Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Office of Water - Office of Science & Technology - Standards and Health Protection Division•Conducted research on fish consumption habits and ammonia treatment technologies to support the response to comments for the Water Quality Standards to Protect Human Health in Florida and the Water Quality Standards to Protect Aquatic Life in the Delaware River proposed rules. •Developed a decisionmaking support tool using ArcGIS that identified overlaps between communities with environmental justice concerns and source water harmful algal bloom risk.•Organized internal programmatic assessments to support the response to a petition to modernize the Clean Water Act Toxic and Priority Pollutant lists and proposed a conceptual approach for an update.

•Designed laboratory studies to explore how changes in source water chemistry (particularly increases in nitrate and chloride levels due to nonpoint source pollution) are impacting lead solder corrosion and exposing consumers to lead through drinking water. My research was the first to identify that seasonal fluctuations in nitrate can trigger lead solder corrosion.•Collaborated with a utility experiencing an unprecedented lead in water event characterized and helped them select an appropriate corrosion inhibitor, which brought lead levels back into compliance with the EPA Lead and Copper Rule. I later identified a new corrosion mechanism for lead solder in the presence of nitrate that explained the release of particulate lead observed in the community. •Assisted with conducting extensive citizen science water sampling campaigns in Illinois and on a tribal reservation in North Carolina. Results from the Illinois sampling campaign were used to expose lead in drinking water problems affecting environmental justice communities and spurred the replacement of lead service lines.

•Developed an organization to help graduate students (~25) network with science policy professionals and learn about career and fellowship opportunities post-graduation.•Launched an advocacy team that reviewed scientific literature on food security and climate change, surveyed 100 localities on food security policies, and produced three policy memos for the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia. This work was supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists ($1,000).•Organized a Virginia-wide introductory science policy bootcamp to expose graduate and undergraduate students to careers and opportunities in policy as well as the basics of effective science communication. This work was supported by the National Science Policy Network ($900).

Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program•Partnered with a water utility in Danville, VA experiencing taste-and-odor issues in drinking water and tested the ability of EarthTec algaecide to reduce geosmin levels at the treatment plant.•Analyzed the kinetics of the EarthTec and geosmin acidic dehydration reaction using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). •Organized a flavor profile analysis to determine whether consumers would still be able to detect geosmin in water.

FSU High Performance Materials Institute•Explored how manganese oxide nanosheets could be used to recover elements from radioactive waste stored at legacy Superfund sites (particularly in Hanover, WA). •Designed cation-interlaced manganese oxide nanosheets using Vesta modeling software to theoretically determine how to separate radioactive elements from nuclear waste using cation exchange. •Used Crystal14 software and the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster at FSU to compute the structures and energies of the nanosheets using density functional theory to compare nanosheet performance.

National Institute of Health Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship -The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis•Explored how immunohistochemical analysis could be used to assess the efficacy of paralysis treatments on spinal cord injuries.•Conducted immunohistochemical analysis of spinal cord lesion sites in rats who had sustained spinal cord injuries and undergone electrical deep brain stimulation to regain motor function. •Calculated the extent and generated 3D models of contusion damage through spinal cord segments using a light microscope and Neurolucida Explorer software for comparison with speed and endurance tests.

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program - FSU College of Medicine Center for Brain Repair•Learned about basic concepts, principles, practices, and methodologies in scientific research.•Analyzed morphological changes in germ cell DNA from mice testes tissue under light microscope to investigate the effect of paternal nicotine used on ADHD phenotypes among offspring.•Compared morphological changes in testes with results from behavioral maze tests that assessed for the presence and severity of ADHD phenotypes.