC and determine how much<br />
of the nutrients in the different nutrient pools<br />
are bioavailable. This allowed me to determine<br />
the critical nutrient-sufficiency levels of these<br />
crops, as well as how long they can be grown in<br />
a particular area with a relatively common soil<br />
type before extreme nutrient deficiency results. I<br />
learned significant data organization skills from<br />
this internship, and its focus on sustainability<br />
particularly inspired me to consider a certificate<br />
in sustainable energy.<br />
84
Justin Cai ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Finer-scale Agricultural<br />
Burning Mapping in<br />
Punjab, India<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sustainable Urban<br />
Systems Lab, Department<br />
of Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Anu Ramaswami, Sanjay<br />
Swani ’87 Professor of<br />
India Studies, Professor<br />
of Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute<br />
I studied the burning of agricultural land by<br />
farmers in northern India, which is driven<br />
by labor shortages and the timing of growing<br />
seasons. Agricultural burning is a significant<br />
concern due to its greenhouse gas emissions<br />
and air pollution. The goal of my project was<br />
to map this burning using fine-scale satellite<br />
imagery since little information currently<br />
exists on where and when this burning occurs.<br />
I started by manually classifying burned land<br />
to provide training and validation data for a<br />
supervised image classification algorithm, which<br />
would ideally classify burned agricultural land.<br />
Then, I cleaned the satellite imagery to remove<br />
potentially defective images and interpolated<br />
the resulting missing values to prepare it for<br />
classification. I am continuing to research other<br />
optimizations and noise-reduction techniques,<br />
as well as develop a robust classification workflow<br />
and evaluate its accuracy. I gained substantial<br />
experience working through a professional data<br />
science workflow, giving me a better sense of how<br />
geographic analysis is conducted in a rigorous<br />
scientific context. This internship sparked<br />
my interest in the applications of machine<br />
learning in environmental science, and I intend<br />
to continue studying civil and environmental<br />
engineering and statistics and machine learning,<br />
possibly working in these fields in the future.<br />
85
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Keenan Duggal ’23<br />
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Effects of Climate Change<br />
on Plant-Pathogen<br />
Evolution and<br />
Epidemiology<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
The Metcalf Lab,<br />
Department of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Rocky Mountain<br />
Biological Laboratory,<br />
Gothic, Colorado<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
C. Jessica E. Metcalf,<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology and Public Affairs;<br />
Ian Miller, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology<br />
My project focused on the epidemiological<br />
dynamics of the flowering plant Lewis flax<br />
(Linum lewisii) and its fungal pathogen flax<br />
rust (Melampsora lini). I worked to extrapolate<br />
how climate change is going to broadly change<br />
the transmission dynamics and evolutionary<br />
strategies of infectious diseases in plants, which<br />
has significant implications for agricultural<br />
production and global food security. My<br />
responsibilities were to: contribute to long-term<br />
epidemiological data sets through fieldwork and<br />
data collection; design and execute inoculation<br />
experiments to help elucidate flax resistance<br />
dynamics; and carry out elevation transect<br />
surveys and statistical analyses on the resulting<br />
data to determine the correlation between flaxrust<br />
infection and spatial data information,<br />
such as topography, landcover and radiation<br />
levels. During this internship, I experienced<br />
what field research entails, and I learned many<br />
field-specific research techniques in addition to<br />
data analysis skills. Moreover, I gained valuable<br />
experience in designing my own experiments<br />
and leading my own project. I am interested in<br />
further exploring the intersections between the<br />
environment and human health.<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Water<br />
and the Environment Challenge project, “Beyond the<br />
Drought Paradigm: Does Hydrology Drive Pathogen<br />
Impact on Plant Health?”<br />
86
Lilianna Gittoes ’24<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Growing in the Garden<br />
State: Understanding<br />
Factors That Impact Food<br />
Production<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Gina Talt,<br />
Sustainability Project<br />
Assistant, Office of<br />
Sustainability<br />
I studied the performance of five farms in<br />
the Princeton, New Jersey, area, visiting and<br />
collecting data from each along with other<br />
interns working on this project. At each<br />
farm, we set up Arable sensors to monitor<br />
environmental and plant-health indicators<br />
such as the normalized difference vegetation<br />
index, which is a key indicator of plant health,<br />
sunlight radiation, evapotranspiration and<br />
more. We also set insect traps, placed resins<br />
in the ground to measure soil health, and took<br />
crop measurements. The farmers also filled<br />
out weekly questionnaires so we could track<br />
weeding, irrigation and input usage. My other<br />
responsibilities included preparing spreadsheets<br />
from the data we collected, so I got to practice<br />
data preparation and cleaning skills. I also<br />
performed data analysis using a software called<br />
JMP, with which I compared farming techniques<br />
and analyzed the factors that influence crop<br />
performance. This internship opened my eyes to<br />
a variety of pressing issues that organic growers<br />
face today and to the benefits of regenerative<br />
agriculture. I really enjoyed the work I did, and<br />
I hope to continue developing my data analysis<br />
skills and learning more about sustainable<br />
agriculture.<br />
87
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Noa Greenspan ’23<br />
ENGLISH<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Writing With the National<br />
Center for Frontier<br />
Communities<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
National Center for<br />
Frontier Communities<br />
(NCFC)<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Silver City, New Mexico<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Benjamin Rasmussen,<br />
<strong>Program</strong> Manager, NCFC<br />
I spent the summer in New Mexico writing about<br />
frontier issues for the National Center for Frontier<br />
Communities (NCFC), which advocates for areas<br />
of the country that are rural, sparsely populated,<br />
and far from urban centers. Although the frontier<br />
is incredibly diverse, communities face several<br />
common challenges, including long distances<br />
from health care services, precarious broadband<br />
infrastructure, and sometimes a lack of access<br />
to fresh, healthy foods. The NCFC advocates for<br />
frontier-related policies, provides educational<br />
materials about frontier communities, and<br />
works to strengthen the regional food system<br />
through its Food Hub program. This internship<br />
was an exciting challenge for me — I’ve been<br />
hooked on environmental journalism since my<br />
freshman spring at Princeton, and I felt eager<br />
to learn directly from community members.<br />
A highlight was when I spoke with legislators<br />
who recently created an official position in the<br />
state government to advocate for rural equity.<br />
Another memorable moment involved meeting<br />
with young and beginning farmers around New<br />
Mexico to hear their perspectives on the risks of<br />
a career in agriculture. I’m grateful to have met<br />
so many local leaders who are working to make<br />
New Mexico’s rural and frontier communities<br />
resilient.<br />
88
Tejas Gupta ’24<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificates: Values and Public Life, South Asian<br />
Studies<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data-intensive Analysis of<br />
the Climate-Water Crisis<br />
in India<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
NITSAN Sustainable<br />
Development Lab, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ram Fishman, Senior<br />
Lecturer (With Tenure),<br />
Public Policy, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
As one of the world’s fastest growing countries,<br />
India has a substantial agricultural sector that<br />
currently diverts 90% of the country’s water<br />
resources to crop production. My goal was to<br />
examine the relationship between water scarcity<br />
and alternative irrigation methods, with the<br />
central question of whether villages that are<br />
water poor use more efficient drip or sprinkler<br />
irrigation. I developed metrics for water scarcity<br />
and irrigation using remote sensing and census<br />
data, and I added demographic controls to our<br />
model to account for population differences<br />
across India. With those metrics, we ran multiple<br />
regressions from the village to the state level<br />
to determine whether such a relationship<br />
exists. However, we did not find a significant<br />
relationship and our models indicated that<br />
alternative irrigation methods were influenced<br />
more by other variables. I not only learned about<br />
modeling complex situations from this project,<br />
but also how data can be a powerful tool for<br />
understanding real problems. After working<br />
in Indian villages at a different nonprofit, this<br />
internship and my enlightening discussions<br />
with my mentor showed me a macro perspective<br />
on the issue. I hope to continue working to solve<br />
India’s water crisis during my studies.<br />
89
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Grace Liu ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
Certificates: Statistics and Machine Learning,<br />
Language and Culture<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data-intensive Analysis of<br />
the Climate-Water Crisis<br />
in India<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
NITSAN Sustainable<br />
Development Lab, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ram Fishman, Senior<br />
Lecturer (With Tenure),<br />
Public Policy, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
I worked with two other interns investigating<br />
whether villages in India with greater water<br />
scarcity have higher rates of micro-irrigation<br />
systems — such as drip irrigation and sprinkler<br />
irrigation — which are more water efficient<br />
than traditional canal and flood systems. The<br />
first couple of weeks consisted of cleaning<br />
and merging data from India’s demographic<br />
