REU Site in Environmental Engineering
2010-2012
The Environmental Engineering REU site at the University of Colorado - Boulder gives undergraduate students an opportunity to conduct an independent research project in the areas of water quality and treatment, air quality monitoring and control, acid mine drainage, ecological impacts of pollution, water resources, and the impacts of climate variability. Specific projects available for summer 2012 are described at the link below, although some may still be added.
Link to summer 2012 project descriptions.
In addition to working with faculty and graduate student mentors on a research project, the program also includes:
- professional development in preparation for future graduate studies
- presentations and group discussions on societal issues in environmental engineering, including ethics, sustainability, and policy
- group tours of local governmetal research laboratories, and natural environmental wonders in Colorado
Students will write a research proposal and final project report, and give an oral presentation at the REU Research Syposium at the end of the summer. There will be a cohort of 11 REU participants in summer 2012.
The 10-week program runs from June 4 through August 10, 2012.
Students are provided with a $5000 stipend, up to $500 for travel, and room and board at the CU dormitories on campus.
Students can also apply to receive up to $500 (on a competitive basis) to present their research at a professional conference.
Conference examples include:
SACNAS; the
American Geophysical Union (AGU); the
American Water Works Association (AWWA); etc.
Students may also want to consider submitting a manuscript on their research to the
Journal of Young Investigators, the premier undergraduate, peer-reviewed science journal. Students may also be involved with their mentors after the summer to prepare manuscripts for submission to other peer-reviewed journals.
If you are interested in participating, you must fill out the
application packet in its entirety and email the information as an attachment to: Angela.Bielefeldt@colorado.edu
Official transcripts and 2 reference letters must also be submitted; see details in the application packet.
We will begin reviewing applications on
February 15, 2012, so you will optimize your chances of being selected if your application is received before this date.
** We received over 140 applicants for summer 2011, so plan to apply early to maximize your chances for selection. **
Our program encourages a broad diversity of students interested in environmental engineering related topics to apply. Students majoring in Environmental, Civil, Chemical, Biological, and Mechanical Engineering; and Environmental Science, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics have skills that are compatible with the research requirements of our projects.
Per the NSF guidelines, to be eligible to participate you must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its possessions.
You must be an undergraduate student enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree. Students who are transferring from one university to another and are enrolled at neither institution during the intervening summer may participate. High school graduates who have been accepted at an undergraduate institution but who have not yet started their undergraduate study are also eligible to participate.
Students who will have received their bachelor's degrees prior to the start of the program are not eligible to participate.
We hope our program will help expand the representation of minorities and women in engineering and science fields.
Download the 2012 Application Packet.
PDF version or
MS Word version
Download the list of
specific projects available.
PDF of project descriptions.
Angela Bielefeldt, director
Bioremediation of water, soil, and air.
Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, co-PI
Water treatment, water disinfection, natural organic matter, water reuse.
R. Scott Summers Drinking water treatment.
Joe Ryan
Contaminant fate and transport in natural waters.
Article highlighting
Prof. Ryan's AMD work
Diane McKnight Stream ecology and hydrology, biogeochemistry.
Mark Hernandez Environmental microbiology, bioaerosols, acid mine drainage.
JoAnn Silverstein Biological process engineering in water and soils.
Balaji Rajagopalan Hydrology and Hydroclimatology.
Karl Linden Water treatment, UV disinfection, oxidation, water reuse.
Roseanna Neupauer Groundwater flow and transport modeling.
Hari Rajaram Fluid mechanics and transport modeling in environmental and geological systems.
Lupita Montoya Health effects of aerosols; indoor air quality and exposure; sustainability.
Shelly Miller Indoor air pollution.
Mike Hannigan Air pollution.
Jana Milford Atmospheric chemistry and transport modeling, air pollution, environmental law.
If you have questions about specific research projects, please contact the faculty directly by phone or email.
Current contact information is available on each professor's individual websites, linked above.
