GRO Forum
Greater Research Opportunities Undergraduat^^lent Fellowship
aa
ISSUE 2, 2013
Where are they now?
Catching up with GRO Alumni
A EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Annie Putman
The Arctic has long been the domain of explorers. Today, it's become a
destination for adventurous scientists exploring questions about how the
Earth is changing. Arctic regions are warmer today than in the past and
temperatures are increasing more quickly than in other areas of the Earth.
The decline of Arctic sea ice has become a touchstone for environmental
protection because it affects wildlife, humans and climate both globally and
regionally. Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship alumna Annie
Putman is one of the scientists working to understand this issue.
Currently completing her master's degree in earth science at Dartmouth
College in Hanover, N.H., Annie studies how sea ice decline affects
precipitation patterns in the Arctic. Less sea ice means that more water can
evaporate from the sea surface, increasing the amount of precipitation and
changing the movement of warmer air and water into the Arctic from sub-
polar regions. "I'd like to better understand how this affects storm tracks and
storm intensity across the Arctic," Annie writes on her website.
As a GRO Fellow at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.,
Annie began to work with isotopes in her research. Isotopes are different
forms of the same element, such as hydrogen or oxygen. Using special
techniques, it's possible to analyze a sample of a substance like air or water
and detect the ratio of one isotope to another. Scientists use this information
in several ways, one of which is understanding the geographic origin of a
sample.
After graduating from MTU in 2010, Annie was accepted into Dartmouth's
Earth Sciences Department as a master's student. She continued her work
with isotopes, working on iiSPACS, the Isotopic Investigation of Sea Ice
and Precipitation in the Arctic Climate System project. iiSPACS researchers
analyze isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen to understand changes to Arctic
precipitation that occur because of Arctic sea ice decline. They use the
data in combination with weather information like storm tracks, satellite
observations of sea ice and numerical models to work to understand how
the extent of sea ice affects the amount of precipitation over land.
In 2012, Annie traveled to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, in the Arctic Circle.
She was able to participate in water sample collection and learned about
Arctic weather patterns firsthand when a major system with 50 to 100 mph
winds kept her team from traveling to the north of the island. She also came
to appreciate the local environment. "Witnessing calving events at the edge
of the Greenland ice sheet impressed upon me the scale of the ice sheet,
and the total mass of water stored there," she says. Annie also saw Arctic
wildiife like caribou and arctic fox, and enjoyed an ongoing search for musk
oxen.
Annie had the chance to meet Greenland natives and learn how different
their way of life is from what she's used to in the U.S. She points out that
Americans expect to be able to drive to any location in the country. In
Greenland, however, most towns aren't connected by roads, meaning that
travel by air or boat is the norm. Despite the "green" in the country's name,
Greenland's soil is infertile and rocky; "freshies," as fruits and vegetables are
called locally, must be shipped in as well.

-------
embraced the opportunity. This year, she participated in GWISE's first
Science Day project in which girls and boys from area middle schools visit
campus labs, meet graduate student scientists, and observe and participate
in learning activities - all with their parents. "Including non-scientifically
oriented parents is key to fostering a new generation of scientists," Annie
says.
The GWISE event works to help children become involved in science, and
to help their parents become excited about and invested in encouraging
their children to follow that path. "One challenge is that for some parents,
science was something they hated in high school," Annie says. She believes
that communicating scientific concepts in an informal, conversational way
can help excite those parents and promote scientific literacy. Annie knows
from personal experience the influence parents can have on their children's
interests. When she was in middle school, she and her mother attended
a "Science Careers in Search of Women" conference at the Argonne
National Laboratory in Illinois. "It's funny," she recalls, "because I really
don't remember that much about it. However, my mom, who also attended,
remembers most things. It's likely that if she hadn't been so excited about
opportunities in science that I might not have ended up in this field."
What's next for Annie? Perhaps she'll continue her research and work toward
a Ph.D. Perhaps she'll enter the working world and add job experience to
her already-impressive resume. Regardless, it's a guarantee that she'll stay
a passionate woman scientist who loves the outdoors as much now as she
did as a girl. "Being a GRO Fellow reinforced my scientific interest in the
environment," she says. "It opened my eyes to the sorts of programs and
research that are necessary to ensure that we're maintaining our natural
resources for future generations."
Annie is a great example of how scientists can stay in touch with the things
they love, which for her include winter and its snow and frost. "My persona!
interest in outdoor activities like Nordic skiing really makes studying the
Arctic a good fit for me," she says. "Snow is intimately tied to the jet stream,
which is tied to sea ice extent in the Arctic. I appreciate the link between my
non-academic passions and my area of study."
Annie has been active in
programs designed to reach
out to women and other groups
to foster an interest in science
and show young people that
scientists don't confirm to a
stereotype. Not all scientists
wear white lab coats like they do on popular TV shows. While working as
a research assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Annie was a
group leader at a conference for middle school students. She considers this
opportunity to share her enthusiasm about science to be her first chance
to "give back." Most of the young women she worked with were Native
Americans and Hispanic Americans, groups who are under-represented in
science. "I hope that attending that conference, as well as encouragement
from parents and teachers, will propel some of those women into scientific or
technical careers," she says.
Currently Annie works with the Dartmouth chapter of GWISE (Graduate
Women in Science and Engineering), a national organization that seeks to
develop a community of women from scientific and engineering disciplines.
When the chapter president encouraged her to become a leader, Annie

