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Westminster College Announces Environmental Symposium Awards

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Posted on Friday, December 22, 2017

Westminster College hosted the 10th annual Student Symposium on the Environment on Dec. 7, 2017. The symposium featured 75 student presenters from 11 regional institutions, with high school through graduate students participating. The event is cosponsored by Westminster College and the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition, and awards are made possible through the generosity of Stream Restoration Inc.

A total of eight student presentations were recognized, including two presentations from Westminster College. The following students were recognized:

Best Environmental Project 

Anna Cowie, Westminster College (Dr. Ann Throckmorton) 

"A new method to prepare yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) core samples for age measurement"

Honorable Mention Environmental Project 

Samantha Laurence, Slippery Rock University

"Systematic Review of Outcomes of Place- based Education"  

Best Research Poster 

Shadrack Ampomah, Youngstown State University

"The influence of Land Use on Sediment Quality in Mill Creek Watershed, Mahoning County Ohio"  

Honorable Mention Research Poster 

Grant Gagnon, Westminster College (Dr. Marosh Furimsky) 

"The pesticide malathion causes decreased growth in developing zebrafish" 

Best Oral Presentation

Sydney Tomechko, Indiana University of Pennsylvania 

"Small Mammal Presence and Abundance at Jennings Environmental Education Center"

Honorable Mention Oral Presentation 

Tyler Hunt, Allegheny College 

"Survival Rates of Foslomia candida When Subjected to Structured Concentrations of an Alcohol Ethoxylate Surfactant in a Controlled Environment" 

Best High School Project 

Dalton Fussnecker, Struthers High School 

"Yellow Creek Stream Study"  

Honorable Mention High School Project 

Jonathan Micsky, Brianna Pennington, Caylee Jayne & Kyle Wingard, Greenville Sr High School 

"Quantifying the Health of the Middle Shenango River: A Multi-year Study of Riffle Fish Assemblages and Elemental Bed Sediment Analysis" 

“This was our largest Symposium yet,” noted Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster College professor of chemistry and program coordinator of environmental science. “I was impressed by all the great environmental work being done in our region.”

The complete photo album from the event can be viewed online

For more information, contact Boylan at boylanhm@westminster.edu or 724-946-6293.