Meet Our Past Interns - 2011
- Climate and Energy
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Abrams, Garnet ’12
GeosciencesPROJECTExtremely Fine-Grained and Global Measurements of Greenhouse Gases
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University; Alaska, Colorado and Hawaii
MENTOR(S)Mark Zondlo, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Water vapor is the strongest greenhouse gas, and its distribution and transport in the atmosphere require further investigation. During my summer internship, I participated with other Princeton researchers in the Highly Instrumented Aerial Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) onboard the NSF Gulfstream V research plane. Using the Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) hygrometer, we gathered 25 Hz in-situ data during the last two flights. Working with Professor Mark Zondlo and graduate student Minghui Diao, I learned to use the VCSEL hygrometer by monitoring live data, applying calibrations to the data analysis, and learning the calibration methods in the lab between flights. I also traveled to Broomfield, CO (where the plane is based), Kona, HI, and Anchorage, AK for field research and instrument maintenance. I also interacted with other scientists and learned about other instruments used for this research. With this data, we hope to improve climate models and large scale satellite observations.
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Balachandran, Devika ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTPatterns of Zooplankton Diel Vertical Migration in the Global Ocean
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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
GeosciencesPROJECTOxygen in the North Atlantic: Variability and Measurement
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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 SciencePROJECTToward Green Data Centers for an Energy-Efficient Internet
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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
GeosciencesPROJECTToward an Understanding of Earth’s Largest Carbon Isotope Anomaly
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPROJECTMode Filtering of a λ ≈ 14 μm Quantum Cascade Laser via Single and Multi-Mode Fibers
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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 SciencePROJECTStudy on the Water Systems and Delivery of Water in Kathmandu
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONOxford 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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Dix, Daniel ’12
Operations Research and Financial EngineeringPROJECTCollecting and Visualizing Data for Energy Systems Analysis
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Professor Powell, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
This summer, I worked in the Princeton Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (PENSA), on data visualization and collection for Professor Powell. The main focus of the internship was creating a means to observe hour-by-hour load, flow, and generation data for the PJM Interconnections electric grid, which spans from Chicago to North Carolina. I worked with a number of other interns, each of whom had a very important role. Much of my internship involved finding ways to map data from one form to another. In particular, I needed to obtain physical location data and connect it to the bus node ID number, which was used in the Unit Commitment model to simulate changes in the network over time. With lots of coding, we were able to create a working visualization program, which will be used next year to perform policy analysis of the Northeast electric grid.
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Edelman, Lauren ’14
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTInvestigating a Potential Mechanism of Mercury Uptake in Geobacter Sulfurreducens
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)François Morel, Albert G. Blanke, Jr., Professor of Geosciences; Yan Xu, Associate Research Scholar, Geosciences
The goal of my research was to develop a protocol to investigate a protein, GSU1338, which could play a role in mercury uptake in the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens. This bacterium is known to methylate mercury; thus, it contributes to the process of biomagnifications of methyl mercury, an environmental concern. Understanding the process of methylation is important to minimizing the toxic effects of mercury contamination. My project was focused on developing a method for over-expressing, isolating, and purifying the GSU1338 protein. Specifically, I used Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a method of amplifying a fragment of DNA, and gel electrophoresis to facilitate the construction of a plasmid vector, transformed the plasmid into E. coli, induced transcription, and began the isolation and purification of the protein. I learned new experimental techniques, like PCR, gel electrophoresis, and protein gels. I was exposed to scientific literature and gained insights on working independently to develop an experimental procedure. This internship introduced me to the field of environmental science. As a part of a research group, I listened to discussions about advancements in the field, and contributed my own small advancement. This internship has reaffirmed my interest in environmental science and has given me hands on experience.
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Graham, Kieryn ’13
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTControlling Alien and Monitoring Reintroduced Species
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONGondwana Canyon Park, Namibia
MENTOR(S)Sue Cooper and Trygve Cooper, Gondwana Canyon Park
I spent my time as a Development Challenge intern in Gondwana Canyon Park in southern Namibia. My primary objective was to gain experience in nature conservation and monitoring and management strategies in Namibia. As part of my internship, I wrote a proposal which looked at the number, sexes, and ranging patterns of leopards in the park and included suggestions for future leopard monitoring efforts in the area. The work I began will be continued in the future and my proposal will be available for viewing on the Environmental Information Service, Namibia website. I also spent my time collecting and analyzing camera-trap data, helping out in routine fence patrols and participating in the Park’s annual game count.
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Gupta, Ashish ’13
Computer SciencePROJECTDeveloping Databases and Models at the Princeton Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (PENSA)
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Warren Powell, Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Director, Program in Engineering and Management Systems
This summer I worked on a project involving the creation of a model to simulate the movement of power throughout a network grid in the US. This requires understanding the way energy is transmitted from a generation to a load and how a network of supply and demand is constrained. The power grid model ultimately boils down to an optimization problem where we aim to minimize system costs and energy losses. Creating this model, in part, involved managing large sets of data and using machine learning techniques to efficiently parse data input for the model. The immediate goal of the project is to use this model to analyze the way our current network functions, and to create simulations that illustrate the effects of altering parameters, such as the type of energy being delivered. The long-term goal is to eventually determine how we can move towards cleaner forms of energy such as wind.
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Harrel, William ’13
Operations Research and Financial EngineeringPROJECTEnergy Grid Modeling
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Warren Powell, Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Director, Program in Engineering and Management Systems
The goal of this project was to create a model of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) to compute a forward price curve and assess the viability of solar energy, especially in Massachusetts. Working with Professor Powell, I created a multi-agent stochastic model and a simulation interface to run with many different input parameters. Upon completion, we noticed that the design of the credit system led to huge uncertainties, and this was discouraging companies from building solar energy. In response to these uncertainties, we worked to design a better system that would be more effective at stimulating growth, while still minimizing the cost for ratepayers and taxpayers. We have recently started working with two people from the Woodrow Wilson School to determine the best way to change our ideas from theory into actual policy. I learned quite a bit about energy systems, modeling, and programming this summer, and I am continuing my work as junior independent work. I had a fantastic time, and as I consider future summer plans, I will definitely be looking at academic positions so I can have another great experience.
