Internships

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

PROJECT

Patterns of Zooplankton Diel Vertical Migration in the Global Ocean

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Jorge Sarmiento, George J. Magee Professor of Geoscience and Geological Engineering, Professor of Geosciences, Director, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS); Allison Smith, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Geosciences; Daniele Bianchi, Gradu

This summer, I conducted research at Princeton in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences on diel vertical migration of zooplankton to determine if there were any emerging global patterns. I used online databases like the Encyclopedia of Life and Princeton University’s Library Catalog to compile a list of zooplankton species that undergo diel vertical migration and to what depths they are known to migrate. Once I completed some preliminary research, I analyzed the data available on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) online Copepod database manually and usedprograms like R and Microsoft Excel. Upon data analysis, I mapped the results spatially using Generic Mapping Tools and temporally using Microsoft Excel. My internship also entailed attending a number of seminars and talks, which included the exciting 2011 Annual Southern Ocean NOAA Climate Processes Team Meeting. Not only did I learn how to use a lot of useful data analysis programs this summer, but I also learned how to effectively read scientific literature.

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Budnick, Andrew ’13

Geosciences

PROJECT

Oxygen in the North Atlantic: Variability and Measurement

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University; Iceland, New Jersey and North Atlantic

MENTOR(S)

Jorge Sarmiento, George J. Magee Professor of Geoscience and Geological Engineering, Director, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS); Robert Key, Research Oceanographer, AOS; Stephanie Downes, Postdoctoral Research Associate, AOS.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a critical component of global water mass circulation, as the North Atlantic is one of the main locations where surface water sinks to the bottom of the ocean. This summer, I had the opportunity to study the oxygen and other water properties of the North Atlantic, both in models at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and at sea on the German research vessel RV Meteor. In the lab, I compiled time series from previously measured data from this area to examine annual and decadal variability in water mass properties. On board the ship, I was on the team responsible for measuring oxygen in water samples taken at various points in the water column. The oxygen I measured in samples was used to calibrate electronically measured data ultimately destined for further research and online data repositories such as those that I used while in the lab. At the same time, I learned both about these water masses as well as how to carry out experimental oceanography on board a ship.

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Butnariu, Diana ’13

Computer Science

PROJECT

Toward Green Data Centers for an Energy-Efficient Internet

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

MENTOR(S)

Mung Chiang, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Director of EDGE Lab

Companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon store their data and offer information to clients by employing the use of data centers. As the amount of data stored and the amount of information requested, or in other words, the traffic load, to and from data centers increases each year, so does the demand for energy usage inside these data centers. This summer, during my Energy Challenge internship I tried to address and solve the problem of increasing energy usage inside data centers. I first created a small scale replica of a data center in the EDGE Lab and then I implemented an optimal server sleeping policy inside the data center replica. This policy aimed to balance energy consumption and request handling delays. The technique I employed would save energy by putting unused resources or unused servers inside the data center to sleep. Initial approaches generated large energy saving, but had the downside of creating equally large delays in client request handling. Thus I took a new approach and implemented a policy that optimally put servers to sleep and woke them up by balancing the trade-off between energy consumption and delay in request handling. In order to implement this new policy and test its validity, I replicated a small data center using servers, laptops, and power-meters in the EDGE Lab.

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Chen, Christine ’13

Geosciences

PROJECT

Toward an Understanding of Earth’s Largest Carbon Isotope Anomaly

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Australia

MENTOR(S)

Adam C. Maloof, Assistant Professor of Geosciences; Jonathan M. Husson, Graduate Student, Geosciences

The Wonoka formation, a deposit of Ediacaran-aged (635 – 542 million years ago) carbonate rocks found in South Australia, holds a record of carbon isotopic signatures of ancient oceans. These isotopic signatures suggest a major disturbance to the Ediacaran global carbon cycle—one that dwarfs humanity’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This perturbation has been casually linked to the broadly synchronous radiation of macroscopic multicellular organisms during the Ediacaran. As a geology field assistant to Jonathan Husson, a graduate student in the Department of Geosciences, I helped advance the research regarding our understanding and interpretations of Earth history’s largest carbon isotope anomaly. Together, we camped in the Australian outback for two months to gather geologic field observations of the Wonoka and collect rock samples for isotope analysis. Our fieldwork also dove-tailed with my junior paper, for which I created a geologic map of an ancient sea floor paleocanyon within the Wonoka using high-precision GPS equipment. Mapping is critical to the interpretation of carbon isotope signals, for we must first understand the physical settings in which the carbonates were deposited. Not only have I gained a first-hand understanding of the age-old marine landscapes that once covered Australia, but I have also acquired field research skills that will become indispensable to me as a future researcher in the geosciences.

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Chin, Diana ’14

PROJECT

Mode Filtering of a λ ≈ 14 μm Quantum Cascade Laser via Single and Multi-Mode Fibers

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Claire Gmachl, Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering

This summer I worked as an intern in Professor Claire Gmachl’s group in the Department of Electrical Engineering. I helped conduct research on improving the beam quality of quantum cascade lasers. These lasers can potentially be used in a variety of portable devices for sensing trace gases in the atmosphere, and can thus be key in detecting things like global warming effects or the development of nuclear weapons. However, in order for their beams to be most effectively focused and utilized, they have to be refined. I worked on trying to reduce the number of interfering higher order modes of a Quantum Cascade laser by coupling the laser beam through hollow core glass waveguides. By imaging, graphing, and comparing the intensity profiles of the laser light before and after the use of different fibers, we were able to find that the use of a single mode fiber was effective in filtering out a great deal of the higher order modes. Through my own experiences and through the support of the Gmachl group, I feel that I was able to learn a great deal this summer about both my topic and about the research process in general.

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Dhaubanjar, Sanita ’13

Engineering and Applied Science

PROJECT

Study on the Water Systems and Delivery of Water in Kathmandu

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Nepal

MENTOR(S)

Jeremy Farrar, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit and Princeton Global Scholars

This summer I worked in the Bio-based and Green Energy laboratory at Kathmandu University researching various topics in energy recovery from wastewater. I reviewed literature on decentralised wastewater treatment systems for developing countries and eventually focused more on anaerobic treatment of wastewater. Through this internship, I gained a thorough understanding of wastewater systems and analysed the failures of wastewater treatment systems that have been implemented in developing countries,with the goal of identifying suitable treatment methods for Nepal. Bureaucratic and administrative issues are usually responsible for failure of many engineering projects in the third world. However, I realized that in the case of wastewater management, technical inefficiencies have also made it hard to develop sustainable wastewater treatment projects. Appropriate technologies that are simple, efficient, and easily adoptable by the local community are lacking. While I don’t plan to expand on this project yet, I am interested in looking into wastewater management issues.

