Student Research Focus

The Getting Ahead of the Watershed Expo in Davenport, IA

kaseydresser EnvIowa, Environmental Experts Speak, Events, Flooding, Land, Public health, Research, Student Research Focus, Sustainability, Tips, Uncategorized, Water quality

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Kasey Dresser | March 7, 2018

The Getting Ahead of the Watershed Expo will be held in the Davenport River Center’s Mississippi Hall on Saturday, March 10th from 10am to 3pm. 
This is a free event, presented by students of Davenport North High School and Davenport Public Works, that aims to raise awareness about the quality of our waterways and individual impact on water quality through engaging demonstrations and exhibits.
The event will feature several interactive student and vendor booths with topics ranging from environmentally positive ways to increase the curb appeal of your home to locks and dams and levees.  In addition to interactive displays, a play featuring Franny the Fish, is sure to bring a smile to all ages, while delivering important information about our watershed.
There will also be a 9ft+ root system of native grass Big Blue Stem. The root system is certain to amaze and highlight the ecosystem, soil and water quality benefits of native plants in our landscape.
Attendees will also enjoy theDavenport Community School student artwork on display at the Expo, and to vote for their favorite art piece and booth, as well as enter a drawing for a beautifully decorated rain barrel.
This event is one you won’t want to miss!

Climate Change could affect food sources for marine life

kaseydresser Climate, ocean, Public health, Research, Student Research Focus, Water quality, Wildlife

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Ocean (Alistair Cook/flickr) 
Kasey Dresser | January 10, 2018

Recent research conducted at the University of Adelaide looked at the how commercial fish stocks could be negatively impacted by rising sea temperatures.

To test their theory, PhD student, Hadayet Ullah and supervisors Professor Ivan Nagelkerken and Associate Professor Damien Fordham of the University’s Environment Institute, managed twelve 1,600 liter tanks that mimicked the predicted habitat changes in the ocean. The recreated food webs were maintained for 6 months while the researchers gathered information on survival, growth, biomass, and productivity of the animals and plants to use these measurements in a food web model.

A food web maps out the flow of energy in an ecosystem. At the bottom are algae and other food producers, then intermediate consumers like herbivores and finally predators at the tops. Shifts in the bottom of the energy transfer affects the amount of food available for predators.

“Healthy food webs are important for maintenance of species diversity and provide a source of income and food for millions of people worldwide,” said Mr Ullah. “Therefore, it is important to understand how climate change is altering marine food webs in the near future.”

At the end of the 6 months they found, “climate change increased the productivity of plants, this was mainly due to an expansion of cyanobacteria (small blue-green algae),” said Mr Ullah. “This increased primary productivity does not support food webs, however, because these cyanobacteria are largely unpalatable and they are not consumed by herbivores.” Less food for herbivores would result in a smaller population which means less food for predators.

 

Turning food waste into green energy

kaseydresser Health, Land, pollution, Public health, Renewable Fuel, Research, Student Research Focus, Sustainability, Tips

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Wasting Food (jbloom/flickr)
Kasey Dresser | January 3,  2018

Americans waste 133 billion pounds of food each year. Not only is that a waste of natural resources but food waste produces methane which is a harmful greenhouse gas. Researchers at Cornell University have been looking at more productive ways of using leftover food.

The process is a combination of hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion.

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a process where the food is heated (kind of like a pressure cooker) to extract oil that can be used for fuel.

The anaerobic digestion process breaks down the microbes in the food waste into a mixture primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide. This gas can be used to power heat and electricity.

Other methods of turning food waste into energy are also being developed but Roy Posmanik, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell, is really excited about this quick new solution. “We’re talking about minutes in hydrothermal liquefaction and a few days in an anaerobic digester,” he said in a written statement. Posmanik says he could see a day where all food waste from homes, supermarkets, restaurants are immediately shipped to treatment plans. Posmanik needs to do more research before he discovers the cost but “government incentives for renewable energy credits can make a lot of difference.”

 

Integrating art and science: Climate Narrative Project explores new ways to communicate environmental issues

Jake Slobe Climate, Energy, EnvIowa, News, Student Research Focus, Sustainability

Jeff Biggers introduces the Fellows that took part in the Spring 2015 Climate Narrative Project. (Photo by Bethany Nelson)
Jake Slobe | April 12, 2017

In this episode of EnvIowa, we talk with Jeff Biggers, writer in residence at the University of Iowa and Natalie Himmel, an English and International Studies Major at the University of Iowa about the Climate Narrative Project.

The Climate Narrative Project, launched in 2014, is a special media arts initiative through the UI Office of Sustainability designed to train a new generation of climate storytellers. The project reaches across many academic disciplines using theatre, film, creative writing, spoken word poetry, yoga, and dance to grapple with how stories can change the way we view climate and spur action.

Over the past three years, Climate Narrative fellows have produced a wide variety of art projects including short films, theatrical monologs, and creative writing pieces. The projects center around localized themes related to climate change. Past themes have included the role of water and the Iowa River, soil carbon sequestration and prairie restoration, local food and regenerative agriculture, and climate migration.

This semester the project will focus on exploring ways in which we can live in regenerative cities in an age of climate change.

Since its inception, the Climate Narrative Project has brought in a wide range of undergraduates and grad students from many Colleges and departments including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Public Health, Tippie College of Business and Graduate College.