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Huang, Brian ’13
Computer SciencePROJECTThe Viability of Providing Early Warnings for Tipping Points in the Earth’s Climate System
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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); Claudie Beaulieu, Postdoctoral Research Associate, AOS
This summer, while working with Claudie Beaulieu in Professor Jorge Sarmiento’s group in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, I examined possible applications of bifurcation theory to predict tipping points in the Earth’s climate system. In the past, bifurcation theory has been applied, in fields like physics and economics, to analyze changes in the states of systems. In the past decade, some have begun applying it to our terrestrial climate system, proposing metrics to predict catastrophic regime shifts (“tipping points”) in our climate, with the goal of providing early warnings for future tipping points. My work involved comparing and evaluating the power of these metrics with an eye towards improving them. Most of my work involved analyzing paleoclimate datasets in Matlab, which I have become very comfortable doing. I also experienced firsthand the power of scientific collaboration and learned a great deal about our climate history and the academic process. The Sarmiento group is incredibly welcoming and supportive. My experiences with them this summer have made me seriously consider climate research in grad school.
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Jacobson, Max ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTPhotochemical Alteration of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen in the Surface Ocean of the North Atlantic
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University; Bermuda and Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Daniel Sigman, Dusenbury Professor of Geological and Geophysical Sciences; Katye Altieri, Postdoctoral Research Associate; Sarah Fawcett, Graduate Student, Geosciences
This summer, in Professor Daniel Sigman’s laboratory, I constructed an apparatus to investigate the conversion of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) to ammonium, in the presence of sunlight, in Sargasso Sea water. This conversion is one theory that may explain the discrepancy between the measured efflux of ammonia out of the subtropical ocean and the predicted efflux, considering the concentration of ammonium in seawater and Henry’s law. My work involved designing the apparatus, testing the apparatus, acquiring appropriate samples, and measuring the concentration of ammonium in various solutions. I learned about the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen isotope ratios (¹⁵N/¹⁴N), and the properties of oligotrophic oceanic gyres. In addition, I learned numerous laboratory techniques, including filter acidification, filter extractions, an orthophthaldialdehyde (OPA) fluorescence technique for measuring nanomolar concentrations of ammonium, and acid washing. I also collected and filtered seawater samples during four scientific cruises, and assisted with other oceanographic and atmospheric sampling. In addition to my own research, I learned about other projects in Professor Sigman’s lab and even contributed to them. The Sigman lab is supportive and innovative, and working with them this summer was a rewarding experience.
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Jaffe, Adam ’12
ChemistryPROJECTGas Storage with Metal-Organic Frameworks
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSeoul National University, South Korea
MENTOR(S)Andrew Bocarsly, Professor of Chemistry; Myunghyun Paik Suh, Seoul National University
This summer, I researched metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their application to hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas storage (MOFs are supramolecular structures that incorporate both organic and inorganic components). The goal was to synthesize a novel MOF which had exceptionally high gas adsorption capabilities. I was successful in synthesizing a new organic linker molecule and then attempted to procure viable samples of MOFs by combining the organic molecule with various metal ions. I learned a great deal about organic synthesis techniques as well as spectroscopic characterization of organic molecules and X-ray diffraction characterization of single crystals. I also acquired insight into the current state of storage for alternative fuels. This internship provided valuable experience for my intended graduate school research and research career in general. It also allowed me to appreciate the global nature of research and to make lasting friendships and collaborative relationships in the scientific community that could be beneficial in the future.
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Khan, Anupama ’12
ChemistryPROJECTLithiumization of Plasma-Facing Components in Fusion Reactors
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Robert Goldston, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences
According to a 2007 report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, up to 95% of energy reductions through 2100 will be made after 2030. In the long run, nuclear fusion technology is poised to become a major player in the global energy market. During my internship, I worked with Professor Robert Goldston at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Professor Steven Bernasek in the Chemistry Department, to study the effectiveness of lithium as a plasma-facing component in fusion reactors. In an on-going study using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), I mapped damage caused by high energy neutral beam bombardment on porous molybdenum substrates before and after lithiumization. I also developed a second set of experiments using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the interactions between boron, lithium, and plasma contaminants because boron pre-conditioning has been shown to improve plasma performance in some reactors. I plan to continue these experiments for my senior thesis.
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Kim, Kevin ’12
Operations Research and Financial EngineeringPROJECTEnergy Network Optimization Involving Alternative, Renewable Sources of Energy (Mainly Wind)
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Warren Powell, Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Director, Program in Engineering and Management Systems
Wind shows tremendous promise as a clean, economical sources of energy. However, increasing wind penetration in the power grid introduces several challenges. Unlike conventional sources of energy, wind fluctuates greatly from hour to hour and can be difficult to predict. A grid operator may overcome these challenges by reasonably predicting wind and efficiently scheduling their more reliable generation assets, like coal plants and natural gas plants, around wind’s variability. This summer at PENSA (Princeton Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis), we simulated this problem for a grid operator called PJM Interconnections, and built a model that would allocate power generation optimally in the presence of increased wind.
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Krakaris, Alexa ’12
Electrical EngineeringPROJECTOrganic Solar Cells
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONXerox PARC, California
MENTOR(S)Sigurd Wagner, Professor of Electrical Engineering; Robert Street, Palo Alto Research Center
During this summer internship I worked with Robert Street conducting research pertaining to organic photovoltaics. I conducted various experiments designed to study the effect of varied temperature annealing on the behavior of organic solar cells. I analyzed these results and compiled a comprehensive set of data, graphs, and spread sheets. Our research supported the theory that an exponential energy band tail exists, which reflects the physical properties of the organic material. We hope that this research will lead to further development in the field of organic photovoltaic devices and an overall increase in their efficiencies.