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Mathematics

PROJECT

Modeling of a Power Grid Covering NJ, PA, MD, VA, OH, and Chicago

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton Univeristy, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Warren Powell, Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Director, Program in Engineering and Management Systems

The main project of my internship in the summer of 2011 was to design an electricity price simulator under the guidance of Professor Warren Powell. Electricity prices are regularly subject to quite a bit of flux due to unforseen conditions, and it is critical for utilities to be able to predict price changes. By accurately predicting a spike in spot prices, utilities can protect themselves against heavy losses by purchasing forward contracts and options beforehand. However, in order to develop a working model of the electricity spot prices, we must first have a competent simulator that can run hypothetical scenarios without incurring actual losses. The simulator that I developed introduced randomness to a chosen history of actual prices and simulated scenarios that could have happened, in the hopes that it would shed light on the future prices. I hope to have laid down a solid foundation for further study in this area.

Steinberger, Kevin ’12

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

PROJECT

Review and Assessment of Biochar Strategies for Carbon Mitigation

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Eric Larson, Research Engineer, Princeton Environmental Institute

The goal of my internship this summer was to conduct research on biochar. The production of biochar, defined as a form of charcoal created from biomass and used for agricultural purposes, has recently been praised as a carbon negative technology, and represents a way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while simultaneously improving soil quality in some cases. Biochar has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the long-term storage of carbon in soils. I reviewed the current literature on biochar and started to create an Excel model to explore all the assumptions and variables involved in a life cycle analysis of the production of biochar. I then wrote a scientific report, that focuses on understanding the conditions under which favorable economic and environmental results can be achieved, by discussing all of the economic factors involved and examining the assumptions behind these factors. With future research, I think biochar production may emerge as an economically profitable way to mitigate climate change, and I am really excited to continue working on this project with my advisor, Dr. Eric Larson. My senior thesis will focus on designing a process to optimize the energy and char yields during biochar production.

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Steurer, Daniel ’14

PROJECT

Effect of High CO₂ on Photosynthesis and Growth in Marine Phytoplankton

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

François Morel, Albert G. Blanke, Jr., Professor of Geosciences. Yan Xu, Associate Research Scholar, Geosciences

This summer I spent time working in the lab of Professor François Morel, looking at some intricacies of the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium sp. SMS 101. Specifically, I made strides to analyze and critique current methods of growing the organism, while also examining the current and potential future effects of ocean acidification on an organism which accounts for nearly 50% of fixed nitrogen in the world’s oceans. I spent time culturing the bacteria in an artificial medium, YBC II, varying some of the medium’s properties. I also worked with a graduate student, Dalin Shi, who helped me grow the bacteria in iron-limited conditions – conditions that could arise from ocean acidification – to attempt to learn how the bacteria’s carbon and nitrogen fixating abilities would be affected. Throughout the summer, I have gained some very important skills in the lab including culturing of bacteria, using gas chromatography, and using general sterile techniques. I also worked with radioactive carbon in tracking the fixation of its molecules. My summer experience, and the skills I acquired, are pushing me towards environmentally based academic interests. Going forward, I hope to move towards the renewable energy field, to help prevent global warming-based issues like ocean acidification.

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Zhang, Charles ’13

Electrical Engineering

PROJECT

Evaluation of the Electrical Characteristics of Thin-Film Solar Cells

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

United Solar Ovonic, LLC, Michigan

MENTOR(S)

Sigurd Wagner, Professor of Electrical Engineering; Kevin Beernink, United Solar Ovonic, LLC

During this summer, I collected and analyzed data from experiments on solar cells at United Solar Ovonic in Michigan. These experiments were performed to test properties of different solar cells such as how long certain cells would last under some extreme conditions, how much light is reflected and diffused from the back reflector, how high of an efficiency that can be obtained, and how thick some layers are. Along with collecting and analyzing data from experimentation, I fixed and optimized a program that would help determine the thickness of a certain layer using light, and I created a model that would determine the amount of light that is reflected from a back reflector with various inputs. I learned almost all the processes that go into making the solar cells as well as working at an industry setting. In addition, I learned how to program in Microsoft Visual Basic Applications and how to operate various machines and the processes that go behind them. Working with solar cells has persuaded me to pursue a career in the energy sector.

Zhang, Yapei ’14

Molecular Biology

PROJECT

Nitrogen Species within the Marine Atmosphere of Bermuda

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, Bermuda

MENTOR(S)

Andrew Peters, Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences; Katye Alteri, Visiting Fellow, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Geosciences

My internship this summer at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences was part of a larger collaborative project to better understand how anthropogenic nitrogen fixation affects nitrogen deposition in the North Atlantic Ocean. My project focused on isolating a valid method for the collection and storage of rain and aerosol samples deposited over the island of Bermuda in order to obtain the best signal-to-noise ratio for determining the true concentrations of specified ions. In order to achieve this, event-based rain samples were collected over the period of 12 weeks. Each sample collection was divided into portions and each portion was subsequently subjected to a different set of treatment and storage methods. Each treated portion was then analyzed on the ion chromatography,an instrument that measures specific ion concentrations in the sample. These obtained concentration values were subsequently compared to determine the best method for sample preservation. A similar set of tests was also conducted for dry aerosol deposition samples.

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Zhu, Chengming ’13

Mathematics

PROJECT

Electricity Forward Pricing and Electricity Market Coupling

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Warren Powell, Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Director, Program in Engineering and Management Systems

I worked this summer with Dr. Michael Coulon in Princeton Laboratory of Energy Systems Analysis (PENSA), within the Operations Research and Financial Engineering Department (ORFE). The major project I was involved in was the study of multi-fuel dependent electricity pricing and the influence of European market coupling on the electricity spot and forward price. My major goal was to develop quantitative and analytic skills, to apply a mathematical model, and to develop computation solutions to real life problems involving uncertainty. Dr. Coulon and I investigated new approaches to electricity forward pricing, by constructing a MATLAB model for simulation and closed-form approximation, and then conducted back testing on the existing data. It was an extremely rewarding summer.

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Development

Aktas, Buse ’14

Mechanical Engineering

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Ghana

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Ghana.

MENTOR(S)

Engineers Without Borders- Princeton University (EWB-PU) is a student run organization which partners with developing communities around the world to work on sustainable development projects. For the Ghana School Library Initiative, one project run by EWB-PU, members are designing and organizing the construction of a sustainable community library in the slums of Ashaiman, Ghana. In the Summer of 2011, EWB-PU sent 5 Princeton students to Ashaiman on a capstone implementation trip for the community library at the Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. The summer’s work consisted of logistical planning, materials acquisition, and work force mobilization necessary for the successful completion of the structure as well as the development of an effective library management system for the donated books. In addition, members conducted necessary education and training programs with students and school staff in order to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the provided resources. In the end, over 7000 books and 37 “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) laptops were successfully deployed in the Achieving Greater Heights Community Library.