Kate Dowdell (Mentor: R. Scott Summers; home university: CU) Attenuation of Micropollutants in Biological Drinking Water Filters; presentation slides
Diedre Ericson (Mentors: Jana Milford and Shelly Miller; home university: Univ of Massachusetts Amherst) Ozone exposure of older low-income adults living in urban neighborhoods; presentation slides
Aida Guido (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: Cal State Polytechnic U - Pomona) Rocky Mountain Algae and a FlowCAM; presentation slides
Wilmarie Marrero (Mentor: Mark Hernandez; home university: Univ of Puerto Rico) Determination of carohydrates, phopholipids, and proteins associated with bioaerosols in Boulder, CO; presentation slides
Christian McGuire (Mentor: Karl Linden; home university: Univ of Arkansas Fayetteville) Nucleic acid repair in coliphages after UV disinfection; presentation slides
Jennifer Moutinho (Mentor: Fernando Rosario-Ortiz; home university: Worcester Polytechnic Institute) Characterization of NOM removal via coagulation using fluorescence spectroscopy; presentation
Chelsea Ottenfeld (Mentor: Joseph Ryan; home university: Tennessee Tech Univ) Effects of fire on the release of Mercury from forest soils; presentation slides
Sydney Stewart (Mentors: Angela Bielefeldt and R. Scott Summers; home university: Montana State Univ) Effect of flow rate and silver on disinfection by Ceramic Water Filters; presentation slides
Travis Tasker (Mentor: JoAnn Silverstein; home university: Allegheny College) Unsaturated flow and rock characteristics in experimental acid mine drainage tanks; presentation slides
Alex Archuleta (Mentor: Lupita Montoya; home university: CU) Formaldehyde transport from porous solid-sorbent media to hydroponic growth media; presentation slides
Garrett McKay (Mentor: Fernando Rosario-Ortiz; home university: U Cal Los Angeles) Determination of activation energies for the reactrion between effluent organic matter and hydroxy radicals as a function of molecular weight
Andrea Yarberry (Mentor: Roseanna Neupauer/Balaji Rajagopalan; home university: Humboldt State Univ) Conditioned backward probability modeling to identify contamination sources in a water distribution system: development of methodology to characterize other source characteristics.
Cary Ellmers (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: SUNY ESF) Water Quality Effects of Algal Gorwth in Reservoirs
Mary Elise Bingham (Mentor: Joe Ryan; home university: Colorado School of Mines) Release of trace elements from smelter slag in the upper Columbia River under anoxic conditions.
Daniela Castenada (Mentors: Mark Hernandez, Megan Howard; home university: CU) Bioaerosol Characterization of Indoor and Ambient Air for Aerosolization of Measeles Vaccine
Lauren Gardenswartz (Mentors: Mike Hannigan and Jana Milford; home university: CU) Sources, Composition, and Health Effects of Coarse Particulate Matter
Erin Kunik (Mentor: Karl Linden; home university: U Wisconsin Madison) Development of an off-grid power system for the UV-Can point-of-use water disinfection device
Rebecca Lyman (Mentors: Jana Milford and Mike Hannigan; home university: U California - Berkeley) Mid-term evaluation of the effectiveness of installed cankcase filters and diesel oxidation catalysts for the reduction of exposure withnin school bus cabins.
Tamara Relph (Mentors: Angela Bielefeldt; R. Scott Summers; home university: CU) Removal of Bacteria, Viruses, Arsenic, Fluoride, and Nitrate by an Enhanced Point-of-Use Ceramic Water Filter
Presentations and Publications
Relph, Tami. 2010. Removal of pathogens in ceramic water filters and enhanced ceramic water filters. SACNAS National Conference. Sept 30-Oct 3. Anaheim, CA. Winner of the Department of Energy (DOE)/National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP) Award for outstanding Research Presentation based on her poster.