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Leng, Ziwei ’14
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPROJECTSize Control Over Semiconducting Materials for Organic Electronics
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Deputy Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment; Jeffrey Mativetsky, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Chemical and Biological Engineering
As an intern in Professor Lynn Loo’s laboratory, I developed a method for making organic semiconducting nanowires for applications in organic electronics such as the organic solar cell, which is a cheaper but currently less efficient device compared with silicon-based solar cells. I also conducted characterization studies of the nanowires using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) for topographical studies, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and electron diffraction for crystallinity and structural studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for crystallinity and phase change studies, and conductivity tests. Controlling the sizes of materials, as well as changing their molecular packing, can improve the ability of charge transport, which can in turn help increase efficiencies in organic electronics. I worked under the guidance of Jeff Mativetsky, a postdoctoral associate, and Professor Loo herself. They gave me the responsibility to create and refine a viable process of making and retrieving organic nanowires. They have also been very helpful in answering my questions and helping me solve the many problems that I encountered. Working with the group over the summer has been a great experience as well as an encouragement for me to keep pursuing a career in research.
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Moch, Johnathan ’12
GeosciencesPROJECTQuantifying Carbon Cycle-Climate Feedbacks with the GFDL Earth System Model
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Jorge Sarmiento, George J. Magee Professor of Geoscience and Geological Engineering, Director, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS); Keith Rodgers, Research Scholar, AOS. Thomas Frolicher, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, AOS
This summer I worked with the Sarmiento group in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program on quantifying carbon cycle-climate feedbacks in Earth System Models. Currently about half of anthropogenic carbon emissions remain in the atmosphere, with the remainder taken up by the carbon sinks that make up the carbon cycle. However, the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere through these processes is projected to increase as atmospheric CO₂ increases and climate change progresses. This creates a feedback between the carbon cycle and climate system which can exert a great deal of influence on the rate and degree of climate change. Climate models have different ways of characterizing this and other feedbacks, which is one reason for the uncertainty in projections between different models. Climate scientists have tried to characterize the extent of these feedbacks by using linear feedback factors. These can be easily compared between different models and useful for examining inter-model uncertainty. By creating such feedback factors, I was able to compare the uncertainties between different Earth System Models. In addition, I examined how intra-model variability affects feedback factors and discovered that uncertainty within climate models could result in a slightly smaller or larger spread of climate change projections.
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Moder, Emily ’13
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTExperimental Study of Buoyantly Stable Turbulent Boundary Layers
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Alexander Smits, Eugene Higgins Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Owen Williams, Graduate Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
My internship was based in the field of fluid mechanics research, looking specifically at the behavior of turbulent air flow when it is subjected to different temperature profiles. When warmer air flows over a cooler surface (which often happens at night or in polar regions) the turbulence is dampened because of the thermal stratification; this behavior is not well understood, and can affect things like transport and mixing of air pollutants. The project I was working on used a tool called partical image velocimetry (PIV) to create visualizations of different turbulent structures, like vortices, to characterize the behavior of the flow. A thermocouple mounted on a traversing system also allowed us to take temperature data in the wind tunnel under different conditions, and compare these results to the structures data, in order to better understand the mechanics of this environment.
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O’Neil, Kathleen ’14
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPROJECTSolar and Wind Energy for Haiti
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Catherine Peters, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, Program in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Engineering and Applied Science
The overall goal of my internship was to make progress on a project that was already underway. The project focused on a wind turbine which can be easily deployed from a standard shipping container. While a lot of the designs and plans had already been made, the focus of my summer internship was to create a prototype, which required choosing a different model for the turbine, for the tower system, and designing a box to act as the shipping container. One of the main things I worked on was a model and structural analysis of a telescoping tower we are considering using in a prototype. I felt like I was lacking a lot of background knowledge during my internship, so I learned a lot about structural analysis, wind turbines, and more specifically a program called SAP, which will be relevant to my MAE major. I also was able to get a good sense of how research projects work, in terms of finding solutions to problems, and finding better solutions when these fail to solve the problems, and how all of these iterations relate to the project as a whole. This project was not as straight forward as I originally thought.
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Parratt, Kristen ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTHow Molecular Structure Influences Device Performance in Organic Solar Cells
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Deputy Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
This summer I investigated the relationship between molecular structure and device performance in organic field-effect transistors. By blending two compounds with similar structures but different energy levels, I was able to create a range of blend morphologies. These showed a correlation between the blend composition and device mobility, that I then continued to investigate using Atomic Force Microscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. In the end, I found that the device performance improved with more diffuse grain boundaries, and reached a maximum at an eutectic point. Many thanks for a wonderful summer to Professor Loo, Stephanie Lee, and the Loo Group!
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Saylors, Jesssica ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTAssembly of Nanomaterials for Organic Solar Cells
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Deputy Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment; Jeffrey Mativetsky, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Chemical and Biological Engineering; Anna Hiszpanski, Graduate Stude
My internship was part of a larger project exploring the potential of contorted hexabenzocoronene (HBC), a carbon-lattice molecule, and its derivatives for use in organic-based electronics and solar cells. I mainly examined two variables, film thickness and crystallization temperature, and hoped to determine how these affected the electronic properties of crystalline HBC films. My day-to-day activities mostly involved making, preparing, testing, and analyzing the data derived from HBC films. In the end, we were able to describe a number of connections between the variables we explored. I learned not only the science and lab technique involved in my project, but also about working in a research lab, the time and effort that goes into making a scientific advancement, and the excitement and frustration that comes along with it. Working in the lab this summer has given me valuable experience to help me decide if I would like to pursue research in the future, and has started me thinking about shifting my academic focus closer to materials science.
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Song, William (Junho) ’13
MathematicsPROJECTModeling of a Power Grid Covering NJ, PA, MD, VA, OH, and Chicago
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Steinberger, Kevin ’12
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPROJECTReview and Assessment of Biochar Strategies for Carbon Mitigation
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTEffect of High CO₂ on Photosynthesis and Growth in Marine Phytoplankton
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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 EngineeringPROJECTEvaluation of the Electrical Characteristics of Thin-Film Solar Cells
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONUnited 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.