Bhat, Nisha ’14

PROJECT

Empowering Disadvantaged Youth through Educational Programs

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

IkamvaYouth, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

S. George Philander, Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences; Carl Palmer, University of Cape Town; Neville Sweijd, The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

I was an intern at IkamvaYouth, a township-based nonprofit organization in Cape Town, South Africa. IkamvaYouth aims to equip disadvantaged youth with the resources and skills necessary to access higher education and/or employment. I assisted in organizing and running the organization’s annual Winter School—a two-week program that provides learners with tutoring sessions, career development workshops, and HIV/AIDS education and testing. I contacted local organizations and universities willing to partner with IkamvaYouth as well as facilitated environmental sustainability classes. I also assisted in collecting data that will eventually be used to evaluate IkamvaYouth’s effectiveness in assisting learners to achieve future financial stability. Through this internship, I was able to better understand the role of educational NGOs in economic development. The leaders and learners of IkamvaYouth were enthusiastic and dynamic, and I learned a great deal during my time there. This internship truly opened my eyes to the many obstacles to education that youth in townships face, and I learned how nonprofit organizations like IkamvaYouth attempt to eliminate these obstacles.

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Blair, Jeremy ’13

Chemical Engineering

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Ghana

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton Unviserity, Ghana

MENTOR(S)

Engineers Without Borders- Princeton University (EWB-PU) is a student run organization which partners with developing communities around the world to work on sustainable development projects. For the Ghana School Library Initiative, one project run by EWB-PU, members are designing and organizing the construction of a sustainable community library in the slums of Ashaiman, Ghana. In the Summer of 2011, EWB-PU sent 5 Princeton students to Ashaiman on a capstone implementation trip for the community library at the Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. The summer’s work consisted of logistical planning, materials acquisition, and work force mobilization necessary for the successful completion of the structure as well as the development of an effective library management system for the donated books. In addition, members conducted necessary education and training programs with students and school staff in order to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the provided resources. In the end, over 7000 books and 37 “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) laptops were successfully deployed in the Achieving Greater Heights Community Library.

Borncamp, Nicole ’14

PROJECT

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Pressure on Biodiversity in South Africa

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Michael Oppenheimer, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School; David Wilcove, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School.

“I interned in the Woodrow Wilson School’s STEP program assisting a post-doctoral researcher with his studies concerning South African climate change and it’s effect on crop production. The goal of the project was to determine which areas were the most productive for crops and how these areas’ productivity levels have changed as the climate has. (Our findings were presented late summer at a symposium in South Africa.) This allows researchers to develop a model to determine which areas can be used in the future for agriculture. My role in the project was to work on various computer programs to reach a conclusion about the accuracy of crop data points by observing graphical models and pixel resolution. This information allowed me to correctly examine the crops’ growth progression through the years and present the visual data to the post-doctoral researcher. The internship allowed me to get a first hand look at biodiversity, climate change, and agriculture in a particularly variable region, as well as become proficient with statistical computer programs. It greatly increased my interest in environmental studies and gave me a great look into the intricacies of this developmental challenge in South Africa.”

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Freeman, Cole ’14

Structural Engineering

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Ghana

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Ghana

MENTOR(S)

Engineers Without Borders- Princeton University (EWB-PU) is a student run organization which partners with developing communities around the world to work on sustainable development projects. For the Ghana School Library Initiative, one project run by EWB-PU, members are designing and organizing the construction of a sustainable community library in the slums of Ashaiman, Ghana. In the Summer of 2011, EWB-PU sent 5 Princeton students to Ashaiman on a capstone implementation trip for the community library at the Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. The summer’s work consisted of logistical planning, materials acquisition, and work force mobilization necessary for the successful completion of the structure as well as the development of an effective library management system for the donated books. In addition, members conducted necessary education and training programs with students and school staff in order to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the provided resources. In the end, over 7000 books and 37 “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) laptops were successfully deployed in the Achieving Greater Heights Community Library.

Fuchs, Steven ’13

PROJECT

Implications of Water Quality on Fish Metabolic Rates

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Rhodes University, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

Tony Booth, Rhodes University

One of the great things about my time in Grahamstown, South Africa was that every day was different. Most of my time was spent working on Professor Booth’s respirometry project, but I was also given the opportunity to assist graduate students on their individual projects. My primary project involved studying the rate at which various Eastern Cape stream fish consume oxygen. Some other projects that I contributed to involved studying the eating habits of pompano fish and studying patterns in the movement of sharp-toothed catfish. I rarely worked from a desk and spent most of my time in the lab or doing fieldwork in freshwater ecosystems nearby. Additionally, I had time to travel around the country and was able to spend a few days in Cape Town and some days in national parks like Addo National Elephant Park. Over the course of my trip I was always on my toes and was challenged both academically and socially.

Kasdin, Alexandra ’14

PROJECT

The Impact of Mpala’s Conservation Clubs

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs, Mpala Research Centre, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Daniel Rubenstein, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Chair, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Director, Program in African Studies; Nancy Rubenstein, Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs

This summer, I worked as an environmental education teaching assistant in Northern Kenya, in areas ravaged by overgrazing and drought. Our goal was to educate Kenyan primary school students about the natural world and to show them that they can transform their landscape through simple environmental stewardship. We created interactive lessons that illustrated concepts such as biodiversity, habitats, the water cycle, and adaptation. I created new lesson plans for the environmental education program and taught the students for an hour every weekday at five different primary schools. Through this experience, I came to the conclusion that environmental education is key to any conservation effort. Environmental education at the most elementary level is the starting point for this understanding. My time in Africa confirmed that I enjoy working with people and researching topics that involve people, such as how humans and the environment interact and affect one another. For example, I discovered I might enjoy studying eco-tourism, an example of the crossover between humans and the environment. After my experiences in Kenya and realizations about the importance of environmental education, I can also see myself spearheading environmental education efforts in the future.

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Lipkova, Veronika ’14

PROJECT

Empowering Disadvantaged Youth through Educational Programs

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

IkamvaYouth, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

S. George Philander, Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences; Carl Palmer, University of Cape Town; Neville Sweijd, The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

My summer internship with IkamvaYouth was designed to help me understand and act on the challenges that an educational NGO is faced with. As an educational intern in their branch in Khayelitsha Township, I primarily worked on Winter School, a two-week long project aimed at improving the learners’ school performance. I assisted in the design of the program, which brought together many specialists from different backgrounds. They carried out a range of workshops that focused mostly on tutoring and career guidance. I also assisted with data collection for a sustainability study, which in the future will help IkamvaYouth support their requests for grants. This experience gave me a perspective on South Africa’s educational system and life in the township, and it also gave me a taste of what it feels like to be a complete alien in a very special community. This internship primarily showed me that the township learners have enormous potential and great desire to learn, and when given an opportunity, they will seize it. This experience, therefore, made me reconsider my career choice and look in the direction of public policy and economics.