census and India’s Minor Irrigation Census with<br />
remotely sensed data for the analysis. Then we<br />
performed exploratory analyses to find patterns<br />
in the data, using the enhanced vegetation<br />
index and the percentage of wells not in use<br />
as an indicator of water scarcity. I focused on<br />
mapping the explanatory and outcome variables<br />
using the program GeoPandas so we could<br />
get a better sense of their spatial distribution.<br />
The meat of our analysis consisted of using<br />
regression techniques in the R programming<br />
language to quantify the impact of our waterscarcity<br />
proxies on the percentage of drip and/or<br />
sprinkler irrigation systems in a village. Overall,<br />
this project helped me learn how to collaborate<br />
with other students and focus on our individual<br />
strengths, while still challenging myself to<br />
develop new technical abilities.<br />
90
Colton Loftus ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Growing in the Garden<br />
State: Understanding<br />
Factors That Impact Food<br />
Production<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
I worked on analyzing different methods of<br />
agriculture across New Jersey and how they<br />
affect crop productivity. I worked with the other<br />
interns on this project to collect and analyze data<br />
such as insect quantities, plant disease, plant<br />
size, and environmental factors at five different<br />
organic farms in the area around Princeton,<br />
New Jersey. We also collected soil samples to<br />
provide the farmers with more insight into their<br />
land, as well as a better understanding of the<br />
impact of decisions regarding tillage, pesticides,<br />
pruning and weed control. We also used internetconnected<br />
agricultural sensors to monitor crops<br />
remotely. As a computer science major, I used my<br />
software development skills to write a program<br />
for efficient data extraction. This program<br />
allowed the internship team to automatically<br />
collect data from the sensors in the field and<br />
prepare it for analysis. I am grateful for the<br />
hands-on opportunity and to the farmers who let<br />
us conduct our studies.<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Gina Talt, Food<br />
Systems Project<br />
Specialist, Office of<br />
Sustainability<br />
91
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Laura A. Marsh ’23<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Certificates: Visual Arts, <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Growing in the Garden<br />
State: Understanding<br />
Factors That Impact Food<br />
Production<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
I collected data across six different farms<br />
in the Princeton, New Jersey, area, working<br />
alongside three fellow HMEI interns and my<br />
mentor Gina Talt. We were tasked with using<br />
the data we collected to answer real questions<br />
affecting farmers today in the face of climate<br />
change, expanding populations and a struggling<br />
economy. I specifically designed a method of<br />
categorizing tomato plants according to their<br />
visual signifiers of disease in order to track their<br />
health over time. I looked into the field of light<br />
spectroscopy in which the specific wavelength<br />
of light perceived is used to infer real-time<br />
plant data, such as the normalized difference<br />
vegetation index, or the overall “greenness” of a<br />
plant. I also learned the basics of soil sampling,<br />
and insect identification, as well as how to<br />
manage real-world data. The data I collected will<br />
be further analyzed by students in spring 2022. I<br />
can’t wait to see what else can be discovered!<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Gina Talt, Food<br />
Systems Project<br />
Specialist, Office of<br />
Sustainability<br />
92
Aidan Matthews ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data-intensive Analysis of<br />
the Climate-Water Crisis<br />
in India<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
NITSAN Sustainable<br />
Development Lab, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
The goal of my project was to determine if there<br />
is a relationship between water scarcity and the<br />
adoption of more efficient irrigation methods<br />
in India. To accomplish this, we employed data<br />
analysis in the programming language R on<br />
available Indian census data. I was in charge of<br />
fixed effects regressions dealing with geographic<br />
variables and I contributed to cleaning and<br />
merging data. I learned econometric techniques<br />
and improved my data analysis skills immensely.<br />
As I learned more about water-scarcity issues,<br />
I decided I’d like to contribute to rural and<br />
agricultural development in some capacity<br />
during my career. I’d also like to continue<br />
studying sustainability and the effects of climate<br />
change.<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ram Fishman, Senior<br />
Lecturer (With Tenure),<br />
Public Policy, Tel Aviv<br />
University<br />
93
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Carmina Rangel-Pacheco ’23<br />
SOCIOLOGY<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Growing in the Garden<br />
State: Understanding<br />
Factors That Impact Food<br />
Production<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein, Class<br />
of 1877 Professor of<br />
Zoology, Professor of<br />
Ecology and Evolutionary<br />
Biology; Gina Talt, Food<br />
Systems Project<br />
Specialist, Office of<br />
Sustainability<br />
I studied the effects of transitioning agricultural<br />
lands owned by Princeton University from<br />
conventional to sustainable farming practices,<br />
with a focus on soil fertility. During the study,<br />
Princeton grew a rotation of corn and soybeans<br />
using conventional or sustainable agricultural<br />
plans. Conventional plots received a combination<br />
of synthetic fertilizer, no soil amendment, and<br />
chemical herbicide, while the more sustainable<br />
plots received a combination of compost, cover<br />
crop and weed removal via manual cultivation.<br />
Deer fencing was incorporated in both. My<br />
primary task was to investigate which of these<br />
treatments had a greater effect on soil metrics<br />
such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium<br />
content using simple and multivariate regression<br />
models. By the end of my internship, I was able to<br />
identify promising patterns that pointed toward<br />
a significant effect of compost application on<br />
nitrogen and potassium presence, along with an<br />
unforeseen positive percent change in calcium,<br />
potassium and magnesium in plots with deer<br />
fencing. Ultimately, while a longer study duration<br />
might have provided more robust results, this<br />
experience taught me incredible quantitative<br />
skills and inspired me to continue learning how<br />
to sustainably improve our food-production<br />
systems.<br />
94
Elena Remez ’23<br />
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL<br />
AFFAIRS<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Dance<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Aquaculture and Marine<br />
Food Systems<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Defense<br />
Fund (EDF)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Rod Fujita, Lead Senior<br />
Scientist, Oceans<br />
Emerging Issues, EDF<br />
I worked on addressing knowledge gaps in<br />
the <strong>Environmental</strong> Defense Fund (EDF)’s U.S.<br />
aquaculture strategy. Aquacultural issues are<br />
intersectional because they impact humans and<br />
ecosystems, and require a lot of background<br />
information to create clear goals. The questions<br />
I examined ranged from who the dominant<br />
players in the aquaculture industry are, to<br />
accessing seaweed production methods, carbon<br />
sink potential and finding the barriers to entry<br />
into aquaculture for women and people of color.<br />
My research culminated in an extensive writeup<br />
of all my findings, which EDF is now using<br />
to advance their work. I also assisted EDF in<br />
smaller research projects, writing memos and<br />
literature reviews, and summarizing research.<br />
I found my work incredibly intriguing and<br />
helpful in developing clear academic and career<br />
pathways. It emphasized for me that formulating<br />
nature-based solutions to environmental policy<br />
challenges is where I see myself working in the<br />
future! The intersection of policy, equity and the<br />
environment is a great junction for my interests.<br />
95
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Ashley Teng ’23<br />
COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Business Development<br />
and Marketing for the<br />
Small-scale Fisheries<br />
Resource and<br />
Collaboration Hub<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Defense<br />
Fund (EDF)<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Pamela Ruiter, Senior<br />
Manager, Small-scale<br />
Fisheries (SSF) Initiatives,<br />
EDF<br />
I helped the small-scale fisheries (SSF) team<br />
build an online community for the Small-scale<br />
Fisheries Resource and Collaboration Hub (SSF<br />
Hub), a space where fishers, fish workers and<br />
others involved in fishing communities can<br />
exchange ideas. I focused on enhancing the SSF<br />
team’s business development and marketing<br />
strategies to expand our impact and strengthen<br />
our online presence. My projects included<br />
conducting key messaging research on potential<br />
partners, developing all team communications<br />
packets, and leading more than four outreach<br />
campaigns with SSF team partners to drive user<br />
engagement with the Hub. I also led the outreach<br />
and training project for which I designed a<br />
visual guide to train people in using the site’s<br />
features to help them structure conversations<br />
when introducing the Hub. Furthermore, I kept<br />
in mind the prevalent device choice of mobile<br />
phones in fishing communities and improved<br />
the Hub by designing new pages, giving feedback<br />
on the mobile view of the site, and researching<br />
data analytics best practices. My rewarding<br />
experience widened my vision and gave me skills<br />
to better assess the community impact of my<br />
future work.<br />
96
Karena Yan ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Modeling Farmer<br />
Decision-making<br />
Frameworks: Impacts on<br />
Adaptation and Policy<br />
Outcomes in Nepal<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Center for Policy<br />
Research on Energy<br />
and the Environment<br />
(C-PREE), School of Public<br />
and International Affairs,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Michael Oppenheimer,<br />
Albert G. Milbank<br />
Professor of Geosciences<br />
and International Affairs<br />
and the High Meadows<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Nicolas Choquette-Levy,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Princeton School of Public<br />
and International Affairs<br />