Yarberry, Andrea; B. Rajagopalan, JR Prairie. 2010. Colorado River Water Availability Assessment Under Climate Variability. AGU 2010 Fall Meeting. Paper H12D-02. Dec. 13-17, San Francisco, CAConference Program
Melissa Merrill (Mentor: Balaji Rajagopalan; home university: Univ of Akron) Risk Assessment of Indian Monsoon Climate for Agriculture Drought Impact Planning; presentation
Austa Parker (Mentor: R. Scott Summers; home university: Clemson Univ) GAC Sorption Interactions of Micropollutants; presentation
Jacqueline Stroncek (Mentor: JoAnn Silverstein; home university: Cornell Univ) Modeling Intervention to Prevent AMD: Biokinetics of Acidphilic Heterotrophic Bacteria; presentation
Katelyn Gerecht (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: Smith College) Kinematic Wave Modeling in Antarctic Streams; ; presentation
Emily Sheehan (Mentor: Mark Hernandez; home university: CU) Diverse Microbial Methods to Characterize the Effect of an Indoor Waterfall on Bioaerosols
Shoshana Blank (Mentor: Mike Hannigan; home university: St. Olaf College) Analysis of Denver Aerosol (DASH) PM2.5 Composition for Inorganic Ions; presentation
Travis Doom (Mentor: Karl Linden; home university: Arizona State Univ) UV-Photochemical Oxidation of Emerging Contaminants; presentation
Adam Caldwell (Mentor: Angela Bielefeldt; home university: Gannon Univ) Permanganate Oxidation of NDMA; presentation
Anna Edwards (Mentor: Jana Milford; home university: Beloit College) Modeling Air Pollution Effects of Electric Hybrid Vehicles; presentation
Simon Schreier (Mentors: Angela Bielefeldt; R. Scott Summers; home university: Brandeis Univ) Removal of Virus, Bacteria, and Protozoan Sized Surrogates by the Filtron Point-of-Use Water Filter; presentation
Presentations and Publications
Rajagopalan, B., A. Verdin, M. Merrill, K. Krishna Kumar, R. Nemani. 2009. Sub-annual Variability of Indian Monsoon Rainfall. AGU Fall meeting, San Francisco, CA, Dec 14-18.
Doom, T.R., C.J. Corwin, K.G. Linden, Scott Summers. 2008. UV-H2O2 advanced oxidation processes (APOs) utilized in water treatment. Argonne National Laboratory Undergraduate Research Symposium. Nov. 6-8. Chicago, IL.
Bielefeldt, A.R., K. Kowalski, A. Kohler, C. Schilling, S. Schreier, and R. Scott Summers. 2010. Removal of Virus to Protozoan Sized Particles in Point-of-Use Ceramic Water Filters. Water Research. 44 (5): 1482-1488. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2009.10.043
Cameron Bracken (Mentor: Balaji Rajagopalan; home university: Humboldt State U) A Multi-Site Streamflow Forecast Framework: Application to the Upper Colorado River Basin
Janet Cardenas (Mentor: R. Scott Summers; home university: Univ of Florida) GAC Sorption of MTBE: Effect of Backwashing; abstract
Matt Coggon (Mentor: JoAnn Silverstein; home university: Univ of Massachusetts Amherts) Chemical Oxidation of Pyrite by Fe(III): Rate Analysis and Investigation of Product Inhibition by Fe(II); abstract
Caitlin Cox (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill) Copper Binding Depending on Source and Chemical Quality of DOM in the Colorado Front Range; abstract
Garland Deshazer (Mentors: Mark Hernandez; Paul Rota and Azaibi Tamin at CDC-Atlanta; home university: Emory Univ) Fusion Inhibition Assays: Validation of a BSL-2 Diagnostic Method for Nipah Virus Infection; abstract
Jessica Garcia (Mentor: Mike Hannigan; home university: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) Organic Contaminants in Denver Aerosols; abstract
Katherine Jones (Mentor: Joe Ryan; home university: Arizona State Univ) Acid Mine Drainage Metal and Colloid Attenuation by Hyporheic Zone Sediment; abstract
Stacey Louie (Mentor: Mike Hannigan; home university: Univ of Texas - Austin) Analysis of DASH PM2.5 Compositions for Inorganic Ions; abstract
Andy Schauf (Mentor: John Pellegrino; home university: Wichita State U) Membrane-Assisted Solar Distillation; abstract
Cherylynn Schilling (Mentors: Angela Bielefeldt; R. Scott Summers; home university: Southern Illinois Univ) Removal of Virus and Bacteria Sized Surrogates by the Filtron Point-of-Use Water Filter; presentation
Presentations and Publications
Corwin, Christopher J., Janet Cardenas, and R. Scott Summers. 2008. Micropollutant Control by Activated Carbon Adsorbers: Effect of Backwashing and Pulse Loading. American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition. June 8-12.