O’Grady, Elizabeth ’13

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Ghana

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Ghana

MENTOR(S)

Engineers Without Borders- Princeton University (EWB-PU) is a student run organization which partners with developing communities around the world to work on sustainable development projects. For the Ghana School Library Initiative, one project run by EWB-PU, members are designing and organizing the construction of a sustainable community library in the slums of Ashaiman, Ghana. In the Summer of 2011, EWB-PU sent 5 Princeton students to Ashaiman on a capstone implementation trip for the community library at the Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. The summer’s work consisted of logistical planning, materials acquisition, and work force mobilization necessary for the successful completion of the structure as well as the development of an effective library management system for the donated books. In addition, members conducted necessary education and training programs with students and school staff in order to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the provided resources. In the end, over 7000 books and 37 “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) laptops were successfully deployed in the Achieving Greater Heights Community Library.

Reddy, Akhil ’13

Mechanical Engineering

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Ghana

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Ghana

MENTOR(S)

Engineers Without Borders- Princeton University (EWB-PU) is a student run organization which partners with developing communities around the world to work on sustainable development projects. For the Ghana School Library Initiative, one project run by EWB-PU, members are designing and organizing the construction of a sustainable community library in the slums of Ashaiman, Ghana. In the Summer of 2011, EWB-PU sent 5 Princeton students to Ashaiman on a capstone implementation trip for the community library at the Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. The summer’s work consisted of logistical planning, materials acquisition, and work force mobilization necessary for the successful completion of the structure as well as the development of an effective library management system for the donated books. In addition, members conducted necessary education and training programs with students and school staff in order to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the provided resources. In the end, over 7000 books and 37 “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) laptops were successfully deployed in the Achieving Greater Heights Community Library.

Ryan, Kathleen ’14

Geosciences

PROJECT

An Ecohydrological Framework for Understanding Land Degradation in Dry Ecosystems

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Kelly Caylor, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Keir Soderberg, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering

At the Princeton Ecohydrology lab at the Mpala Research Center, Kenya, my colleagues and I sought to learn more about how vegetation, water, and the atmosphere all interact to create the climactic conditions characteristic of the dryland ecosystem we were living in. I was given the task of gathering and synthesizing rainfall data. By calibrating old and new rain gauges, correcting existing rainfall data, and creating a database with more than 40 years of daily rainfall measurements, I sought to make our existing rainfall data more useful. I also started a research project in which an air parcel trajectory program, HYSPLIT, made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Air Research Laboratory, is being used to show the trajectory of rainstorms experienced at Mpala, in order to get a better sense of how storm trajectory affects the isotopic signature of the rain water. Using the experimental skills I learned this summer, I hope to continue pursuing a career in environmental field research.

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Safford, Hannah ’13

PROJECT

An Ecohydrological Framework for Understanding Land Degradation in Dry Ecosystems

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Mpala Research Center, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Kelly Caylor, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Keir Soderberg, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering

I spent eleven weeks in the Caylor Ecohydrology Lab, located at the Mpala Research Center in the highlands of central Kenya, helping to understand and model the hydrologic cycle of dry savanna ecosystems. A key component of this process is the analysis of water vapor in the air over the savannah. I oversaw an extended laboratory experiment that used a technique called isotope fractionation to track water percolating through buckets filled with savannah soil. In addition to becoming familiar with the scientific theory behind isotope fractionation, I learned how to wire dataloggers for the simultaneous automated operation of many different sensors, and became more experienced with writing computer programs to process collected data. Though my home department is chemical and biological engineering, spending the summer interning in a civil engineering lab provided me with valuable insight into the many ways in which the two areas overlap. I enjoyed the opportunity to branch out into a new field, and look forward to participating in more interdisciplinary projects in the future!

Suh, Alice ’12

PROJECT

Ecohydrology and Vegetation Structure in Dryland Ecosystems

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Kelly Caylor, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Keir Soderberg, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering

I spent the summer at Mpala Research Center and Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya as an intern at the Princeton Ecohydrology Lab. As one of three undergraduate interns, I assisted Professor Kelly Caylor and Dr. Keir Soderberg with the lab’s ongoing research on the hydrological cycle in the semi-arid savannah, and its interaction with dryland ecosystems. This research involves the long-term monitoring of rainfall, vegetation, and soil moisture, including the analysis of isotope signatures in water samples collected in the field. My focus was on conducting and improving the monitoring of vegetation. I conducted several types of vegetation monitoring transects at key locations around Mpala, and developed a non-destructive procedure for measuring above-ground biomass. I also performed comparisons of instruments used for measuring leaf water potential and stomatal conductance, which will inform future protocol for monitoring water stress and transpiration as well as research in isotope fractionation during transpiration under various degrees of water stress.

Tornello, Alana ’12

PROJECT

Enhancing Livelihood Practices in the Keiskamma River Basin

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Center, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

Robert O’Donoghue, Rhodes University

My internship was sponsored by the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University, where I worked with PEI intern Lilia Xie to create multimedia vignettes for two rural villages in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. These short videos and photo montages shared the stories of local artists and community leaders who have initiated programs to celebrate their unique local environments through art, conservation, and other realms of development. In the village of Hamburg, we created a series of videos narrated by the local artists in the Keiskamma Art Project. The artists explained how their works conserve their landscape and healthy living traditions. In the village of Cata, we made videos featuring village locals who described their conservation work to other members of the village, which created a unique type of environmental education. I was also able to illustrate a fun poster that has directions for the use of a compost toilet that was recently constructed in the village. I was inspired by the strong leaders that we met in local communities, clinics, academia, NGOs, and even in personal households. I was able to assist in their visions for a better community through my ethnographic work, video editing, illustrations, and simple desire to listen and share their passions with a wider community.

Vazquez, Hannah ’13

PROJECT

Maximizing the Survival of the Grevy’s Zebra

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

African Wildlife Foundation, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Lital Levy, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature; Paul Muoria, African Wildlife Foundation

The Development Grand Challenge internship in which I participated took place primarily in the Samburu Heartland, a region in north central Kenya. I worked with the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Earthwatch on the Grevy’s Zebra Project, a conservation project that aims at identifying and mitigating threats to Grevy’s Zebra survival in order to contribute to a viable Grevy’s Zebra population. My time in Kenya was divided between the AWF office in Nanyuki and field work in Wamba and the neighboring conservancies. My supervisor was Dr. Paul Muoria, the head scientist on the Grevy’s Zebra Project, but most of my work was done in close collaboration with Paul Gacheru, an AWF volunteer currently obtaining his master’s degree.

Xie, Lilia ’14

PROJECT

Enhancing Livelihood Practices in the Keiskamma River Basin

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

Robert O’Donoghue, Rhodes University; Ashley Westaway, Border Rural Committee

During my internship with the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University, I worked with fellow PEI intern Alana Tornello to create a range of multimedia for the two villages of Hamburg and Cata in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The aim of the internship was to enable the locals’ stories about the environment to reach a wider audience within and beyond their communities. In Hamburg, we created a series of videos narrated by the local artists in the Keiskamma Art Project. The artists explained how their works depicting unique features of the landscape are connected to the environment at large. In Cata, I made videos featuring the voices of the village’s guides, who are a group of young locals with a deep knowledge of the area’s characteristics. The guides described the local environment and explained what other villagers could do to preserve it. The audience for these videos includes local high school students, visitors, and environmental science students. In addition to honing my skills in photography and editing video, I was lucky enough not only to observe how the cultural atmosphere of a place impacts environmental change, but also to aid in the empowerment of local leaders to make a difference in the places they know best.