Climate change is expected to significantly<br />
threaten the crop yields of small-holder farmers.<br />
Adaptation may require changes in livelihood<br />
strategy, such as migrating or investing in<br />
cash crops. I applied an agent-based model<br />
(ABM) to simulate a South Asian agricultural<br />
community’s adaptation to climate change<br />
under different decision-making frameworks.<br />
I built three alternate frameworks into the<br />
ABM that drew from theories in decisionmaking<br />
psychology — imitation, satisficing<br />
and habitual learning — and tested them<br />
under differing degrees of climate change. My<br />
results showed that livelihood choices and<br />
community outcomes differed substantially<br />
depending on how the farmer decision-making<br />
process was modeled. Furthermore, I found that<br />
policy recommendations that were effective<br />
in increasing average community income and<br />
reducing inequality in the original version of<br />
the ABM were not robust under all decisionmaking<br />
frameworks. Practically, this suggests<br />
that developing effective policies requires<br />
an understanding of how target populations<br />
generally make decisions. I learned a great<br />
deal about the challenges and opportunities of<br />
ABM, and I explored new fields in psychology<br />
and sociology. My work piqued my interest in<br />
socio-environmental systems modeling and<br />
the various intersections of social sciences and<br />
environmental issues.<br />
97
SUSTAINABLE<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Zoey Zhang ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Architectural, Structural<br />
and Urban Strategies for<br />
Urban Farming<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Form Finding Lab,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sigrid Adriaenssens,<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
The goals of my internship were to help<br />
achieve greater sustainability and food access<br />
in Baltimore by addressing the structural<br />
challenges of hydroponic rooftop greenhouses<br />
and developing produce distribution strategies<br />
for urban farms in the city. With the team, I<br />
helped perform structural analysis of the beams,<br />
columns, girders and foundations of potential<br />
rooftop sites to evaluate their capability to carry<br />
the required loads. I also performed online<br />
research to understand urban agriculture, as<br />
well as the current food systems and policies in<br />
Baltimore. A key component of our research was<br />
conducting interviews with leading hydroponic<br />
farmers, commercial distribution managers,<br />
and urban food and agriculture researchers and<br />
entrepreneurs. This helped us better understand<br />
the benefits and challenges of building rooftop<br />
hydroponic greenhouses in the city, the related<br />
policy restrictions, and the food-access issues<br />
within Baltimore. I discovered that agriculture<br />
and food play a significant role in creating a more<br />
sustainable future, which really opened my eyes<br />
to my commitment to sustainability. In my future<br />
studies, I want to learn more about sustainable<br />
agriculture for cleaner and healthier foods.<br />
98
Bryan Alfaro ’24<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
SuperPipe Particle Image<br />
Velocimetry Calibration<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
My goal was to determine a noninvasive way of<br />
calibrating a camera used in a particle image<br />
velocimetry (PIV) system, which is used to obtain<br />
instantaneous measurements of velocity and<br />
related properties in fluids. I tested a method that<br />
used the waist of a focused laser beam to create<br />
a calibration grid in the image plane. I used<br />
stepper motors to move a laser and converginglens<br />
system around a grid, then at each position<br />
I took a long-exposure picture of the beam waist<br />
as the laser shone through the lens. Using a<br />
computer program, I found the waist’s location in<br />
each picture and mapped the set of waist points.<br />
The results showed a somewhat regular grid<br />
with occasional clusters of points that could be<br />
eliminated by averaging multiple pictures per<br />
location. This provided a proof of concept for my<br />
idea and highlighted improvements for future<br />
experiments. I learned how PIV systems are<br />
used to determine local velocities in turbulent<br />
flows, and how to write computer programs that<br />
process images and perform a camera-calibration<br />
procedure. This experience motivated me to<br />
further refine this method and determine its<br />
feasibility.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
99
Manali Badwe ’24<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Oil Spill Remediation by<br />
Enhanced Turbulence<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Robotics and Intelligent Systems<br />
Every year, millions of gallons of waste oil<br />
enter the ocean, wreaking havoc on marine<br />
ecosystems and organisms. Cleaning up these<br />
oil spills is a costly and time-consuming process.<br />
I researched how oil spills could be remediated<br />
by using enhanced turbulence to break up the<br />
oil slick into tiny droplets. Breakage of the oil<br />
slick occurs naturally due to the turbulence<br />
produced by waves, but the process can be<br />
sped up by adding more turbulence to the<br />
system with synthetic jets. My group designed<br />
our own at-home experiments to observe this<br />
process. In addition, we used MATLAB software<br />
to analyze images of oil droplets so we could<br />
study the size distributions of the droplets<br />
to quantify our results. I gained valuable<br />
experience in the research and design process<br />
through this internship. I also learned how<br />
mechanical engineering can have many different<br />
applications in environmental studies.<br />
100
Sonika Bagchi ’23<br />
PHYSICS<br />
Certificates: Applied and Computational<br />
Mathematics, Finance<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
The Oceanic Wakes of<br />
Offshore Wind Turbines<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Deike Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Luc Deike, Assistant<br />
Professor of Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jiarong Wu,<br />
Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering<br />
The research agenda for this project was to<br />
study wind waves and turbulence related to<br />
offshore wind-turbine farms. The presence of<br />
offshore wind farms can result in sediment<br />
displacement and modified water turbulence<br />
that can negatively impact marine life. In order<br />
to study and mitigate this, I first analyzed<br />
wind-generated water waves produced in the<br />
lab by conducting various analyses to study<br />
the development of turbulence. I then created<br />
simple visualizations of waves and studied their<br />
wavenumber-frequency spectra. This project was<br />
extremely exciting for me because it was my first<br />
opportunity to learn about fluid dynamics and<br />
turbulence. Additionally, in terms of technical<br />
skills, I got to really strengthen my abilities in<br />
the programming language Python. Finally, I<br />
think this project will affect my choice of projects<br />
in the future, such as my junior independent<br />
research. I would like to continue working with<br />
sustainability research or, at the very least,<br />
working with computer simulation.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Climate<br />
and Energy Challenge project, “The Atmospheric<br />
and Oceanic Wakes of Offshore Wind Turbines and<br />
Their Effects on Local Marine Environments.”<br />
101
Katharine<br />
Contreras-Godfried ’22<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Engineering Microfluidic<br />
Devices to Increase the<br />
Degradation Rate of<br />
Organic Contaminants<br />
Under Flow<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Complex Fluids<br />
Group, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Global Health and Health Policy<br />
In this research internship, I learned about and<br />
explored the applications of microfluidics, which<br />
culminated in independent experimentation. My<br />
co-intern and I began by studying the mechanics<br />
of microfluidic systems, both to decrease fouling<br />
as well as purify water. Once we had a better<br />
understanding of the concept, we decided on<br />
the question we wanted to answer through<br />
microfluidics. We decided to create experiments<br />
wherein we removed mehtlyene blue, a salt<br />
used as a medication and dye, as this is a good<br />
substitute for volatile organic compounds<br />
in water. From there, we conducted several<br />
experiments with different geometries in an<br />
attempt to find the most efficient structure.<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Howard Stone, Donald R.<br />
Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W.<br />
Dixon Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering;<br />
Samantha McBride,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and<br />
Presidential Postdoctoral<br />
Research Fellow,<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering<br />
102
Gavin Cotter ’23<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Efficient Propulsion of<br />
Tunabot<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Finance, Robotics and Intelligent<br />
Systems<br />
My internship focused on improving a robotic<br />
tuna (Tunabot) to develop a more efficient<br />
underwater propulsion system. Most systems<br />
use a propeller design that, while functional,<br />
is generally slow moving, has restricted<br />
maneuverability, and creates significant noise.<br />
To overcome these limitations, research is being<br />
done to incorporate elements from aquatic<br />
species such as tuna, which have evolved<br />
highly efficient underwater locomotion with<br />
high maneuverability and low noise. Previous<br />
research conducted in the lab had found the most<br />
efficient combination of tail and caudal (tail)<br />
fin motion. I used the computer-aided design<br />
software Creo to design a new tail for Tunabot<br />
that incorporated the more efficient tail motion.<br />
The final design will be built and tested during<br />
the fall <strong>2021</strong> semester. I was able to learn more<br />
about the fluid dynamics of swimming animals<br />
and the usefulness of biomimetic robots. I also<br />
spent a lot of time working with and learning<br />
more about Creo. All of my experiences during<br />
this internship utilized and helped expand the<br />
skills I have been learning in my studies and<br />
further supported my interest in fluid dynamics.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
103
Bridget Denzer ’23<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
An Investigation of<br />
Alkali-activated Cement<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sustainable Cements<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Claire White, Associate<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Christine<br />