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Zhang, Yapei ’14
Molecular BiologyPROJECTNitrogen Species within the Marine Atmosphere of Bermuda
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONBermuda 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
MathematicsPROJECTElectricity Forward Pricing and Electricity Market Coupling
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
- Development
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Aktas, Buse ’14
Mechanical EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Ghana
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Bhat, Nisha ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTEmpowering Disadvantaged Youth through Educational Programs
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONIkamvaYouth, 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 EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Ghana
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Borncamp, Nicole ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTClimate Change, Agriculture, and Pressure on Biodiversity in South Africa
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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 EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Ghana
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Fuchs, Steven ’13
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTImplications of Water Quality on Fish Metabolic Rates
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONRhodes 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.
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Kasdin, Alexandra ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTThe Impact of Mpala’s Conservation Clubs
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONNorthern 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
UndeclaredPROJECTEmpowering Disadvantaged Youth through Educational Programs
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONIkamvaYouth, 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.
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O’Grady, Elizabeth ’13
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Ghana
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Reddy, Akhil ’13
Mechanical EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Ghana
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Ryan, Kathleen ’14
GeosciencesPROJECTAn Ecohydrological Framework for Understanding Land Degradation in Dry Ecosystems
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTAn Ecohydrological Framework for Understanding Land Degradation in Dry Ecosystems
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONMpala 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!
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Suh, Alice ’12
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTEcohydrology and Vegetation Structure in Dryland Ecosystems
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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.
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Tornello, Alana ’12
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTEnhancing Livelihood Practices in the Keiskamma River Basin
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONRhodes 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.
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Vazquez, Hannah ’13
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTMaximizing the Survival of the Grevy’s Zebra
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONAfrican 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.
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Xie, Lilia ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTEnhancing Livelihood Practices in the Keiskamma River Basin
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEnvironmental 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.
- Health
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Bartlett, Hilary ’12
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTCommon Property Problems in Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONCenter 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
This summer I spent nearly three months in Delhi, India working for the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP) and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). As part of my work for PHFI, I wrote a 16-country survey that details the health systems of a range of different countries around the world. My survey will be published and submitted to the Indian government as part of a larger report that offers an implementation strategy for achieving Universal Health Coverage. In addition to the 16-country survey, I also helped to edit and shape several chapters of the larger report. With CDDEP, I helped write planning documents, and assisted with the budget, for a large-scale study on the effect of health insurance on various health-seeking behaviors among Indian households just above the poverty line. I also undertook small research projects including two literature reviews–the first on the impact of various nutritional programs on low birth weight, stunting and anemia, and the second on the economic benefits of reducing the prevalence of those conditions.
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Bors, Kevin ’13
Electrical EngineeringPROJECTDevelopment of High Performance Quantum Cascade Lasers
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Claire Gmachl, Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering
The goal of this project was to develop a method for non-invasive glucose sensing. This would be particularly useful for those afflicted with diabetes, who need to test their blood glucose levels often. In Professor Claire Gmachl’s laboratory, experiments explored the possibility of using powerful and tunable lasers known as Quantum Cascade Lasers, or QCLs, for such sensing purposes. I spent the summer programming in a language called Labview, in order to control laboratory equipment via computer. My program controlled both a QCL and a bi-axial rotation device (BARD), capable of rotating two axes – in this case usually the sample and a detector for taking light intensity measurements. The program enabled the production of extremely high resolution graphs exploring the interactions of mid-infrared light with skin, while decreasing the amount of human involvement, and thus human error, needed in the experiment. I learned a lot about visual programming languages, along with the applications of such languages. I will continue to work on this project into the fall semester.
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Crumpler, Courtney ’13
AnthropologyPROJECTThe Future of Global AIDS Treatment and the Social Determinants of Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONAfricare, Mozambique
MENTOR(S)João Biehl, Susan Dod Brown Professor of Anthropology, Co-Director, Program in Global Health and Health Policy
In Mozambique this summer, I conducted an independent research project and worked as an intern at Africare, a US-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). My goals were to investigate cooperation between Brazil and Mozambique around HIV/AIDS care and treatment, and to learn more about how foreign NGOs operate in developing countries. I worked part-time with the Country Director for a Africare, sitting in on meetings, asking questions, and assisting him with program planning and management. Outside the office, I conducted interviews with professionals working in other NGOs in the Mozambican government and in the United States and Brazilian foreign service. We spoke about health interventions presently being facilitated by Brazilians or Brazilian-affiliated organizations and about objectives for the future. As an intern, I was exposed to realities of aid delivery as well as observed the challenges and rewards of directing an NGO. Through my research, I gained firsthand information about the Brazilian influences in Mozambique that are changing the landscape of healthcare there. As I continue to work on this project, I hope to situate all that I learned over the summer within a broad understanding of global health and to learn more through writing my Junior Paper and Senior Thesis in the anthropology department.
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Dekker, Anette ’12
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTPalliative Care and Pain Treatment in Zithulele Hospital
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJabulani 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
I interned at the Jabulani Rural Health Foundation, which works closely with Zithulele Hospital and is located in a remote area along the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative interviews, I conducted research on the availability and use of pain medication and palliative care at Zithulele Hospital, specifically in relation to infectious diseases such as HIV and TB. Conducting approximately fifty patient interviews, I was able to establish a crucial insight into what level of pain patients were suffering from, how patients perceived their pain, what they believed was the cause, and what path they typically followed in seeking out treatment. Interviews with doctors, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists at Zithulele Hospital, and nurses in the surrounding clinics, shed light on typical clinical practices and what inhibitions exist in proper implementation of palliative care. It is clear both that there is a significant need for pain treatment and palliative care and that limited resources of health professionals make implementation of such care challenging. I will continue with a more in-depth analysis of the data as I work with the research for my senior thesis.