SEE PRESENTATION

Health

PROJECT

Assessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

REPACTED, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

My project in Kenya was twofold: to produce an assessment report for the theatre-against-AIDS organization REPACTED in Nakuru, Rift Valley Province, and to facilitate the creation of new theatre-against-AIDS troupes in the rural area around Isebania Town, Southern Nyanza Province. In Nakuru, I conducted a follow-up to the survey I had implemented the previous year. I then used that data to produce a report examining the organization’s impact in the community and outlining opportunities for future outreaches. In Isebania, I helped two new theatre-against-AIDS troupes to assess their performances and produce their first organization profiles and grant proposals. From this experience, I gained valuable insight into the process of creating a sustainable community organization as well as into the ways in which the arts can play a crucial role in solving community problems. The latter insight will be central to my independent work and future graduate study in oral poetry.

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PROJECT

Common Property Problems in Health

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, India

MENTOR(S)

Ramanan Laxminarayan, Research Scholar, Princeton Environmental Institute

I went to Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in Delhi, India with the general goal of finding data for my tentative thesis project on measles dynamics within India. Aside from this goal—and changing my topic several times when data proved nonexistent or difficult to obtain,—I also helped with various projects at CDDEP. I was mostly involved with planning for the first Global Forum on antibiotic resistance in developing countries, a conference that will take place in October in New Delhi. Aside from this and helping with data requests and analysis, I also worked on a paper about antibiotic resistance in infants with neonatal sepsis. Hopefully this work will help provide an incentive to fund future studies targeting less-researched subjects such as the burden of sepsis. Through my travels and work experiences, I was able to understand the state of the Indian health system and how non-governmental organizations can interact with the community and with the government. I also learned a lot from listening to my coworkers discuss the various career and academic paths they’ve taken. I hope my newfound knowledge from this summer will help me decide what future schooling to pursue after graduation.

Joseph, Jamie ’13

PROJECT

Ubuntu Africa

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Ubuntu, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

Mallory Sheff, Ubuntu Africa

This summer I worked for Ubuntu Africa (UBA), a South African NGO that works to provide comprehensive care to HIV-positive children and teens. UBA is based in Khayelitsha, a township based just outside of Cape Town that has high rates of poverty, unemployment, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. For my main project, I put together an Ubuntu Africa Chapter Package. In an effort to raise awareness about the organization and its mission, UBA wanted to offer motivated college students a set of resources to help them start on-campus groups that would support the organization. I created a “chapter package,” a combination of checklists, letter templates, and organizational guides to educate students about Ubuntu Africa, and to help them as they work to advocate for the organization. These materials will soon be modified by the organization for use by other potential support groups, such as high school students or adults. I also assisted UBA with outreach, through research, social media outlets, and through my personal blog. My fellow interns and I researched numerous organizations, both South-African based and international, looking for NGO’s that UBA could forge partnerships with in the future. Then, we used social media—especially Twitter and Facebook—to reach out to these groups. Finally, my blog became an additional publicity tool for the organization; it can be found at ubuntuintern.tumblr.com.

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Kazarian, Eric ’12

Molecular Biology

PROJECT

Infections During and After Surgery

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Rothman Institute, Pennsylvania

MENTOR(S)

Carl Deirmengian, Rothman Institute

My internship at the Rothman institute focused primarily on the clinical study of infection in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Specifically, we were interested in identifying whether or not patients were more likely to contract infections with the use of latex-free gloves, which have been shown to demonstrate a significantly higher puncture rate than the standard latex glove. Thus, my responsibilities were to attend patient operations, record surgical information, and log long-term patient wellness into a patient database that I had programmed during the previous summer. This database allows us to store the patient information in a unified system which will ultimately allow us to investigate any potential correlation between glove type and infection rates. Given the nature of my responsibilities, and the incredible amount of personal contact that I had with the patients, I was able to gain a rare insight into the medical world, particularly in regards to the doctor/patient relationship. I believe these skills will serve me very well as I plan to pursue my own career in medicine.

Letchford, Thomas ’14

Operations Research and Financial Engineering

PROJECT

AIC Kijabe Hospital in Kenya

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

AIC Kijabe Hospital, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Jennifer Myhre, AIC Kijabe Hospital

Working with the Africa Inland Church (AIC) Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya, and with an undergraduate student from Yale University, I researched the extent of Maasai community knowledge regarding the potential toxicities of the traditional medicine. AIC Kijabe Hospital and hospitals throughout East Africa have often struggled to treat patients that have taken some form of traditional medicine and been accidentally poisoned. My colleague and I travelled through two different areas, administering surveys we had drafted to both traditional healers and general community members. We investigated specific herbs with known potential toxicities, as well as various pieces of other demographic information, in an attempt to understand the thinking behind the continued use of traditional medicine among 21st century Maasai. Under the guidance of several physicians at the hospital, we put our findings into a paper, which we hope will provide a platform for further work in this field. The project exposed me to study design and field research, and has continued to feed my desire to be involved in healthcare in the developing world.

Mancenon, Carmina ’14

PROJECT

Child Mortality and its Effects on Family Planning in Zithulele Village

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jabulani Rural Health Foundation, South Africa

MENTOR(S)

Joseph Amon, Lecturer in Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School; Georges Reniers, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Woodrow WIlson School; Benjamin Gaunt, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation; Karl le Roux, Jabulani Rural H

Over nine weeks this summer, I implemented a rural healthcare research project in Zithulele Village, South Africa. One of the founding doctors of the hospital estimated that around a third of the Xhosan women in the hospital’s maternity ward had lost a child. Using this as a starting point, my research focused on the effect of child mortality on women’s fertility choices within the Zithulele Hospital patient base. My research involved both quantitative and ethnographic approaches. I collected and processed data from maternity case records, then built on these statistics by learning more about the surrounding culture (eg. Xhosa medication, family planning ideals, etc.). This was done by interviewing people in the community: mothers, fathers, doctors, and traditional healers. The culmination of my research was a presentation I gave to the hospital doctors and staff, a written summary, and a working academic paper. Being immersed the Xhosan lifestyle and people, with all the resources and time to complete a research project, was, for me, the best way to understand a new culture, learn first-hand about the research process, and add a new dimension to my perceptions on rural health.

Orlando, Megan ’12

PROJECT

Cultural and Socioeconomic Determinants of Antibiotic Consumption in the U.S.

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington, D.C.