Pu, Ph.D. candidate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Materials Science and Engineering,<br />
Sustainable Energy<br />
I studied alkali-activated cement, which is<br />
an alternative to traditional portland cement<br />
that produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions.<br />
Because the construction industry is highly<br />
regulated, more research is needed on the<br />
material properties of alkali-activated cement<br />
for it to be used in industry. I analyzed alkaliactivated<br />
cement through two different methods,<br />
the first being a life-cycle analysis. I studied<br />
the carbon footprint and total cost of producing<br />
alkali-activated cement — from raw materials<br />
to the finished product — for three different<br />
project sites in the United States. I then worked<br />
in the programming language Python to create<br />
graphs and analyze data from sulfuric acidcorroded<br />
cement. Sulfuric acid resistance is<br />
an important property for determining the<br />
suitability of cement for sewer-related uses<br />
and, thus, this research was significant for<br />
deploying alkali-activated cement in real-world<br />
industrial applications. I learned a lot through<br />
this internship about material characterization<br />
methods and gained technical coding skills,<br />
which will help me in my pursuit of a graduate<br />
degree in materials science.<br />
104
Francesca DiMare ’23<br />
CHEMISTRY<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Materials<br />
Science and Engineering<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Engineering Microfluidic<br />
Devices to Increase the<br />
Degradation Rate of<br />
Organic Contaminants<br />
Under Flow<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Complex Fluids<br />
Group, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Howard Stone, Donald R.<br />
Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W.<br />
Dixon Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering;<br />
Samantha McBride,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate and<br />
Presidential Postdoctoral<br />
Research Fellow,<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering<br />
I worked with my mentor to devise a research<br />
experiment from the ground up. After reviewing<br />
the literature surrounding microfluidic devices,<br />
we discovered there was high potential in<br />
using microfluidics to study photodegradation.<br />
Photodegradation is a method of treating organic<br />
water pollution and has significant value in<br />
expanding access to potable water. However,<br />
photodegradation has various limitations,<br />
including a deficiency of dissolved oxygen.<br />
Microfluidics can be fabricated with trapped air<br />
pockets (i.e., plastron layers) that potentially<br />
address this limitation. Taking inspiration from<br />
relevant literature, we systematically varied<br />
flow rate, plastron volume and triple-phase<br />
contact length to explore how trapped plastron<br />
layers influence photodegradation kinetics<br />
under flow. Though we have not yet measured<br />
significant levels of photodegradation with our<br />
current experimental design, this research is<br />
ongoing. This internship gave me familiarity<br />
with various image analysis techniques, such as<br />
measuring contact angles and analyzing particle<br />
velocimetry. Additionally, reviewing literature<br />
and having direct influence in the process<br />
of posing a research question enhanced my<br />
research abilities and increased my confidence<br />
in pursuing research after graduation. Applying<br />
microfluidics and photocatalysis to water<br />
purification also reaffirmed my passion for<br />
addressing environmental issues.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
105
Yaxin Duan ’23<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
The Impact of<br />
Contaminant Spatial<br />
Configuration on Bacterial<br />
Chemotaxis<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Datta Lab, Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Sujit Datta, Assistant<br />
Professor of Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering;<br />
Jenna Ott, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Sustainable Energy, <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Studies<br />
I studied chemotaxis, a phenomenon in which<br />
bacteria can sense the concentration gradient<br />
of a chemical and move toward where the<br />
gradient is steepest. Chemotaxis can improve<br />
the efficiency of bioremediation strategies that<br />
deploy microorganisms to remove pollutants<br />
from the environment by driving the mass<br />
migration of chemotactic bacteria toward sources<br />
of contamination. I investigated how the spatial<br />
configuration of contaminants impacts the<br />
ability of bacteria to perform chemotaxis. I used<br />
the programming language MATLAB to build<br />
a one-dimensional model that simulated how<br />
different concentrations of bacteria respond<br />
to varying distances between two drops of<br />
contaminants. Through my simulations, I found<br />
that if two drops of contaminants are too close<br />
together, the concentration gradient may not be<br />
steep enough to produce a chemotactic response.<br />
The process of building and debugging my model<br />
helped me gain experience with MATLAB and<br />
taught me the importance of documenting my<br />
work. I am excited to continue working on this<br />
project for my junior independent work, and I<br />
look forward to growing my relationships with<br />
the amazing mentors and scientists I worked<br />
with as I join them in the lab in fall <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
106
Bryant Hall ’22<br />
PHYSICS<br />
Certificate: Sustainable Energy<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Plasma Diagnostics for<br />
Plasma-assisted Catalysis<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Koel Research Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University; Princeton<br />
Plasma Physics<br />
Laboratory<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Bruce Koel, Professor of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering; Shota Abe,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
I worked with Professor Bruce Koel’s group based<br />
at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory<br />
investigating the use of plasma as a more energyefficient<br />
process for manufacturing ammonia.<br />
The current method for synthesizing ammonia,<br />
known as the Haber-Bosch process, requires<br />
high temperatures and pressures and constitutes<br />
1-2% of global energy consumption each year. By<br />
allowing reactions to occur in a plasma, it may<br />
be possible to create ammonia more efficiently.<br />
I primarily worked with simulations to study<br />
how these chemical reactions unfold, and which<br />
ones were the most important in reaching a high<br />
steady-state density of ammonia. I used a zerodimensional<br />
kinetic model, which considers a<br />
provided list of chemical reactions and their rates<br />
to determine how the densities of each of the<br />
involved elements and compounds will evolve<br />
over time. The simulations were compared with<br />
experimental results from the group to confirm<br />
consistency.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
107
Zihan Lin ’23<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Plasma-Material<br />
Interactions for Fusion<br />
Energy<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Koel Research Group,<br />
Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Bruce Koel, Professor of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering; Shota Abe,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
I investigated the ion incident angle and sheath<br />
profile in linear plasma devices with oblique<br />
magnetic field incident angles. One motivation<br />
for studying plasmas is to obtain energy through<br />
nuclear fusion, but achieving controlled fusion<br />
faces many challenges. One is designing the<br />
plasma-facing component so that it can handle<br />
the extreme conditions inside a fusion reactor<br />
without degrading plasma performance. My<br />
project focused on linear plasma devices because<br />
of their more simplified plasma parameters<br />
and ease of conducting experiments. I used<br />
an equation-of-motion model to simulate ion<br />
trajectory in a collisionless plasma sheath and<br />
measured the ion impact angle upon striking<br />
the surface. The resulting incident ion angle<br />
distributions were applied to a Monte Carlo<br />
simulation to illustrate the expected erosion<br />
profile of a specially designed plasma-facing<br />
sample surface. Experimental verification of my<br />
simulation results using a linear device will be<br />
performed in the future. Through this internship,<br />
I gained experience with fusion divertor plasma<br />
simulation and learned the complexities of<br />
plasma-material interaction research. I also<br />
learned valuable presentation skills and gained<br />
proficiency in the programming language<br />
MATLAB. I plan on pursuing research related to<br />
fusion and material science in the future.<br />
108
Caleb Lunsford ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Architecture and Engineering<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Crack Identification in<br />
Alkali-activated Slag<br />
Cements<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Sustainable Cements<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Claire White, Associate<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Yige Zhang,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I studied the composition and cracking of alkaliactivated<br />
slag (AAS) cements, an alternative to<br />
portland cements with significantly reduced<br />
carbon emissions. They also have the potential<br />
to be as strong as, or stronger than, portland<br />
cements; however, the specific properties of AAS<br />
vary significantly depending on their precise<br />
chemical composition. I focused on how the<br />
addition of zinc oxide impacts cracking as the<br />
cement dries. I used X-ray microtomography<br />
scanning files to reconstruct two- and threedimensional<br />
representations of several AAS<br />
cement samples with different compositions. I<br />
then processed the reconstructions to determine<br />
how much of the sample’s volume was composed<br />
of cracks. Finally, I determined the distribution<br />
of cracks throughout the samples and compared<br />
how the different cement compositions impacted<br />
crack formation. Throughout my internship, I<br />
became familiar with ongoing research in the<br />
areas of alkali-activated materials and imagebased<br />
crack identification. I was struck by the<br />
interdisciplinary nature of the project and have<br />
been prompted to consider how my major and<br />
career can interact with other fields.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
109