Bracken, Cameron and Balaji Rajagopalan. 2007. "A Multi-Site Streamflow Forecast Framework: Application
to the Upper Colorado River Basin" American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. San Francisco. Dec. 10-14.
Cox, Caitlin, and Diane McKnight. 2007. Copper Binding Depending on Source and Chemical Quality of DOM in the Colorado Front Range. session #: B11A-0067. American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting. San Francisco. Dec. 10-14.
Dutton, SJ, Williams, DE, Garcia, JK, Vedal, S, Hannigan, MP. 2009. PM2.5 characterization for time series studies: organic molecular marker speciation methods and daily measurements in Denver. Atmospheric Environment, 43 (12), 2018-2030.
Hallie Bevan (Mentor: Joe Ryan; home university: CU) Effects of Acid Mine Drainage on Metals Concentrations in the Waters of Coal Creek
Frannie Bui (Mentor: Joe Ryan; home university: Drexel) Sources and Effects of Acid Mine Drainage by Sediment Sampling from Coal Creek
Scarlett Graham (Mentor: Joe Ryan; home university: Allegheny College) Metal Content of Macroinvertebrates from Coal Creek; presentation
Steve Barr (Mentor: Angela Bielefeldt; home university: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) - Chromium Bioremediation of Soil under Sulfate-Reducing Conditions; presentation
Shannon Simons (Mentor: Shelly Miller; home university: Colorado School of Mines) Indoor Air Quality in Hispanic Immigrant Housing in Commerce City, CO; presentation
MaryBeth Oshnack (Mentor: Mike Hannigan; home university: Univ of Pittsburgh) A Source-Oriented Approach to Health Effects of Air Pollution
Laura Condon (Mentor: Balaji Rajagopalan; home university: Colubmia Univ) The Connection between Large Scale Climate Factors, Water Quantity, and Water Quality in the South Platte River Basin
Aditi Bhaskar (Mentor: Roseanna Neupauer; home university: Brown Univ) Verification of Travel Time Probability Density Functions for Sorbing Solutes in Groundwater; presentation
Melissa Mora (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: CU) Classification of Cyanobacteria species in Algal Mats from Antarctica
Alicia Greene (Mentor: Diane McKnight; home university: Kansas State Univ) Growth of Didymo in Regulated Streams below the Colorado Front Range; presentation
Presentations and Publications
Barr, Stephen C. and A. R. Bielefeldt. 2007. Hexavalent Chromium Biotransformation Mechanism that Predominates in Soil under Sulfate-Reducing Bacterial (SRB) Activity 17th Annual AEHS West Coast Conference on Soil, Sediments, and Water. Poster. San Diego, CA. March 19-22.
Bhaskar, A. and R. Neupauer. 2006. Verification of travel time probability density-functions for sorbing solutes in groundwater. Paper 26-14. Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Oct 22-25.
Neupauer, R.M., J.L. Wilson, and A. Bhaskar, 2009. Forward and backward temporal probability distributions of sorbed phase solutes in groundwater, Water Resources Research, 45, W01420, doi:10.1029/2008WR007058.
See a description of previous projects and pictures of student activities from the Environmental Engineering REU site from 2000 to 2004.
Sigma Xi "The Responsible Researcher"
ORI "Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research
National Academy Press "On Being a Scientist"
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0552895 for the REU Site in Environmental Fluids.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