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Frankfurter, Raphael ’13
AnthropologyPROJECTThe Future of Global AIDS Treatment and the Social Determinants of Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONWellbody Alliance, Sierra Leone
MENTOR(S)João Biehl, Susan Dod Brown Professor of Anthropology. Co-Director, Program in Global Health and Health Policy
In my second summer researching in resettlement camps for civilian war-wounded and amputees in Kono, Sierra Leone, I worked with the NGO Wellbody Alliance to develop and implement a new community health project. I began the summer conducting ethnographic research in the camps to gain a thorough understanding of the needs of the amputees, and determined that food insecurity, nonadherence to medications, and lack of access to prostheses were major problems affecting the health of the community members. I then worked to design a community health intervention in which Wellbody Alliance would hire community members to monitor amputees taking medications, assess community-members who seem sick, bring amputees into the district prostheses workshop for refittings and physio therapy, and provide daily salaries to amputees who work in livestock farms run by Welbody Alliance. When I left, we had implemented this project in four camps, and within one year community healthworkers should be working in all nine of Kono’s resettlement camps.
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Gideon, M. Derek ’12
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTAssessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONREPACTED, 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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Hsiao, Florence ’13
Molecular BiologyPROJECTWaterborne Diseases: Public Education
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSoboyejo Research Group, Kenya
MENTOR(S)Winston Soboyejo, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials; Mahiri Mwita, Lecturer in Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies
The overarching goal of my summer internship was to determine people’s access to potable water in the Kuria region of Kenya and to implement household water treatment systems as needed. During my time in Kuria, I conducted 60 household surveys and bacterial tests on drinking water in four neighboring villages. Through the surveys, I gained an understanding of how lack of access to potable water affects nearly all aspects of life, due to the constant recurrences of waterborne diseases such as typhoid. Moreover, my research indicated that there is a great need for an affordable water treatment solution such as the ceramic water filter. With the aid of the data I collected, I hope to continue my project and fulfill the second part of my goal by developing a sustainable solution. In addition to my research, I also helped install a rainwater collection system at a rural primary school.
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Huang, Dora ’13
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTThe Naz Foundation
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONNaz Foundation, India
MENTOR(S)Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia
The Naz Foundation (India) Trust works on a variety of advocacy and care programs for both the HIV/AIDS infected and affected. As an office and care home, Naz India deals with not only the legal and administrative side of HIV/AIDS care, but also the everyday medical and psychological consequences of the illness. Through a variety of programs, Naz works to address the high level of stigma and discrimination associated with the disease, develop and train aspiring care homes and counselors, and provide daily emotional and medical support to any and all affected. While there, I collaborated with many of the existing programs to produce a tri-monthly newsletter and a training manual for developing care homes. I also spent a large amount of my time with the kids, whether in “formal” event settings or in the everyday context of the care home (where the office is located). I learned so much about the community context of HIV/AIDS, outside of a textbook or a classroom, and how its presence impacts and shapes everyday life and behavior (of not just those infected). Through this internship, I know now that I do wish to pursue a career in public health – and one in a community, face-to-face setting.
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Icyishaka, Moses ’13
EconomicsPROJECTThe Future of Global AIDS Treatment and the Social Determinants of Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONThe Future of Global AIDS Treatment and the Social Determinants of Health, Rwanda
MENTOR(S)João Biehl, Susan Dod Brown Professor of Anthropology, Co-Director, Program in Global Health and Health Policy
My internship afforded me the opportunity to travel all around the country of Rwanda to observe and learn from an array of NGOs and associations working on behalf of HIV-positive adults and young adults. I spent the majority of my time in Kigali, where I worked with three very different organizations. The first was an umbrella organization that mobilizes and supports a variety of smaller associations comprised of, or aimed to, support HIV-positive individuals. The second was a small association of HIV-positive middle class women, and the last was an organization that trains lay counselors and provides professional counseling to a wide variety of individuals that need counseling but cannot afford it. I was also able to explore the organizations working in the more rural regions of the country, including OJEPAC, an organization that raises awareness and helps educate teenagers on the subject of HIV in the northeast province of Gisenyi, a small health center in a remote village towards the western part of the country, and a cooperative in the south.
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Jih, Sophia ’12
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTCommon Property Problems in Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONThe 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.
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Joseph, Jamie ’13
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTUbuntu Africa
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONUbuntu, 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 BiologyPROJECTInfections During and After Surgery
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONRothman 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.
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Letchford, Thomas ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTAIC Kijabe Hospital in Kenya
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONAIC 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.
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Mancenon, Carmina ’14
Operations Research and Financial EngineeringPROJECTChild Mortality and its Effects on Family Planning in Zithulele Village
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJabulani 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.
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Orlando, Megan ’12
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTCultural and Socioeconomic Determinants of Antibiotic Consumption in the U.S.
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONCenter 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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Partridge, Megan ’14
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTJust a Drop in the Bucket: Ceramic Water Filters for Global Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONThe Soboyejo Research Group, Mpala Research Centre, Kenya & Princeton University, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Mahiri Mwita, Lecturer in Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies; Winston Soboyejo, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials; Tiffany Tong, Graduate Stude
I spent the summer introducing point-of-use colloidal silver impregnated ceramic water filtration technology to communities in Kenya, with the ultimate goal of reducing water-borne disease and stimulating economic development. After conducting laboratory tests at Princeton to determine the microbial removal and flow rate of the filter technology and designing a baseline survey and follow-up assessments to analyze the filter’s practical effect on user health and wealth, I initiated a six-month pilot project in Kenya. My work in Kenya provided insight into the design, distribution, and implementation of low-cost ceramic water filtration technology in a rural village. I conducted laboratory and field testing to begin identifying and evaluating customer benefits and opportunities for product refinement and a marketing entry strategy. I also developed community outreach programs for health and sanitation education. I hope to see the pilot project develop into a sustainable private sector supply chain for ceramic water filters in Kenya.