Rosy Monaghan ’24<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Oil Spill Remediation by<br />
Enhanced Turbulence<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
Oil spills cause severe environmental damage to<br />
aquatic ecosystems and cleanup is often difficult<br />
and expensive. This project investigated a new<br />
and more efficient cleanup method for oil spills<br />
that uses enhanced turbulence to increase the<br />
breakup of oil slicks into smaller droplets that<br />
are then dispersed into ocean water columns.<br />
Our group conducted experiments in which we<br />
increased turbulence added to the system using<br />
a remote-controlled boat and a water pump.<br />
We then used image processing techniques in<br />
the software MATLAB to analyze oil droplet<br />
breakup and determine the effectiveness of<br />
this cleanup method. I gained experience in<br />
academic research, which helped to improve my<br />
scientific writing skills, image processing skills<br />
and experimental skills. This project also gave<br />
me insight into how engineering can be applied<br />
to finding solutions to environmental problems<br />
and, as a result, encouraged me to pursue further<br />
research opportunities related to environmental<br />
issues.<br />
110
Alec Pirone ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Efficient Propulsion of<br />
Tunabot<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
Efficient swimmers such as tuna swim with the<br />
tail and the caudal (tail) fin having a specific<br />
phase difference. The goal of my internship was<br />
to design the inside of a tuna robot, called the<br />
Tunabot, so that the tail and the caudal fin have a<br />
desired phase difference, regardless of swimming<br />
speed and external factors such as water current.<br />
This would move us one step closer to creating<br />
an underwater vehicle with optimal efficiency,<br />
which is needed in the face of climate change. I<br />
spent most of the summer designing propulsion<br />
systems in the software Creo. Throughout<br />
the internship, I learned new computer-aided<br />
design skills and refined my research skills.<br />
This internship allowed me to explore fluid<br />
mechanics, which I hope to continue studying.<br />
I also am now leaning toward a career with an<br />
environmental focus, which can be done by<br />
optimizing the efficiency of existing technology,<br />
like I did with the Tunabot.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
111
Devdigvijay Singh ’24<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
In Situ Camera Calibration<br />
for SuperPipe<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Smits Fluid Mechanics<br />
Lab, Department<br />
of Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Princeton University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexander Smits, Eugene<br />
Higgins Professor of<br />
Mechanical and<br />
Aerospace Engineering,<br />
Emeritus; Liuyang Ding,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Mechanical<br />
and Aerospace<br />
Engineering<br />
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Engineering Physics<br />
My goal was to develop an image calibration<br />
system for conducting particle image velocimetry<br />
(PIV) in Princeton’s SuperPipe without the use<br />
of a physical target. This would permit a unique<br />
opportunity to take noninvasive and accurate<br />
measurements of turbulent near-wall flows. I<br />
used two angled lasers shone through the clear<br />
walls of the SuperPipe that would intersect at<br />
known internal points. By moving these lasers to<br />
known-world coordinates, a calibration grid can<br />
be reconstructed. I then constructed a prototype<br />
setup capable of moving the lasers with micronlevel<br />
precision using stepper motors. I imaged the<br />
laser beams using long-exposure photography<br />
and a smoke machine. I developed my own<br />
calibration system for the stepper motors using<br />
a real-time feedback loop with photoresistors. I<br />
programmed a batch image-processing algorithm<br />
in the software MATLAB to determine the point<br />
of intersection, then fit the obtained data to a<br />
camera distortion model, resulting in residual<br />
errors of less than 1% of the measured values.<br />
I extended this work to imaging curved glass<br />
surfaces similar to the SuperPipe. This work<br />
provided me with valuable experience in steppermotor<br />
control, image calibration, batch image<br />
processing, and laser optics.<br />
112
Mina Takegami ’23<br />
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Engineering Biology<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Discovering Patterns and<br />
Genes Involved in Fe–S<br />
Chaperone Synthesis<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Avalos Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
José Avalos, Assistant<br />
Professor of Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
and the Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment; Jeremy<br />
Cortez, Ph.D. candidate,<br />
Molecular Biology<br />
There is ongoing research to replace fossil fuels<br />
by engineering yeast to increase isobutanol<br />
production by homologous gene insertion.<br />
However, one of the proteins encoded by the<br />
homologous genes requires an iron-sulfur<br />
(Fe–S) chaperone that differs from organism<br />
to organism. The focus of my internship<br />
was to improve Fe–S chaperone and protein<br />
compatibility. I took a bioinformatics approach<br />
by developing a pipeline for prokaryotic genomes<br />
being tested in the lab. I started with a database<br />
of genomes and filtered out genes through two<br />
searches. By running my pipeline, I discovered<br />
that all prokaryotes had at least one assembly,<br />
cluster and trafficking gene. This implies<br />
that all organisms in the data set follow the<br />
same general steps to create Fe–S chaperones.<br />
There were two groups of genes present in the<br />
organisms, but these groups were not dictated by<br />
how closely related the organisms were to each<br />
other. Through this internship, I learned about<br />
the complexities of working with large data and<br />
the bioinformatic skills needed to tackle these<br />
problems. I also realized that I have an interest in<br />
the intersection of computer science and biology,<br />
and I plan on pursuing similar opportunities in<br />
the future.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
113
Ipsita Tingi ’23<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Sustainable Energy<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Case Studies of Yeast8 as<br />
a Genome-scale Model<br />
and Its Proof-of-concept<br />
Applications<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Avalos Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
José Avalos, Assistant<br />
Professor of Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
and the Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment; José<br />
Montaño López, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
I studied and modified the genome-scale model<br />
(GEM) of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae<br />
— an organism widely used in industrial<br />
biotechnology — to assess the possibility<br />
of converting it into a synthetic autotroph.<br />
Because autotrophs generate biomass by using<br />
CO 2<br />
, this new synthetic organism could lead to<br />
more sustainable chemical manufacturing. To<br />
accomplish this, I added and deleted specific<br />
reactions within the yeast GEM to allow the<br />
organism to grow in silico. Through this<br />
internship, I improved my coding skills using<br />
MATLAB and COBRA software, developed<br />
effective time management and interpersonal<br />
communication skills, and learned how to work<br />
both individually and on a team. Moreover, I<br />
worked on a research project that prepared me<br />
for and sparked an interest in pursuing future<br />
independent work at Princeton. Overall, I learned<br />
about metabolic engineering with a GEM and its<br />
applications in environmental sustainability —<br />
something I hope to continue in future work.<br />
114
Kevin Yeung ’23<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Engineering Biology, Language and<br />
Culture<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Case Studies of Yeast8 as<br />
a Genome-scale Model<br />
and Its Proof-of-concept<br />
Applications<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Avalos Research<br />
Group, Department of<br />
Chemical and Biological<br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
José Avalos, Assistant<br />
Professor of Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
and the Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment; José<br />
Montaño López, Ph.D.<br />
candidate, Chemical and<br />
Biological Engineering<br />
I sought to develop the metabolic engineering<br />
of yeast into a sustainable method of producing<br />
1-propanol, an important precursor of<br />
commercial plastics that is currently sourced<br />
from petrol. I relied on a publicly available<br />
genome-scale model of Saccharomyces cerevisiae,<br />
which consists of all the reactions and genes that<br />
dictate the organism's metabolism, to simulate<br />
its growth. I used MATLAB software to introduce<br />
synthetic pathways into the metabolic network<br />
of yeast and found viable in silico strains that<br />
are able to anaerobically generate 1-propanol<br />
with glucose as a carbon substrate. In addition,<br />
I improved the titer and yield of these strains<br />
with an algorithm that searches for and knocks<br />
out the genes that encode for reaction catalyzing<br />
enzymes that compete with propanol production.<br />
Some of these genes have been previously<br />
identified and confirm the validity of the model,<br />
while others have not been considered before.<br />
I intend to implement these results into live<br />
laboratory strains to investigate the accuracy of<br />
these computational predictions. This internship<br />
taught me the power of modeling biological<br />
systems mathematically, and I hope to integrate<br />
this knowledge into future academic endeavors.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AND INNOVATION<br />
115
Malachi Benjamin ’23<br />
ARCHITECTURE<br />
Certificate: African American Studies<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexandra (Xan) Lillehei,<br />
Fellow, US Architects<br />
Declare<br />
I worked with the finance committee of<br />
US Architects Declare researching grant<br />
opportunities for the organization. After<br />
deciding on four grants to pursue, I assisted in<br />
drafting proposals for each. Part of the work<br />
I did was assisting in a grant presentation<br />
for the Wilks Foundation. I also worked with<br />
the justice committee to conduct a literature<br />
review of 11 diversity and inclusion frameworks<br />
for architecture firms. From that research, I<br />
used the design program Adobe Illustrator to<br />
synthesize the information in a way that would<br />
be comprehensive and allow firms to make<br />