MENTOR(S)

Ramanan Laxminarayan, Research Scholar, Princeton Environmental Institute

During the course of my internship, I began an independent research project that I plan to develop into my senior thesis. I worked with a Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) Research Analyst to investigate cultural and socioeconomic determinants of antibiotic consumption in the United States. I used statistical analysis to examine county-level antibiotic use patterns and produce a consumption function. This project allowed me to research factors that influence antibiotic use at both regional and international levels. I also performed cross-cultural comparisons across Europe with a thorough literature review and then moved the discussion to the United States. Through this experience, I developed my own research question and determined the best methods for analysis. This was my first long-term global health research project, and it allowed me to investigate cultural and social norms that transcend nationality. I also attended events hosted by CDDEP and became acquainted with the office staff and my co-workers. I thoroughly enjoyed this look into the careers of global health researchers, though I plan to pursue a career in clinical medicine.

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Anthropology

PROJECT

Assessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

REPACTED Youth Group, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Mahiri Mwita, Lecturer in Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies; Collins Odu Odour, REPACTED Youth Group

This summer, I worked with REPACTED, a Magnet Theater group based in Nakuru, Kenya, that focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention. Magnet Theater uses performance to create a forum for communities to discuss health and social issues in the developing world, such as HIV/AIDS, female circumcision, and alcoholism. Magnet Theater helps audiences to analyze the factors contributing to risky health behaviors by dramatizing a situation in which a character needs to choose whether or not to engage in a risky behavior. The audience is asked to advise the character and the troupe facilitates the discussion, providing information and allowing the audience to analyze the issue as a community. My specific project was to work with REPACTED to train two youth groups from the rural Kuria West District of Kenya to perform Magnet Theater outreaches in their own communities. Together with a few other interns, I assisted actors from REPACTED with a three-day training workshop for these youth groups. Specifically, I ran a voice projection workshop to help the actors be heard in the outdoor marketplaces where Magnet Theater is typically performed.

Song, Joongyu ’13

PROJECT

Assessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

REPACTED Kenya, Kenya

MENTOR(S)

Mahiri Mwita, Lecturer in Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies; Collins Odu Odour, REPACTED Youth Group

I interned with REPACTED Kenya, theater group in Kenya that uses Magnet Theater, a form of street theater, to raise awareness and educate the community, about issues regarding sexual health. I conducted surveys in the regions they are targeting to gauge public opinion about a range of issues about sexual health. The data we collected and analyzed will be used by REPACTED in the future to tailor their theater outreach efforts.

Vega, Camila ’12

Operations Research and Financial Engineering

PROJECT

Common Property Problems in Health

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy, India

MENTOR(S)

Kristina M. Graff, Associate Director, Center for Health and Wellbeing, Woodrow Wilson School; Ramanan Laxminarayan, Research Scholar, Princeton Environmental Institute

I was an intern at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy (CDDEP) in New Delhi, India. There, I was able to learn not only about the general workings of health care and public policy in India, but also about antibiotic resistance and the necessity to recognize antibiotics as shared international resources. I assisted with writing policy briefs and content for the HealthyIndia.org website on topics ranging from cancer to staying healthy during the monsoon season. I also helped plan for the 1st Global Forum on Bacterial Infections: Balancing Treatment Access and Antibiotic Resistance, which CDDEP is hosting. Additionally, as part of my thesis research, I studied public responses to outbreak situations, such as the recent emergence of New Delhi Metallo-ß-Lactamase 1 (NDM-1) in India and abroad. Working with CDDEP broadened my overall concept of healthcare; helped me to think more critically about global issues, such as antibiotic resistance; and allowed me to develop a more nuanced understanding of public health policy in developing countries.

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Huamanzaña

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Samne, La Libertad, Peru

MENTOR(S)

The overall goal of EWB-USA is to promote community-driven development programs through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects. This summer we traveled to Samne, La Libertad, Peru in order to collect data on potential development projects within the community and its surroundings with the objective of opening a new EWB-USA (Engineers Without Borders) program in the fall. We initially evaluated the possibility of implementing a waste management program (involving trash collection, recycling, and a landfill). We completed compositional and volumetric assessments of current trash sites. We also assessed other possibilities and ended up focusing on a potable water system because of community-driven support. This led to our testing the spring boxes and reservoirs that connect the main part of town along with the contaminated water of the Rio Moche, a source of “drinking” water. We built connections with local community members and NGOs and hope to open a new EWB 5-year program in Samne this year.

Barron, Benjamin ’13

PROJECT

Venturing into the World of Green Revolution

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Earthjustice, California

MENTOR(S)

Georgia McIntosh, Earthjustice

My internship with the environmental law firm Earthjustice was an educational and enlightening venture into the world of green legislation. I worked with their communications office which gave me the opportunity to oversee all facets of the non-profit law firm’s widespread work. Being able to contribute substantially, despite working at an intern level, was rewarding and empowering. In my case, that consisted of researching and writing numerous blogs, and a couple of magazine articles, as well as working on multimedia projects, press tracking reports, staff biographies, and other smaller projects. I learned about the complexity of environmental law, and the importance of legislation in the struggle to achieve sustainability. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was that environmental law is not the path I want to take in my environmental career. However, working alongside the passionate, capable, and experienced lawyers, employees, and executives of the largest environmental law firm in the world certainly cemented my commitment to the pursuit of sustainability.

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Bleakney, Lauren ’13

PROJECT

Punctuated Equilibrium in the Energy Regime Complex

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Robert Keohane, Professor of Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School

I interned with Professor Robert Keohane of the Wilson School on a policy paper entitled, “The Punctuated Equilibrium in the Energy Regime Complex.” I was given a fascinating opportunity to contribute additional research to the paper on Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) history, specifically on periods of dissatisfaction and innovation. I also worked with Professor Keohane and his two co-authors to restructure the underlying theoretical outline of how institutions innovate in the face of varying levels and types of dissatisfaction as well as contributing to the robustness of definitions used in the paper concerning interdependence of institutions involved in the energy regime complex. From this internship, I learned the intricacies of the oil industry as well as the process of developing a paper for journal publication.

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Politics

PROJECT

Innovating Solutions to Marine Conservation Problems

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Environmental Defense Fund, California

MENTOR(S)

Rod Fujita, Environmental Defense Fund

This summer, I was an intern at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in San Francisco. I worked as a research intern in the Ocean Innovations Department. This department, with the rest of the Oceans departments, works to implement sustainable fishery practices around the world. Specifically, I researched the implementation of sustainable fishery practices in Cuba and the Pacific. My primary responsbility for each regional project was to research background material, statistics, and the status of fisheries for each region, and then provide my own insight as to how fisheries could be improved by EDF. The research I conducted through this internship prompted my senior thesis topic, and I am eager to get going and build upon what I started this summer. I always felt that my work was highly valued at EDF. I was welcomed as an important member of the team from the start which made the experience very rewarding.

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Elbert, Eleanor ’12

Art History

PROJECT

Family Planning & Resource Use

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Sierra Club, Washington, D.C.

MENTOR(S)

Sandeep Bathala, Sierra Club

I interned for the Sierra Club’s Global Population and Environment Program which advocates for universal access to voluntary family planning services in conjunction with responsible resource use. This experience deepened my insight into some of the most complex environmental issues (family size and resource use disparity between developed and developing nations) at the community level. It also taught me a rights-based framework from which to understand these issues. I was involved with grassroots organizing of Sierra Club members and young activists around the country, and raised awareness of our work via social media and blogging. I helped prepare content for presentations and materials, and coordinated with volunteers to produce newsworthy information for activists to disseminate.