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Passen, Hana ’12
ClassicsPROJECTLiberian National Malaria Control Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONLiberian National Malaria Control Program, Liberia
MENTOR(S)Kristina M. Graff, Associate Director, Center for Health and Wellbeing, Woodrow Wilson School; Joel Jones, National Malaria Control Program
My summer internship working for the Liberian National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) was focused on efforts to cut the transmission of malaria within Liberia in half, with special focus on at-risk populations such as pregnant women and children under 5 years of age. While at the NMCP, I helped write a funding proposal to UNICEF to support projects on child survival and its associated budget, and a centralized report on community case management of malaria, detailing the procedures and lessons learned. I produced three newsletters on different aspects of malaria and the NMCP’s role in combatting malaria, and worked with a team developing a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the use of insecticide treated nets. Finally, I was privileged to sit in on meetings discussing the private sector’s purchase of subsidized malaria treatment drugs for low cost sales, and meetings on the two-year operational plan for the NMCP and other curative medicine programs in Liberia’s Ministry of Health, both at the national and county level. I learned a great deal about malaria prevention activities, and even more about the tensions and complexities within a public healthcare system functioning at different levels of governance. It was particularly interesting to observe the interaction of policy and implementation. This internship has solidified my interest in public health as a discipline, and I am considering pursuing a career in the field.
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Perez, Tristan ’14
Molecular BiologyPROJECTEconomic Burden of Enteric Fever
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONOxford University Clinical Research Unit, Nepal
MENTOR(S)Jeremy Farrar, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit and Princeton Global Scholars
I interned at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Nepal, working on an independent research project focused on the economic burden of Enteric Fever, which is endemic within the country. Information on the cost of treatment could affect public policy and could provide a reason to implement a vaccination program. I was focused on finding an approximate dollar amount spent on direct medical costs as well as indirect costs – which includes money lost by taking time off work – to household during the course of the illness. This would give a general picture of how much a family is impacted by a family member with Typhoid Fever. In order to collect data I interviewed follow-up patients in the Outpatient Department (OPD) using a questionnaire I had designed. I was also able to observe the OPD and visit patients in their homes in the impoverished sectors of Kathmandu. I learned a lot about how the health system in underdeveloped countries functions and how public policy is determined. I hope to continue to study infectious diseases and how they affect populations.
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Siller, Stefanie ’13
AnthropologyPROJECTAssessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONREPACTED 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.
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Song, Joongyu ’13
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTAssessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONREPACTED 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.
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Vega, Camila ’12
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTCommon Property Problems in Health
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONThe 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.
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Watt, Emma ’13
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTAssessing HIV/AIDS & Health Literacy/Access in Rural Villages
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONREPACTED, 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. I also observed several outreaches each week and helped the groups to reflect on their progress.
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Williams, James ’13
ChemistryPROJECTThe Dynamics of Japanese Encephalitis Virus Transmission
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONOxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam
MENTOR(S)Jeremy Farrar, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit and Princeton Global Scholars
The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit aims to positively impact the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a variety of infectious and tropical diseases through clinical and laboratory research. My particular project at Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) focused on evaluating the ecological role of pigs in the transmission of Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne pathogen that causes severe encephalitis in about 30,000-50,000 people each year. As part of my internship, I reviewed and analyzed over 40 years’ worth of epidemiological data on JEV in both pigs and humans, much of which had not been published in English. My project culminated with a thorough report on the differences in JEV transmission between northern and southern Vietnam. Ultimately, the data I collected will help build an extensive mathematical model that explores the causes and implications of these regional differences as Vietnam moves towards the successful control of JEV through vaccination. Seeing firsthand how laboratory research could have a substantive clinical impact proved very rewarding, and I’ll take the insights gained at OUCRU with me as I complete my independent work in the Chemistry department.
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Yeboah-Kordieh, Daniel ’14
ChemistryPROJECTLiberian National Malaria Control Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONNational Malaria Control Program, Liberia
MENTOR(S)Kristina M. Graff, Associate Director, Center for Health and Wellbeing, Woodrow Wilson School; Joel Jones, National Malaria Control Program
Interested in learning more about public health delivery, I spent two months interning with Liberia’s National Malaria Control Program. I participated in a weeklong training program about malaria for nurses and also sat in at various public health policy setting and evaluation meetings. I also worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Monrovia, the Montserrado County Health Pharmacist’s Office and Derek Willis, a researcher at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, to create a digital map of all health facilities in Montserrado County of Liberia. This map will be used for future research and monitoring work by various health organizations in Monrovia. In addition, I had an on–the-ground experience of public health delivery by travelling with a team to assist with monitoring and evaluation of mosquito net distribution and insecticide spraying programs in very remote areas of Liberia. This internship taught me a great deal about malaria and other tropical diseases. It also taught me more about the complexities inherent in tackling them, and cost-effective prevention and treatment techniques that have been adopted to suit the culture and low-income status of developing countries like Liberia, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
- Sustainability
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Agarwal, Prakhar ’14
Operations Research and Financial EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Barron, Benjamin ’13
Comparative LiteraturePROJECTVenturing into the World of Green Revolution
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEarthjustice, 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
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTPunctuated Equilibrium in the Energy Regime Complex
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton 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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Businelli, Nicole ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Callon, Wynne ’13
UndeclaredPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Chu, Andrea ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTUrban Farming and Food Access Community Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONThe Food Project, Massachusetts
MENTOR(S)Bob Burns and Cammy Watts, The Food Project
My internship with The Food Project gave me an opportunity to have an active hand in working towards a more sustainable food system, from the seeding of vegetables to the distribution of the food. The Food Project is a non-profit organization that works to develop a productive and responsible community and to provide everyone with equal access to fresh, local, and affordable food, focusing on needs in urban areas. During the summer, I was responsible for coordinating and operating various farmer’s markets, mobile markets, and even initiated a new location for a market at a local senior recreational center. Since much of The Food Project’s food production comes from the hard work of the community, I worked with many youth, mentoring them and teaching workshops on food access and food justice. I learned how to adapt farming to urban environments, fully utilizing every square foot available, and treating contaminated soil. This internship exposed me to many sufficient solutions to the program of food shortage, but it also showed me the urgency of the need to shift our food system from processed and additives to local and sustainable.