the most informed decisions when it came<br />
to implementing one of the frameworks. The<br />
ultimate goal of this project is to include this<br />
information in a guidebook for firms seeking to<br />
make their work environment more diverse and<br />
inclusive. While I worked with the justice group,<br />
I also set up and designed a Discord server for<br />
international communication and collaboration<br />
among global Architects Declare members.<br />
116
Xuefei Gao ’22<br />
ARCHITECTURE<br />
Certificate: Language and Culture<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Paul Lewis, Professor of<br />
Architecture, Princeton<br />
University; Alexandra<br />
(Xan) Lillehei, Fellow, US<br />
Architects Declare<br />
I helped support US Architects Declare in their<br />
mission to address the interconnected crises<br />
of carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and<br />
social injustice caused by issues within the<br />
built environment. For my first project, I wrote,<br />
designed and published the organization’s first<br />
“Year-One Survey Summary” detailing where<br />
their signatories were in terms of the declaration.<br />
Further day-to-day work included outreach to<br />
signatories and the general public via social<br />
media for the signatory subcommittee. For my<br />
final project, I edited, wrote and designed five<br />
pamphlets for the Carbon Working Group aimed<br />
at educating fellow professionals in the field<br />
on what architects can do to mitigate climate<br />
change, including through the selection of<br />
low-carbon materials, conducting building lifecycle<br />
assessments, and relevant conversations<br />
with their clients. I left Architects Declare with<br />
a keen awareness of the role that the building<br />
sector plays in climate change, which will be a<br />
critical component of my own path to becoming a<br />
practicing architect.<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
117
Nora Kreike-Martin ’24<br />
CLASSICS<br />
Certificates: Archaeology<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Religious Environments in<br />
Roman Britain<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Kay Research Group,<br />
Department of Art and<br />
Archaeology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Janet Kay, Associate<br />
Research Scholar, Art and<br />
Archaeology<br />
The goal of my internship was to collect data<br />
on the religious environment in Roman Britain<br />
in order to understand religious cults and<br />
ideas, as well as how Roman religion interacted<br />
with British practices and deities. I focused<br />
on natural environments such as springs and<br />
groves, and built environments such as wells and<br />
temples. I designed an independent research<br />
project about Roman imperial cults using the<br />
“Roman Inscriptions of Britain” (RIB) database. I<br />
collected and mapped data from the RIB in order<br />
to determine where these cults appeared, which<br />
were most prominent, and the implications for<br />
the prevalence and reach of imperial influence,<br />
as well as religious syncretism. At the start<br />
of my research, I referred to earlier scholarly<br />
categorizations of two main cults: the Numen<br />
cult and the Divine House cult. My results<br />
identified two additional categorizations based<br />
on the purpose of the inscriptions. I plan to<br />
further examine the four categorizations and<br />
then compare my findings on Britain with<br />
another Roman province to build a deeper<br />
understanding of the role of these cults in<br />
stabilizing the Roman Empire.<br />
118
Andrew Matos ’23<br />
ENGLISH<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
US Architects Declare<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Alexandra (Xan) Lillehei,<br />
Fellow, US Architects<br />
Declare<br />
I researched legislative policy surrounding<br />
the social and environmental impacts of<br />
architecture, culminating in a white paper I<br />
wrote on behalf of US Architects Declare in<br />
response to Congress’ infrastructure plan.<br />
My research focused on affordable housing,<br />
regulations for the life-cycle carbon emissions<br />
of buildings, and the development of utilities<br />
in places where they are inadequate. The white<br />
paper identified the policies Architects Declare<br />
supports and where more needs to be done, as<br />
well as explained the built sector’s contribution<br />
to climate change. The paper will be published<br />
on the Architects Declare website and will be<br />
used as the basis for an op-ed. Another project<br />
I worked on was planning a seminar series<br />
facilitated by the organization where architects<br />
can learn best practices for ensuring community<br />
engagement in their projects. I also spent time<br />
reorganizing Architects Declare’s structure to<br />
further connect their focus groups for carbon,<br />
biodiversity and social justice. My internship<br />
helped me appreciate the link between the<br />
climate crisis and social inequity, and it allowed<br />
me to see how an intersectional approach can<br />
address both. I will carry this insight wherever<br />
my career takes me.<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
119
Emily Murray ’23<br />
ASTROPHYSICAL SCIENCES<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Extreme Model Railroad<br />
and Contemporary<br />
Architecture Museum<br />
Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
GCAM | Global Cultural<br />
Asset Management Group<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
North Adams,<br />
Massachusetts<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
James Pihakis, Senior<br />
Project Manager, GCAM<br />
The Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary<br />
Architecture Museum (EMRCA) project is<br />
creating an immersive museum experience that<br />
combines train models and architectural models<br />
in a uniform scale. This project aims to revitalize<br />
the small town in western Massachusetts<br />
where it will be located by drawing people<br />
to the area. My goal was to estimate the<br />
museum’s total electricity, natural gas and<br />
water usage. These estimates are important<br />
to the EMRCA project team and investors so<br />
they can understand the museum’s potential<br />
operating costs and make better long-term<br />
plans. I developed comprehensive estimates<br />
based on the power draws of the models,<br />
digital displays and building as a whole. After<br />
estimating the museum’s needs, I researched<br />
clean-energy sources to help meet them. I made<br />
recommendations on the sources that would<br />
be the best to implement based on electricity<br />
generation, net savings, overall feasibility<br />
and sustainability. Through this research, I<br />
strengthened my data analysis skills and gained<br />
extensive knowledge of building studies. This<br />
internship opened me up to the possibility of<br />
applying my physics skills in an arts or culture<br />
context. I enjoy working at the intersection of<br />
fields and may pursue this in the future.<br />
120
Cam My Nguyen ’23<br />
ARCHITECTURE<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies,<br />
Urban Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Extreme Model Railroad<br />
and Contemporary<br />
Architecture Museum<br />
Project<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
GCAM | Global Cultural<br />
Asset Management Group<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
North Adams,<br />
Massachusetts<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Yina Moore, Chief<br />
Architect, GCAM; James<br />
Pihakis, Senior Project<br />
Manager, GCAM; Chris Li,<br />
Architect, GCAM<br />
My internship focused on a new cultural<br />
development and revitalization project for<br />
Berkshire County and the city of North Adams,<br />
Massachusetts. I helped advance the Extreme<br />
Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture<br />
Museum by making sustainable-design<br />
recommendations in pursuit of Leadership<br />
in Energy and <strong>Environmental</strong> Design (LEED)<br />
certification. To get acquainted with the project,<br />
I began by researching funding opportunities,<br />
grant programs and the current state of the<br />
project site, looking into potential remediation<br />
pathways and sustainable redevelopment.<br />
Another major aspect of the work included<br />
creating a 1:48 scale model of Frank Lloyd<br />
Wright’s Fallingwater as a benchmark for model<br />
creation moving forward. Working with my<br />
mentor, I used Rhino 3D software to prepare and<br />
create files for the buildings and furniture to be<br />
3D and resin printed. This internship provided<br />
me with insight into the process of design and<br />
construction of large-scale projects and the ways<br />
that sustainability can be integrated, and it<br />
reinforced my career goals to be an architect with<br />
a focus on sustainable design.<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
121
Charlotte Root ’22<br />
ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY<br />
Certificate: Archaeology<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Religious Environments in<br />
Roman Britain<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Kay Research Group,<br />
Department of Art and<br />
Archaeology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Janet Kay, Associate<br />
Research Scholar, Art and<br />
Archaeology<br />
I researched inscriptions from Roman Britain<br />
that were religiously syncretic in that they linked<br />
Roman deities with British deities by fusing<br />
disparate deities into one, or they listed deities<br />
from both Roman and British religions in one<br />
inscription. Analyzing religious syncretism in<br />
the ancient world could shed light on the process<br />
of cultural exchange and, in this case, in the<br />
context of colonialism. I created a database<br />
of these inscriptions, including information<br />
on the etymological origin of the dedicators’<br />
names and how the inscription was syncretic.<br />
I also mapped where these inscriptions were<br />
found. I discovered that very few people with<br />
identifiably native British names participated<br />
in this medium of syncretic epigraphic worship.<br />
Very few Britons participated in any method<br />
of syncretism and only a few used epigraphy<br />
to worship solely British deities. This indicates<br />
a British disinclination to participate in the<br />
Roman practice of epigraphic worship, especially<br />
worship that related to Roman religion. I hope<br />
to continue this research for my senior thesis,<br />
though I will focus more closely on Hadrian’s<br />
Wall, a hotspot for epigraphic religious<br />
syncretism.<br />
122
Cathleen Weng ’24<br />
UNDECLARED<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Religious Environments in<br />
Roman Britain<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Kay Research Group,<br />
Department of Art and<br />
Archaeology, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Janet Kay, Associate<br />