Eyster, Theodore ’13

PROJECT

Monitoring Aquatic Warblers in Poland’s Fen Mires

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

OTOP (Polish Society for the Protection of the Birds), Poland

MENTOR(S)

Lars Lachmann, AW LIFE Project Manager

I spent nine weeks as an intern in northeast Poland with the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds in Biebrza National Park. I was part of a team gathering data on the Aquatic warbler (acrocephalus paludicola), Europe’s rarest perching bird (passerine). I spent my time wading through study plots in the marshes and fen mires of the region counting the singing males and looking for nests. We gathered information about breeding population densities of the bird on sections of marsh with different management treatments. The treatments were mostly concerned with the frequency of mowing to prevent succession, the process that turns the marshes to forests. After finding nests by watching individual birds for long periods of time, we used GPS technology to mark nest locations. At the conclusion of the project, we compiled an excel file with the clutch sizes, treatment, and success rates, in addition to a MapSource map showing the location of each nest. The collected data will ultimately be used to determine the best way to manage the habitat for the success of the aquatic warbler.

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Fletcher, Daniel ’12

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

PROJECT

Flood Reduction Modeling in Harry’s Brook

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Amy Soli, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association

This summer, I interned with the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. The goal of this internship was two-fold. First, to create a model of the Harry’s Brook Watershed that accurately modeled observed stream behavior and, once that was accomplished, to identify possible solutions to alleviate flooding in the Princeton area that occurs during heavy rainfalls. While I was only able to accomplish the first component of the internship during the three-month time frame, it was richly rewarding. I gained a working knowledge of the Watershed Modeling System (WMS) and the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) softwares and I learned more than I ever thought possible about urban hydrology. This opportunity has also influenced my academic path, as my thesis is now on coastal flooding issues and has changed my job search, which was previously only focused on structural engineering, to include more of an environmental emphasis.

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Huamanzaña

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Samne, La Libertad, Peru

MENTOR(S)

The overall goal of EWB-USA is to promote community-driven development programs through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects. This summer we traveled to Samne, La Libertad, Peru in order to collect data on potential development projects within the community and its surroundings with the objective of opening a new EWB-USA (Engineers Without Borders) program in the fall. We initially evaluated the possibility of implementing a waste management program (involving trash collection, recycling, and a landfill). We completed compositional and volumetric assessments of current trash sites. We also assessed other possibilities and ended up focusing on a potable water system because of community-driven support. This led to our testing the spring boxes and reservoirs that connect the main part of town along with the contaminated water of the Rio Moche, a source of “drinking” water. We built connections with local community members and NGOs and hope to open a new EWB 5-year program in Samne this year.

Ho, Lucas ’14

Computer Science

PROJECT

Developing New Products from Waste Streams at TerraCycle

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

TerraCycle, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Ernel Simpson, TerraCycle

The goal of my internship at TerraCycle was to develop new uses for waste and thus divert it from landfills. I discovered the material composition of various types of trash, researched those materials’ properties, and hatched ideas for alternative uses for the waste based upon those properties. Some of the ideas I contributed were to use the byproducts of silk manufacturing to nourish skin and to extract fiberglass from discarded tennis rackets to be used in medical casts. Additionally, I contacted companies like Adidas to see if they wanted to incorporate waste that TerraCycle has collected into their products. Also, TerraCycle wanted an external party to use the ~9400 floppy disks in its warehouse. I accomplished this goal by finding a painter who uses floppy disks as canvas and who gladly accepted the disks. I learned how to read and write patents, since much of my research involved traversing through patent databases. My knowledge of materials’ properties and applications grew by leaps and bounds. Also, my commitment to pursuing a career in sustainability was cemented, and I learned how people function and execute ideas in the corporate world.

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Jackson, Jacob ’14

PROJECT

Communicating TerraCycle’s Message

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

TerraCycle, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Richard Perl, TerraCycle

During my internship at TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey, I was given the opportunity to work on several projects that dealt with the way TerraCycle communicated their core messages. As an introduction to the way that TerraCycle spread the message of environmental stewardship, I edited lesson plans that TerraCycle developed with the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education by ensuring that each lesson plan was flushed out and was suitable for the intended ages. I also researched the environmental harms of mining for precious metals and gems in order to create the web pages and physical material for a recycling program for old jewelry. Finally, I helped lead an initiative to boost TerraCycle’s social media presence. Two other interns and I organized the rest of the interns to comment on blogs and to better utilize Twitter by finding interesting articles, blog posts, and other materials that members of the green community would find informative and enjoyable. Through these projects, I attained a greater understanding of how to utilize these various forms of communication, and I look forward to continuing to engage others about sustainability.

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Kapustin, Nikolai ’13

Politics

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Environmental Engineering

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Huamanzaña

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Samne, La Libertad, Peru

MENTOR(S)

The overall goal of EWB-USA is to promote community-driven development programs through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects. This summer we traveled to Samne, La Libertad, Peru in order to collect data on potential development projects within the community and its surroundings with the objective of opening a new EWB-USA (Engineers Without Borders) program in the fall. We initially evaluated the possibility of implementing a waste management program (involving trash collection, recycling, and a landfill). We completed compositional and volumetric assessments of current trash sites. We also assessed other possibilities and ended up focusing on a potable water system because of community-driven support. This led to our testing the spring boxes and reservoirs that connect the main part of town along with the contaminated water of the Rio Moche, a source of “drinking” water. We built connections with local community members and NGOs and hope to open a new EWB 5-year program in Samne this year.

Moder, Emily ’13

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Huamanzaña

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Samne, La Libertad, Peru

MENTOR(S)

The overall goal of EWB-USA is to promote community-driven development programs through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects. This summer we traveled to Samne, La Libertad, Peru in order to collect data on potential development projects within the community and its surroundings with the objective of opening a new EWB-USA (Engineers Without Borders) program in the fall. We initially evaluated the possibility of implementing a waste management program (involving trash collection, recycling, and a landfill). We completed compositional and volumetric assessments of current trash sites. We also assessed other possibilities and ended up focusing on a potable water system because of community-driven support. This led to our testing the spring boxes and reservoirs that connect the main part of town along with the contaminated water of the Rio Moche, a source of “drinking” water. We built connections with local community members and NGOs and hope to open a new EWB 5-year program in Samne this year.

Nachmary, Ruth ’12

Anthropology

PROJECT

Reporting the Science, Impacts, and Solutions to Climate Change Across the United States

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Climate Central, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

Michael Lemonick, Visiting Lecturer, Astrophysical Sciences

Climate Central‘s challenge is to communicate about climate change in a way that will help people identify with what it means for them, their families, and their neighbors. Changing minds and behaviors is what will really keep atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at levels climate scientists have suggested. This internship challenged me to step outside myself to understand what others would identify with and to determine how best to reach them. I was also challenged to use new forms of media and communication, to work in teams and individually, and to meet journalistic deadlines and standards with which I was previously unfamiliar. The internship provided me with a foundation to go into journalism, should I chose that path, or to be an effective climate communicator in whatever field I choose.