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Ding, Xiang ’13
EconomicsPROJECTCommunity-Based Management of Forest Resources in the Asia-Pacific Region
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONRECOFTC - Center for People and Forests, Thailand
MENTOR(S)Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia
Social forestry is a young and increasingly complex concept. RECOFTC, a regional leader in Asia, engages with a wide spectrum of social forestry work—expanding community forestry, studying climate change, mitigating forest conflict, and securing local livelihoods. My internship placement with the Communications, Marketing, and Fundraising Department in RECOFTC’s Bangkok headquarters gave me immediate access to, and a stake in, the pioneering work driven by experts in each of these areas. Day to day, I took part in the fact checking, editing, and designing phase of all in-house publications and web materials. I was exposed to a wealth of technical knowledge: climate change indicators from forest growth, livestock management practices in rural Cambodia, and insights into the United Nation’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (UNREDD+) Program. This branch of work took me to Sam Phak Nam, a traditional village in north Thailand, where I documented a series of RECOFTC workshops on Community Carbon Accounting (a sampling process to estimate carbon storage capacity in forests). Home-stay in the field allowed me to interview various stakeholders in the social forestry scene—experts, officials, village leaders, forest users, and the youth—a most interesting, valuable, and organic NGO-like-experience. I later used the notes, pictures, and transcripts from this field trip as a part of a gallery display in the 2nd Regional Forum for People and Forests.
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Duarte-Silva Barry, Anna ’12
PoliticsPROJECTInnovating Solutions to Marine Conservation Problems
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEnvironmental 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 HistoryPROJECTFamily Planning & Resource Use
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSierra 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.
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Eyster, Theodore ’13
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTMonitoring Aquatic Warblers in Poland’s Fen Mires
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONOTOP (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
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTFlood Reduction Modeling in Harry’s Brook
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONStony 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.
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Gee, Elliot ’13
AnthropologyPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Gnanadesikan, Gitanjali ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTA Closer Look at Mammal Migration
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)David Medvigy, Assistant Professor of Geosciences; Simon Levin, George M. Moffett Professor of Biology, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Allison Shaw, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
My internship with the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department focused on mammal migrations. I conducted extensive literature-based research to compile a database documenting various aspects of migratory behaviours (or lack thereof) for over a thousand mammalian species; I then took this data and began to look at the patterns which emerged. This broad look at migration across species has illuminated several patterns and concepts and will inform the development of computer models and possibly further scientific observations and conservation efforts. This internship gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with the field of ecology, learn valuable technical skills, and gather foundational knowledge and experience. It also confirmed my choice of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology as my major.
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Hellman, Laura ’14
Molecular BiologyPROJECT"I am Not a Guinea Pig" -- Toxic Chemical Policy Reform
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEnvironmental Defense Fund, Washington D.C.
MENTOR(S)Lauren Guite, Environmental Defense Fund
My internship this summer at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in Washington, D.C. helped me gain experience and glean knowledge about environmental policy reform. I learned about the fundamental molecular basis for chemical health effects, practiced writing skills, and, hopefully, aided an important policy reform campaign. My main project for the summer was to work on EDF’s “Not a Guinea Pig campaign,” an effort to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by passing a new bill in the U.S. Congress. Currently, TSCA inadequately regulates how chemicals can be used in consumer products. I researched the health effects of many of the most harmful chemicals that have slipped through TSCA’s policies. I also wrote blog posts for the EDF website about a number of the resultant health conditions. The aim of my project was to garner public support and awareness of the problem. One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of my internship was writing in a style to which I was completely unaccustomed. My previous education certainly prepared me to write academically, but I had little experiencing writing about scientific subjects for a layperson audience. My work over the summer improved my research skills and expanded my writing abilities. I also was exposured to marketing and communication techniques and the operational aspects of a very successful environmental NGO.
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Hendrick, Barbara ’12
Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Ho, Lucas ’14
Computer SciencePROJECTDeveloping New Products from Waste Streams at TerraCycle
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONTerraCycle, 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
UndeclaredPROJECTCommunicating TerraCycle’s Message
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONTerraCycle, 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
PoliticsPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Kitchener, Caroline ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou City, China
MENTOR(S)Adviser: 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.
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Lam, Diana ’12
ArchitecturePROJECTEducational Efforts Around the State of Land Use Practices in Northern India
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONInternational Society for Ecology and Culture, India
MENTOR(S)Victoria Clarke, International Society for Ecology and Culture
During my time in India, I worked with two partner organizations–the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) and the Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG). Both of these organizations seek to preserve traditional culture in Ladakh, a region of northern India that is environmentally fragile and quickly deteriorating due to the influx of large-scale industry. During the first phase of my internship, I lived and worked on a farm in a small village about 50km from Leh, the regional capital. There, my aim was to gain intimate knowledge about the culture and research methods for its preservation. Upon my return to Leh, I used this data to coordinate and implement a tourist education program. The program involved screening documentaries, leading workshops with tourists, and producing written media about the importance of both environmental and cultural conservation in the area. I was also able to work on a few side projects–a housing rebuild for victims of a flood that occurred the previous year and a handicrafts scheme to generate income for village women.
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Lang, Wendy ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTUrban Farming and Community Food Access Programs
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONPrinceton University, Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Stuart Orefice, Princeton University Dining Services
As the Sustainability Intern for Princeton University Dining Services, one of my main projects included updating and analyzing Dining Services’ Food Metric, a review and categorization of the University’s sustainable food purchases during the 2010-2011 academic year. This data was used to track and evaluate progress made in purchasing and serving local, organic, fair trade, humane, and socially just food on campus as well as update Dining Services’ sustainability webpage. In addition to assessing sustainable purchases, I was responsible for further developing and implementing Dining Services’ Carbon Footprint Project. Using Food Metric and menu databases along with other resources, I was able to compile carbon emissions data for individual menu items available at different campus serveries. As part of the initiative to promote dining sustainability and help guide campus diners to make more informed choices, this carbon emissions project has taken form as a new addition to Dining Services’ smart phone app and webpage.
