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Westminster College Announces Environmental Symposium Awards

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Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2014

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Westminster College students won numerous awards in December at the Student Symposium on the Environment.  The event was hosted by Westminster Environmental Programs and co-sponsored by the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition.  Awards were sponsored by Stream Restoration, Inc.

Oral and poster presentations were given by students from Westminster College, Slippery Rock University, Allegheny College, Geneva College, Robert Morris University, and Youngstown State University.

Among the award winners were Westminster students Cody Culp, Anthony Humes, and Adam Stahon who won in the Oral Presentation category for their presentation "Are Solar Panels Worthwhile in Western Pennsylvania."

Among the honorable mentions were Westminster students Erin Sullivan, Environmental Project Poster, "Using GIS and GPS Coordinates to Map Ground Truths for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Fisherman's Cove Preservation Foundation;" Brittany Majors, Ian Davis, and Cody Fagan, Oral Presentation, "Water Analysis at Erico Bridge;" and Lauren Stoczynski, Environmental Science Research Poster, "Effects of Carbaryl and Ammonium Nitrate on Zebrafish Embryo Development: An Ecological Experiment."

The symposium was organized by Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry; Leslie Watson, secretary for the Environmental Programs office; students Jacob Booth and Abby Burns; Cliff Denholm from BioMost, Inc., and Wil Taylor from Jennings Environmental Education Center.

Additional participants included symposium judges: Dr. Francis Barrios, Westminster visiting assistant professor; Dr. Patrick Krantz, director at Westminster's Drinko Center for Experiential Learning; Dr. Rotua Lumbantobing, Westminster assistant professor of economics and business; Alex Scull, major gifts officer at Westminster College, Adam Duerr of West Virginia University, and Sarah Wilhelm of Hartford Greenhouses.

Student Lydia Hartzel served as moderator. Westminster Lecturer of Communications Bradley Weaver was a special guest presenter. Dr. Jane Wood, dean and vice president of academic affairs, welcome participants and guests.

The following Westminster instructors were on the Environmental Science Committee: Dr. Douglas Armstead, Dr. Joseph Balczon, Boylan, Dr. Carolyn Cuff, Dr. Kerri Duerr, Dr. David Offner, and Dr. Ann Throckmorton.

Additional winners at the symposium included Jessica Stickel and Pasquale DiFrancesco, Allegheny College, Environmental Project Poster, "How Do Members of the Allegheny College Community Develop Their Perceptions of Fracking and What Role Does Media Play in Influencing Such Perceptions?" Sreevani Kalapala from Youngstown State University won in the Environmental Science Research Poster category for "Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide from Landfill Gas Using Solar Regenerable Absorbents."

Contact Boylan at 724-946-6293 (email boylanhm@westminster.edu) or visit www.westminster.edu/environment for additional information on the symposium.