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Ochoa, Stephanie ’12

Molecular Biology

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Reveley, Helen ’12

Religion

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Scanlan, Katelyn ’13

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Schleier, William ’13

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Shifke, Caroline ’12

Religion

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Smith, Peter ’14

PROJECT

Planting Native Plants at the Bulk Seed Project at the St. Michael’s Preserve in Hopewell

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

D&R Greenway Land Trust, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

James Amon, D&R Greenway Land Trust

As an intern with the Princeton-based D&R Greenway Land Trust, I worked to improve the health of ecosystems on their preserves, and beyond, by mitigating the impact of invasive plant species. My summer experience encompassed many facets of the Greenway’s mission, from growing native plants in a nursery to be planted on the preserves, eradicating invasive plants on the properties with loppers and herbicide, working on a farm, to cultivating thirteen different species of native wildflowers and grasses whose seeds will be used on a landfill in Staten Island. I gained insight into the operations of a land trust by attending stewardship meetings and accompanying staff members on surveys of conservation easements. Another intern and I also devised materials for a donor-initiated Children’s Discovery Trail on one of the preserves. I am considering a major in sociology, and seeing how D&R Greenway fits into the social fabric of Mercer and Hunterdon counties led me to ponder ways to incorporate environmental issues into that field of study.

Stedile, Leonardo ’14

Computer Science

PROJECT

Engineers without Borders, Huamanzaña

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Samne, La Libertad, Peru

MENTOR(S)

The overall goal of EWB-USA is to promote community-driven development programs through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects. This summer we traveled to Samne, La Libertad, Peru in order to collect data on potential development projects within the community and its surroundings with the objective of opening a new EWB-USA (Engineers Without Borders) program in the fall. We initially evaluated the possibility of implementing a waste management program (involving trash collection, recycling, and a landfill). We completed compositional and volumetric assessments of current trash sites. We also assessed other possibilities and ended up focusing on a potable water system because of community-driven support. This led to our testing the spring boxes and reservoirs that connect the main part of town along with the contaminated water of the Rio Moche, a source of “drinking” water. We built connections with local community members and NGOs and hope to open a new EWB 5-year program in Samne this year.

Teitelbaum, Eric ’13

PROJECT

Planting Native Plants at the Bulk Seed Project at the St. Michael’s Preserve in Hopewell

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

D&R Greenway Land Trust, New Jersey

MENTOR(S)

James Amon, D&R Greenway Land Trust

“This past summer I interned at the D&R Greenway Land Trust in Princeton NJ, a nonprofit organization that promotes the conservation of land in Central NJ through stewardship and an in-house nursery program. As a stewardship intern, my focus was primarily on the restoration of their land preserves, but I also spent time with a bulk seed project funded by New York City to establish sufficient native plant seed to restore the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. This was my second year as an intern with the D&R Greenway, and seeing the results from last summer was truly an insightful experience. At the preserves, we remove invasive species to allow native plants to become competitive, and often plant deer-resistant natives in place of the invasives. Coming back for another year, I was able to see the transformation of landscapes from being completely dominated by invasive plants to promising forests and meadows able to sustain native fauna.”

Tiwari, Alisa ’14

PROJECT

Developing & Implementing Environmental Public Policy Initiatives

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

United States Congress - Office of Senator Bennet (CO), Washington, D.C.

MENTOR(S)

Michael Litchman, Visiting Lecturer in Psychology; Sebastian Dawiskiba, United States Congress - Office of Senator Bennet (CO)

This past summer, I decided to pursue an internship in the Office of Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) in order to advance my understanding of the challenges of developing and implementing public policy initiatives. My goal was to learn about the legislative process for change as well as how to be of service to my community by researching environmental issues. As an intern, I gained invaluable insights into congressional processes. My responsibilities included producing a daily press packet, researching current legislation, responding to constituent concerns, attending committee briefings, working on office publications, and developing memos or talking points for the Senator. Working inside our political system allowed me to establish a framework for understanding the concerns that currently face our country and the process necessary to instigate change. The internship solidified my interest in public service, community awareness, and environmental issues and furthered my intentions to pursue a course of study in politics, history, and economics.

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East Asian Studies

PROJECT

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Jishou City, China

MENTOR(S)

Tina Coll and Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia.

The Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to run an English immersion camp for Chinese university students in Jishou City (a city in Hunan Province, China). This summer, 11 students participated in this program. Three years ago, Princeton students launched “Greening Summer of Service,” an initiative that introduced environmental programming into the curriculum to cultivate a dialogue with their Chinese students surrounding some of the significant environmental challenges facing China. Along with teaching English, Princeton students organized afternoon extracurricular activities for the Jishou students. This year the activities included sports, cooking, orphanage volunteering, dance, and speech. In an effort to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues, one week was devoted to teching about the environment. The Princeton students taught lessons on global warming and renewable energy, and each of the classes did a project focused on the environment. Local students took pictures of garbage and wrote poetry to accompany the images; others interviewed the city’s garbage collectors to document the changes they have seen in the environment over the years and field their suggestions for the future. Another group produced environmental videos on topics from water conservation to the use of public transportation, and yet another group interviewed food vendors to understand the challenges of the food cycle in the city and identify ways residents could help improve the system. The week culminated with the celebration of Earth Day, during which each class presented their finished project to the rest of the students. The focus on environmental studies, encouraged students to think about the world around them and how they could do small things to contribute to the health of the environment. The exchange between the Princeton and Jishou students fostered a unique connection across cultures over shared environmental challenges.

Wyman, Lauren ’14

PROJECT

How Will Climate Change Impact Fish Species?

ORGANIZATION / LOCATION

Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.

MENTOR(S)

David Medvigy, Assistant Professor of Geosciences; Stacy Small, Environmental Defense Fund

How will climate change impact the United States’ biota? During my internship at the Environmental Defense Fund, I helped conservation scientists come one step closer to addressing this question by analyzing the impact of climate change on fish species in Illinois. To engage in the aptly dubbed Climate Change Vulnerability Analysis, I first studied how climate change is impacting freshwater aquatic systems, then extensively researched and documented life history traits of each of Illinois’ 195 fish species. I also analyzed my findings in a Climate Change Vulnerability Index program developed by NatureServe Explorer. The end product of my investigation revealed where each species ranked on a scale from “Increase Likely” to “Extremely Vulnerable” due to climate change. The final results of my project will help conservation scientists target species of concern in Illinois and will pave the way for more in depth field studies of climate change’s consequences on the Midwest’s freshwater fish. My individual work was part of a larger climate change vulnerability project that includes not only fish species but also mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. My findings will be presented at a workshop for conservation scientists at the end of September.

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Zhou, Iris ’13