The Climate Narrative Project serves as a partner for the Yale Climate Connections nationally syndicated public radio program. In 2014, Yale featured the Climate Narrative Project: Climate As Local Narrative.

To learn more about the fellows and see the Climate Narrative Project outlines, discussions, and an archived research from previous projects visit https://sustainability.uiowa.edu/initiatives/climate-narrative-project/.

EnvIowa is available on iTunes and Soundcloud and a complete archive of previous episodes can be found here.

 

Tonight, University of Iowa students will discuss climate justice through film, theatre, and storytelling.

Jake Slobe Student Research Focus, Sustainability , , ,

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Join the Climate Narrative Project Fellows tonight for an evening of film, theatre, art and storytelling focused on issues of climate justice and climate change.

Wednesdsay, December 7 
7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Becker Communication Studies Building Rm 101

The Climate Narrative Project is a special media arts initiative through the Office of Sustainability designed to reach across multilpe academic disciplines and provide regenerative approaches to energy, food, agriculture, water and waste management, community planning, and transportation.

Jeff Biggers is the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Iowa’s Office of Sustainability, where he oversees the Climate Narrative Project.

This semester, eight fellows worked with Biggers on semester-long investigative projects. This year’s eight fellows include:

Shelby Cain:The Conscience and the Consumer
Carlo Acevedo: El clima y la justicia:Poemas
Shirley Wan: Voices of Huo
Nazira Coury: The Other Side: Las Voces
J. Creek Hoard: Four Walks
Solomon Worlds:Edu-nature-nal
Kate Gylten: The Art of Oil
Jeffery Recker: Not One or a Million

The Climate Narrative Project is an investigative initiative: What accounts for the gap between science and action on climate change, and what can we do more effectively to communicate informed stories and galvanize action?

Learn more about the fellows here and see the the Climate Narrative Project outlines and discussions visit https://sustainability.uiowa.edu/climatenarrative/

Pollution Prevention Intern Program saves Iowa businesses over $1.6 million

Jake Slobe Events, News, Research, Student Research Focus, Sustainability, Uncategorized , , , ,

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The 2015 intern program consisted of 12 summer projects and 6 24-week projects. (Iowa DNR)

Businesses in Iowa have saved over $1.6 million dollars over the last year thanks to waste-reduction projects completed by interns from the DNR’s Pollution Prevention Intern Program.

The intern program matches up Iowa businesses interested in ways to reduce and eliminate waste from their operations that improve environmental performance and save money with engineering students. Since 2001, companies involved have saved more than $81.9 million from projects through the intern program.

Within the program, interns recommend and implement projects that will help Iowa businesses improve the ways in which they use resources. These projects divert waste from landfills, reduce hazardous waste, conserve energy and water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The annual environmental reductions generated in 2016 include:

  • 1.16 billion gallons of water
  • 1,215 tons of solid and special waste
  • 1,215 tons of hazardous waste
  • 1.2 million kilowatt hours
  • 4,220 MTCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent)

“The real value of the intern program has been to obtain a talented engineering student to compile data and provide in-depth technical analysis, with actionable recommendations,” said Todd Fails, Site Services Team Leader at Zoetis Global Supply in Charles City. “The results from our projects have helped us to make informed decisions that improve our efficiency and reduce our operating costs.”

The engineering students from Iowa’s state universities, after a week of training and orientation with program advisors, work at selected businesses to analyze their current systems, research alternative processes and technologies, and recommend cost-effective strategies that will improve the way they produce, consume, reuse, and recycle their resources.

For more information about thePollution Prevention Intern Program, visit www.iowap2interns.com.

Iowa State’s agricultural and biosystems engineering program ranks best in country

Jake Slobe News, Research, Student Research Focus, Uncategorized , , , , ,

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Bird’s eye view of Iowa State University’s new Biorenewables Complex which was completed in 2014. (Iowa State University.)
Jake Slobe | October 12, 2016

Iowa State University’s agricultural and biosystems engineering undergraduate program was recently ranked No. 1 in the country by U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 Best Colleges.

The report stated that, “Students who enroll at this major research, land-grant university experience a unique personal, welcoming environment, and a rich collection of academic and extra-curricular programs that help them discover their own individual greatness.”

Department Chair Steven Mickelson credits much of the ranking to the university’s new Biorenewables Complex. The complex, consisting of Elings Hall, Sukup Hall and the Biorenewables Research Laboratory, opened in 2014 and offers cutting-edge classrooms and laboratories.

While the new complex has been significant in boosting the level of ISU’s engineering department, it is just one of many changes within the program in the last few years.

In the summer of 2013, ISU teamed up with the Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) to invest in a 3-D metal printer that will contribute to students’ learning. The new laser printer has been building parts for Iowa manufacturers since last fall and allows students to learn about the advantages of adopting metal 3D printing as part of the design and manufacturing process.

The department has also recently acquired a state-of-the-art water flume.  The new water flume allows students to simulate Iowa streamflow which assists them in crop research.

“These two new pieces of technology are used for teaching and learning that gives great experience to help students with jobs and research,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson also attributes the ranking to the program’s growth in undergraduate and graduate students. The program has seen a 46 percent increase in undergraduate students and a 25 percent increase in graduate students over the last 5 years.

He emphasizes the importance of hands-on learning experiences in the classroom. He says hands-on learning curriculum accounts for 38 percent of all classes in the department.

“Hiring high-quality faculty, getting the right people on the bus to being with is what makes this department great.”