Research Scholar, Art and<br />
Archaeology<br />
The goal of the project I worked on was to study<br />
and collect data on various elements of religious<br />
environments in Roman Britain, a time period<br />
during which Britain was under Roman rule. To<br />
organize these data, we used the collaborative<br />
software Airtable to record information about<br />
cults, religious sites, deities and inscriptions<br />
from Roman Britain. I focused on a few burials<br />
from this time period, all of which went against<br />
the custom of their time period in some way. I<br />
wrote a paper arguing for the examination of<br />
noncemetery burials in conjunction with one<br />
other to understand what each community<br />
valued based on their burial sites. I also compiled<br />
information about some of the cults, locations<br />
and deities that I researched into the shared<br />
Airtable. I not only now have a much better<br />
understanding of Roman Britain, but also of the<br />
preparation and implementation of long-form<br />
research projects. It certainly cemented my<br />
interest in archaeology and encouraged me to<br />
pursue a certificate in archaeology.<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
123
Lois Wu ’23<br />
ANTHROPOLOGY<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies,<br />
Urban Studies<br />
URBAN PLANNING AND<br />
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Urban Omnibus:<br />
Publication Work at an<br />
Architectural Nonprofit<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
The Architectural League<br />
of New York<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Mariana Mogilevich,<br />
Editor in Chief, Urban<br />
Omnibus, Architectural<br />
League of New York;<br />
Joshua McWhirter,<br />
Managing Editor, Urban<br />
Omnibus, Architectural<br />
League of New York<br />
I worked as a project assistant at Urban Omnibus<br />
(UO), a publication of the Architectural League of<br />
New York focused on observing and documenting<br />
the processes of making a city. I mainly<br />
supported publication work for UO’s ongoing<br />
series on remediation. I researched the history<br />
of landfill parks for a case study on Shirley<br />
Chisholm State Park in Brooklyn, created a 14-<br />
term glossary on chemical wastes, and screened<br />
projects from a local community environmental<br />
fund for a future photographic feature. I also<br />
performed outreach and publicity work for the<br />
series, compiling a 142-entry database of contact<br />
information for publicity purposes and sharing<br />
the series via email with other environmental<br />
nonprofits and governmental organizations.<br />
Beyond this, I proofread, fact-checked and<br />
performed layout work for articles published by<br />
UO. I enjoyed the process of constant learning<br />
that came from fact-checking articles and<br />
researching different topics for a variety of<br />
projects, and I look forward to exploring this<br />
work further in the future.<br />
124
Juan Pablo Alvarado ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Materials Science and Engineering<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Biofilm Droplet<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Avery Agles,<br />
Ph.D. candidate, Chemical<br />
and Biological<br />
Engineering<br />
As the availability of fresh water becomes<br />
increasingly scarce and unpredictable, we must<br />
understand the natural phenomena driving<br />
the availability and behavior of water in soils.<br />
Scientists have recently realized the important<br />
role of biofilms in soil water availability.<br />
However, attempts to model biofilm-soil<br />
dynamics are limited by a poor understanding<br />
of the interactions of these components at the<br />
molecular level. My project focused on creating<br />
molecular dynamics simulations to better<br />
understand the molecular interactions between<br />
biofilms and clay in aqueous systems. We<br />
hypothesized that the presence of both biofilms<br />
and clay would lead to synergistic dynamics<br />
that would have implications for water transport<br />
and retention. I learned how to create and run<br />
simulations using GROMACS, an open-source<br />
software that simulates the Newtonian equations<br />
of motion for systems with hundreds to millions<br />
of atoms, while also troubleshooting errors. Once<br />
I learned GROMACS, I primarily worked on finetuning<br />
my system to produce the desired raw<br />
data. After studying such a system and reading<br />
numerous papers on biofilms, this is a topic that<br />
I would like to further explore through my senior<br />
independent research.<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI<br />
Water and the Environment Challenge project,<br />
“Microphysics of Water in Secondary Organic<br />
Aerosol.”<br />
125
Amélie Lemay ’24<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Statistics and Machine Learning,<br />
Sustainable Energy<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Simulating Organic<br />
Contaminants at the<br />
Water-Air Interface<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jennifer<br />
Willemsen, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I worked to model organic contaminants at the<br />
water-air interface. I began by creating input<br />
files to model contaminants of different origin,<br />
size and complexity, including permethrin<br />
(an insecticide), decabromodiphenyl ethane<br />
(a flame retardant), and formaldehyde (a<br />
preservative). I worked with the other interns<br />
on the project to create a library of around 80<br />
compounds. We then placed these contaminants<br />
in simulations of a water-air system and used<br />
the umbrella sampling technique to determine<br />
each compound’s free energy profile, which<br />
indicates how strongly attracted the compound<br />
is to the different phases of the system. This<br />
knowledge will lead to the development of better<br />
methods for removing these contaminants from<br />
the environment. Additionally, simulating each<br />
compound in the library will reveal trends in<br />
how properties such as size and charge affect a<br />
compound’s affinity for the interface, potentially<br />
allowing us to predict the behavior of compounds<br />
not yet modeled. Our library of contaminants<br />
could potentially be used in other simulations<br />
as well, such as lipid membranes or air-clay<br />
systems. I’m fascinated by the possibilities and<br />
promise of this research and I plan to continue<br />
the project as part of my independent research<br />
with Professor Bourg.<br />
126
Daniela Martinez ’24<br />
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Modeling Organic<br />
Contaminants at the<br />
Air-Water Interface<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jennifer<br />
Willemsen, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I studied through simulation research the<br />
behavior of environmental organic contaminants<br />
at the air-water interface. My project focused<br />
on using the fundamental properties of these<br />
contaminants to predict their adsorption at the<br />
air-water interface, in addition to calculating<br />
various thermodynamic and structural<br />
properties. Investigating the properties of these<br />
contaminants can lead to improved remediation<br />
technology and strategies. I created a database<br />
of simulation input files for modeling organic<br />
contaminants, then simulated them at the<br />
air-water interface to produce their free energy<br />
profiles. I created the input files by writing<br />
scripts describing the molecules’ structure.<br />
The molecular dynamics program Large-scale<br />
Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator<br />
(LAMMPS) read these scripts and produced<br />
visualization and output files, which provided<br />
thermodynamic data for the molecule. These<br />
visualization files were inputted into the<br />
molecular modeling and visualization program<br />
Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD) to view the<br />
organic contaminants’ behavior at the air-water<br />
interface. Through this internship, I realized<br />
how understanding fundamental properties can<br />
provide insight on what to do at a larger scale. I<br />
hope to apply these fundamental properties to<br />
strategies for removing contaminants from the<br />
environment.<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI<br />
Water and the Environment Challenge project,<br />
“Microphysics of Water in Secondary Organic<br />
Aerosol.”<br />
127
Natasha Montiel ’22<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Site Analysis of New<br />
Jersey Stream Health<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
The Watershed Institute<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Steve Tuorto, Director of<br />
Science and Stewardship,<br />
The Watershed Institute;<br />
Erin Stretz, Assistant<br />
Director of Science and<br />
Stewardship, The<br />
Watershed Institute<br />
The Watershed Institute aims to protect local<br />
streams through their StreamWatch program.<br />
StreamWatch relies on trained volunteers who<br />
collect data at various stream sites around New<br />
Jersey, which are then analyzed by interns and<br />
scientists at the Watershed. Under the guidance<br />
of my mentors, I organized years of chemical and<br />
biological data and input-relevant information<br />
into Access databases. I then assisted with<br />
the creation of “report cards” that allow for<br />
the high volume of data from each site to be<br />
communicated in a succinct and understandable<br />
manner. Finally, I developed a time series for<br />
important measurements from each site that<br />
showed how stream health has evolved during<br />
the past decade. Through this internship, I<br />
learned that there are many different indicators<br />
that scientists can look at to determine the health<br />
of streams. While looking at the data for these<br />
different indicators, I was able to develop better<br />
data analysis skills, as well as proficiency with<br />
Access databases. Moreover, my work with the<br />
Watershed confirmed my desire to work with an<br />
environmental nonprofit organization.<br />
128
Bradley Moorehead ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data Mining Methods and<br />
Research on<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Literature<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Princeton WET (Water<br />
and Energy Technologies)<br />
Lab, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Z. Jason Ren, Professor of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Junjie Zhu,<br />
Associate Research<br />
Scholar, Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I applied text mining methods to analyze more<br />
than 15,000 academic publications related to<br />
resource recovery from wastewater treatment<br />
processes. Text mining involves structuring,<br />
preprocessing and analyzing a set of textual<br />
information to identify patterns in data. My team<br />
focused on using article keywords and titles to:<br />