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Lau, Michelle ’12
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTFilling the Generation Gap Sustainably Both From an Economic and Environmental Perspective
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEnvironmental Defense Fund, New York
MENTOR(S)Gernot Wagner, Environmental Defense Fund
I spent this summer interning at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in New York City where I worked with the Office of Economic Policy and Analysis on a “Generation Gap” Study. This study characterized the current electricity generation capacity of the United States and examined the composition of the power system over the next few decades. We also researched different policies to support the evolution of an economically and environmentally viable electricity system. My main responsibilities were to prepare fact sheets for different generation types, as well as write reports summarizing government, consulting, and policy reports for other members of the team. Outside of my main research, EDF also provided the interns at the office with many opportunities to learn about environmental issues and campaigns with which EDF was directly involved. This internship allowed me to experience work in a non-profit setting, and I was also able to strengthen my research skills, as well as my knowledge of various energy and environmental issues.
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Liu, Michelle (Yifei) ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Moder, Emily ’13
Environmental EngineeringPROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Nachmary, Ruth ’12
AnthropologyPROJECTReporting the Science, Impacts, and Solutions to Climate Change Across the United States
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONClimate 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 BiologyPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Reveley, Helen ’12
ReligionPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Scanlan, Katelyn ’13
Civil and Environmental EngineeringPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Schleier, William ’13
Woodrow Wilson SchoolPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Shifke, Caroline ’12
ReligionPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Smith, Peter ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTPlanting Native Plants at the Bulk Seed Project at the St. Michael’s Preserve in Hopewell
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIOND&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.
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Stedile, Leonardo ’14
Computer SciencePROJECTEngineers without Borders, Huamanzaña
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONSamne, 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.
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Teitelbaum, Eric ’13
Chemical and Biological EngineeringPROJECTPlanting Native Plants at the Bulk Seed Project at the St. Michael’s Preserve in Hopewell
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIOND&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.”
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Tiwari, Alisa ’14
UndeclaredPROJECTDeveloping & Implementing Environmental Public Policy Initiatives
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONUnited 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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Tong, Annie (Lingobo) ’13
EconomicsPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Warrington, James ’13
PoliticsPROJECTBoosting Positive Corporate Environmental and Social Impact at Terra Cycle
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONTerraCycle, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Richard Perl, TerraCycle
At TerraCycle, my role was to assist the members of the Executive Department in furthering the development of TerraCycle’s business. My work specifically dealt with increasing the environmental and social impact of the company, expanding the global/domestic reach of the TerraCycle business model, and improving the relationship between the employers and employees. I aided in the international expansion of a new rewards program that stresses social and environmental responsibility over monetary compensation, developed waste management portfolios known as Recycling Audits, and selected and screened different insurance companies for the one that could provide TerraCycle employees with the best benefits package for the lowest cost. During my time at TerraCycle, I gained a number of essential business skills such as the ability to conduct meetings and to advise and negotiate with people in different countries. In addition to these skills, I also learned the ins and outs of turning trash into cash. Thanks to my experience at TerraCycle, I now have a better understanding of how for-profit business can fit into the environmental movement and I am intent on pursuing an environmentally-focused career.
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Weinmann, Annie ’12
Art and ArchaeologyPROJECTSustainability Efforts in the Trenton Community
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONIsles, Inc., New Jersey
MENTOR(S)Meredith Taylor, Isles, Inc
I worked this summer at Isles in Trenton. My personal goal for the internship was to explore a career in an environmental non-profit focused on food and sustainability. I went into the internship hoping to learn about the impact and importance of urban gardens to uplift cities like Trenton. While much of the work felt hands-on and less intellectual, I found that by the end of the summer, I had learned a lot about both aspects of the organization. I helped organize the garden’s CSA (community sponsored agriculture) on a weekly basis, both maintaining the garden and providing information about the produce to the shareholders. Other than working in the garden, the interns worked on a research project we requested to start a process for making community gardens self-sustained. Ultimately, we hope that the gardens will initiate the formation of a co-op where the produce will be sold to corner stores helping eliminate food deserts within New Jersey. My supervisor took the interns to several meetings when we requested more information about initiatives and concerns of the organization. These meetings helped me understand how important connections between non-profits are to achieve an overall goal. While I do not plan to build upon this internship for my thesis, I do hope to pursue a career in sustainable food of some sort, and this internship broadened my horizons about where potential opportunities might be.
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White, Cameron ’14
East Asian StudiesPROJECTThe Princeton in Asia (PIA) Summer of Service Program
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONJishou 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.
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Wyman, Lauren ’14
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTHow Will Climate Change Impact Fish Species?
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONEnvironmental 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
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPROJECTRemediating Lead Pollution in Asia
ORGANIZATION / LOCATIONNatural Resources Defense Council, China
MENTOR(S)David Lennett, Natural Resources Defense Council; Anastasia Vrachnos, Princeton in Asia
Despite heavy censorship, reports of mass incidents of lead poisoning steadfastly blemish the image of China’s prosperous economic growth. In response to case after case of elevated blood lead levels, in 2011, China rapidly passed its 12th, 5 Year Plan on the remediation of heavy metal pollution and launched a so-called ”environmental protection storm,” pressuring provincial governments to keep detailed records of lead-polluting companies and to shut down non-compliant factories. My role at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) was to lay the groundwork for NRDC to collaborate with provincial government officials on projects such as the remediation of lead polluted soil. To do so, I translated the environmental protection 5-Year Plan of Yunnan Province and gathered data on the provincial distribution of major lead polluting industries. In order to assist my supervisors in their grant applications, I also wrote two reports: one on the projected growth of lead miners, smelters, and acid battery manufacturers and another specifically addressing the issue of lead acid battery recycling in China. This internship helped foster my interest in environmental policy, especially in Asia, and I hope to one day return and resume the work I began this summer.