Summer 2008

In Summer 2008 the first cohort of students completed a 10 week research experience working with faculty mentors from the departments of Chemistry, Biological Sciences and Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences. Participating students came from across the country. The research was highly interdisciplinary and had students working with multiple mentors in different departments. The students finished the program with a poster session in which they presented their work to their peers and the College community. Several students have already presented their work at conferences outside of Towson University and several manuscripts are in preparation for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

William Curry Virginia Tech, Biological Sciences major Mentor: Dr. Joy Watts Project: Evaluation of the soil microbial community in stormwater pond soils impacted by road salt application
Sasha Karosas University of Minnesota, Fisheries and Wildlife/Conservation Biology major Mentor: Dr. Susan Gresens Project: Effects of silt clay sediment in a phosphorus-limited algal grazer food chain Updates: Sasha presented her work at conferences held by the National Council for Undergraduate Research and the North American Benthological Society in Spring 2009. A manuscript of this work is in preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Schuyler Nunziata Towson University, Biological Sciences major Mentor: Dr. Joel Snodgrass Project: Impact of road salt on stream salamanders Updates: In Fall 2009 Schuyler entered a masters program at Eastern Kentucky University in Biology-Applied Ecology.
Nick Matthies Colorado State University, Geology major Mentor: Dr. Steven Lev Project: Investigating the effect of Zn on the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris: Establishing the potential for trophic transfer of roadway derived Zn in an urban ecosystem Updates: A manuscript is currently in preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Evan Gray Western Washington University, Environmental Toxicology major Mentor: Dr. David Ownby Project: Ostracod predation on amphibian eggs Updates: A manuscript describing the novel ostracod behavior observed during this experiment has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Sonja Gamby Towson University, Chemistry major Mentor: Dr. Clare Muhoro Project: Nucleophilicity of N-methyl carbamate pesticides and their phenoxide degradation products Updates: Sonja presented her work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences at University of Maryland Baltimore County in Fall 2008. Her poster won second place in her group. In Fall 2009 Sonja started a Ph.D. program in Organic Chemistry at University of Maryland, College Park.
Katie Wooten Virginia Tech, Environmental Science major Mentor: Dr. Ryan Casey Project: Effect of road salts on the mobility of Cu, Zn and Pb in stormwater pond soils Updates: A manuscript of this work is in preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.