find research trends for wastewater resource<br />
recovery; determine how research topics have<br />
evolved over time; and identify underlying<br />
research topics, including water, energy,<br />
nutrients, heat, metals and biosolids recovery.<br />
I helped preprocess the information, which<br />
involved editing the raw text to combine similar<br />
terms, acronyms, chemical symbols, and other<br />
types of keywords to decrease noise and provide<br />
more meaningful results. I also developed a<br />
prototype of an online literature-information<br />
collection tool that can collect data from newly<br />
published environmental publications in order to<br />
build a database for in-time text mining analysis.<br />
In addition to learning about wastewater<br />
treatment and resource recovery, I learned about<br />
natural language processing techniques, data<br />
visualization, and application programming<br />
interface usages. This internship inspired me<br />
to continue learning about natural language<br />
processing and text mining, and to pursue<br />
similar research in the future.<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
129
Ryan Neapole ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Modeling Organic<br />
Contaminants at the<br />
Air-Water Interface<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jennifer<br />
Willemsen, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I worked on a team using molecular dynamics<br />
simulations to create a library of simulation<br />
input and output files for different organic<br />
contaminants. These files were then used<br />
to determine the free energy profile of the<br />
contaminants at the water-air interface.<br />
My primary focus was constructing the<br />
contaminant files for five organic contaminants:<br />
triclosan, benzo(a)pyrene, coumarin,<br />
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and<br />
ketoprofen. I built the contaminants using the<br />
optimized potentials for liquid simulations<br />
(OPLS) parameters, which are a set of constants<br />
associated with atom types determined by<br />
surrounding atoms. I learned how to code input<br />
and output files for contaminants and use<br />
organic chemistry to identify the OPLS atom<br />
types within each contaminant molecule. The<br />
remote nature of the internship taught me how<br />
to independently form solutions to new and<br />
variable issues. Working through problems on my<br />
own was a major component of my experience.<br />
This internship furthered my passion for<br />
environmental engineering, and I look forward to<br />
continuing my academic studies in this field and<br />
seeing where it leads me.<br />
This internship is connected to the HMEI Water and<br />
the Environment Challenge project, “Microphysics<br />
of Water in Secondary Organic Aerosol.”<br />
130
Nathan Sima ’23<br />
OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND FINANCIAL<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Applications of Computing, Finance,<br />
Statistics and Machine Learning<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Data Mining Methods and<br />
Research on<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Literature<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Princeton WET (Water<br />
and Energy Technologies)<br />
Lab, Department of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center<br />
for Energy and the<br />
Environment, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Z. Jason Ren, Professor of<br />
Civil and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the<br />
Andlinger Center for<br />
Energy and the<br />
Environment; Junjie Zhu,<br />
Associate Research<br />
Scholar, Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
I studied text mining to create an analysis of<br />
wastewater textual data and the use of soft<br />
sensors to predict monthly average river flow. My<br />
role in the first project consisted of preprocessing<br />
data and primary data analysis. I implemented<br />
a rigorous six-step process of keyword<br />
preprocessing to address various challenges<br />
in deep text processing, such as stemming,<br />
acronyms and chemical expressions. While<br />
researching each keyword, I learned about many<br />
environmental engineering and wastewater<br />
research topics. After running our preprocessing<br />
code, I derived preliminary information<br />
from the results using data visualization<br />
and graphs developed in the programming<br />
language Python. This provided an eye-opening<br />
exploration into intercategory relationships<br />
and trend identification. For the second project,<br />
I conducted extensive data development and<br />
ran the enhanced, iterated stepwise multiple<br />
linear regression package on them. I learned<br />
about numerous statistical methods from this<br />
and their respective benefits and drawbacks.<br />
Overall, I gained a broad view of the processes<br />
involved in innovative scientific research. I hope<br />
to incorporate similar techniques into my work at<br />
Princeton and beyond.<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
131
Ethan Sontarp ’24<br />
GEOSCIENCES<br />
Certificates: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies, Planets and<br />
Life<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Simulating Organic<br />
Contaminants at the<br />
Water-Air Interface<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jennifer<br />
Willemsen, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
Organic contaminants are persistent carboncontaining<br />
molecules used for industrial<br />
purposes that can cause widespread<br />
environmental damage and health problems.<br />
I created simulation input files for several<br />
contaminants that have been present in<br />
recent news, or contained within the U.S.<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Protection Agency’s list of legacy<br />
pollutants, to understand their behavior on the<br />
molecular level at the boundary between air and<br />
water. Focusing on a subgroup of contaminants<br />
named per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances<br />
(PFAS), I contributed to the research group’s<br />
library of over 80 molecular simulation input<br />
files. These contaminants were then placed<br />
into a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to<br />
visualize and quantify their interactions using<br />
millions of computations based on their physical<br />
properties of charge, attraction and vibration.<br />
I positioned the molecules between blocks of<br />
air and water to determine their affinity for<br />
each substance and the interface between the<br />
two, ultimately opening up the potential to<br />
identify environmental remediation goals. The<br />
project required me to become familiar with MD<br />
simulations and acquainted me with the physical<br />
and chemical properties of pollutants on a small<br />
scale. I really enjoyed the trial-and-error process<br />
we used to assess our results, and I am excited<br />
to continue this project through an independent<br />
study course in fall <strong>2021</strong>!<br />
132
Morgan Wiese ’23<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificates: Sustainable Energy, Urban Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Modeling Organic<br />
Contaminants at the<br />
Air-Water Interface<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Interfacial Water Group,<br />
Department of Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering, Princeton<br />
University<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Ian Bourg, Assistant<br />
Professor of Civil and<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering and the High<br />
Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Institute; Jennifer<br />
Willemsen, Postdoctoral<br />
Research Associate, Civil<br />
and <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Engineering<br />
The goal of my internship was to model a variety<br />
of organic contaminants in order to determine<br />
the adsorption of these contaminants at the<br />
air-water interface. My group and I did this by<br />
writing input files to create different compounds<br />
in a molecular visualization program, which<br />
could then be inserted into simulations of<br />
the compounds’ behavior at the interface. My<br />
colleagues and I added to a library of organic<br />
contaminants that can be used in the molecular<br />
simulation program, allowing for future research<br />
into the different properties of these compounds<br />
in various environments. Along with the<br />
knowledge I gained about these contaminants<br />
and their environmental impact, I also gained<br />
valuable insight into environmental research and<br />
what a research career could look like. The work<br />
I did confirmed my interest in environmental<br />
materials and motivated me to concentrate my<br />
studies in sustainability.<br />
WATER AND THE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
* This internship is connected to the HMEI<br />
Water and the Environment Challenge project,<br />
“Microphysics of Water in Secondary Organic<br />
Aerosol.”<br />
133
Acknowledgments<br />
FUNDING FOR THE<br />
<strong>2021</strong> ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
INTERNSHIP<br />
PROGRAM HAS BEEN<br />
GENEROUSLY PROVIDED<br />
BY THE FOLLOWING<br />
SUPPORTERS:<br />
The Ogden and Hannah Carter Fund<br />
–<br />
The Martha Ehmann Conte ’85 Fund<br />
–<br />
The Crocker ’31 Fund in HMEI<br />
–<br />
The R. Gordon Douglas Jr. ’55 P86 and Sheila<br />
Mahoney S’55 Fund<br />
–<br />
The Edens Family Fund for Climate Change<br />
Research<br />
–<br />
Ellis ’46 Fund in HMEI<br />
–<br />
Luke Evnin ’85 and Deann Wright HMEI<br />
<strong>Internship</strong> Fund<br />
–<br />
The Miller S. and Adelaide S. Gaffney Foundation<br />
–<br />
Gatto Family Undergraduate Research Fund<br />
–<br />
Mary and Randall Hack ’69 Research Fund<br />
–<br />
High Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong> Institute Fund<br />
–<br />
Carolyn and Jeffrey Leonard *85 HMEI Research<br />
Fund<br />
–<br />
Newton Family HMEI Scholars Fund<br />
–<br />
Smith-Newton Undergraduate Research Fund in<br />
HMEI<br />
–<br />
John H.T. Wilson ’56 and Sandra W. Wilson W’56<br />
Fund in HMEI<br />
–<br />
The Yaverland Foundation <strong>Internship</strong><br />
Endowment Fund<br />
134
Front Cover: HMEI interns Alice Egar ’21 (left) and Cole Morokhovitch<br />
’20 studied the effect of climate change on pollinators at the Rocky<br />
Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado. (Photo by Audrey Miller)<br />
135
<strong>2021</strong> ENVIRONMENTAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM<br />
High Meadows <strong>Environmental</strong> Institute<br />
Princeton University, Guyot Hall<br />
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-1003<br />
environment.princeton.edu<br />
environment@princeton.edu<br />
facebook.com/PrincetonEnviro<br />
twitter.com/PrincetonEnviro<br />
instagram.com/princetonenviro<br />
linkedin.com/company/princetonenviro