Students Earned Recognition at Symposium
Posted on Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Westminster College students earned top honors for oral presentation and honorable mention recognition at the Student Symposium on the Environment Dec. 3. The symposium was sponsored by Westminster and the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition (SRWC).
Michael Gess, Fred Romeo, and Cassandra Treshok's oral presentation, "Westminster College Greenhouse Gas Inventory," earned the award for best oral presentation. Their research focused on gathering information from numerous sources on campus. The resulting data was compiled, processed, and analyzed for direct emissions, secondary emissions, and travel emissions.
Gess, a senior communication studies major, is a son of Dennis and Michelle Gess of Harrison City and a graduate of Penn-Trafford High School.
Romeo, a senior environmental science major, is a son of Frederick and Kim Romeo of Lowellville, Ohio, and a graduate of Poland Seminary High School.
Treshok, a junior psychology-human resources major, is a daughter of Anthony and Karen Treshok of Sarver and a graduate of Freeport Area High School.
Honorable mention for oral presentation was awarded to Nathan Barefoot and Lori Katrencik for "Analysis of DeSale Phase II: A Service Learning Project on Passive Treatment Systems." A series of field and laboratory tests were conducted to determine the performance of the passive treatment system used to treat acid mine drainage at DeSale Phase II in Venango Township.
Barefoot, a junior chemistry major, is a son of Deborah Barefoot of Huntingdon and a graduate of Huntingdon Area High School.
Katrencik, a sophomore chemistry major, is a daughter of Lilian Katrencik of Washington and a graduate of Fort Cherry High School.
Honorable mention for poster presentation was awarded to Nicholas Divjak for "Temporal Dynamics of Plankton Populations in Relation to Silica in a Freshwater Beaver Pond." Divjak surveyed plankton populations and measured chemical characteristics of water in a beaver pond near Westminster. His analysis revealed the dynamics of the plankton species were all directly or indirectly determined by the concentration of silica in the water.
Divjak, a senior biology major, is a son of Robert and Virginia Crowl of Rogers, Ohio, and a graduate of Beaver Local High School.
The awards were sponsored by Westminster's Perspectives on the Environment Speaker Series.
The symposium was coordinated by Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry.
Contact Boylan at (724) 946-6293 or e-mail boylanhm@westminster.edu for more information.
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