Annie Putman (continued)
In addition to being busy
with her important research,
Annie is an advocate for
science education. "Science
benefits from balanced gender
and racial representation," she
says. "We can encourage this
balance by demonstrating that
science has room for people of
varied backgrounds and with
different strengths."
GRO FELLOWS AROUND THE WORLD •
Among their many accomplishments, many GRO Fellows venture to far-away places that let them broaden
their viewpoints on science, society and the environment.
Aiden Irish, who received
the GRO Fellowship in 2011,
says, "Living in another country
is a fantastic opportunity to
develop a better perspective
on my own country." While a
student at the University of
Portland, Portland, Ore., Aiden
spent a semester studying at
Germany's Freiburg University,
with a focus on environmental
policy and European Union
(EU) politics. Freiburg is
considered an international
model for sustainable urban
planning. The city's approach to
urban design addresses factors
including housing, infrastructure,
transportation and traffic, energy
and environmental protection.
Aiden's work in a German city is in sharp
contrast with 2012 GRO Fellow Mary
Beliveau's recent work in Madagascar,
an island nation in the Indian Ocean.
Mary studied a policy that focuses on
providing villagers with the supplies
and means necessary to grow their
own eucalyptus plantations, rather
than deforesting, in order to produce
charcoal. "I spent two weeks living with
families in two villages that have their
own plantations, where I was informed
that I was the only 'vazaha' - meaning
foreigner - to ever stay in either village,"
AIDEN IRISH
Aiden reports that the combination of a class on EU environmental policy and
the experience living in the city were so influential on his interests that he's
now focusing on sustainable urban planning as he pursues his master's degree
at the California State Polytechnic
University (Cal Poly), in Pomona, Calif.

-------
Alice Theibault
Ecological and Human
Health Hazards
of Growing 2nd
Generation Biofuel
Sources
Corvallis, Ore
Alice Zanmiller
Incorporating Green
Infrastructure (Gl)
into Clean Water Act/
NPDES Enforcement
and Compliance
Assistance
Chicago, III.
Amanda Ballard
Pesticide Exposures to
Terrestrial Amphibians
Athens, Ga.
Amanda Stone
Real-Time Water
Quality Monitoring in
Urban Rivers
North Chelmsford,
Mass.
Andrew Alleman
Microbiological
Treatment of Drinking
Water for Pesticide,
Nitrate and Ammonia
Removal
Cincinnati, Ohio
Assata Thompson
Environmental Justice
in Permitting
San Francisco, Calif.
Catherine Winters
Environmental Justice
Boston, Mass.
Cori Speights
Evaluating
Denitrification Rates
in Wetland Habitats
of Pacific Northwest
Estuaries
Newport, Ore
David Baltrusaitis
Genomic Indicators of
Chemical and Other
Stressors
Narragansett, R.I.
David Dreier
Exploring the Utility of
Human Absorption,
Distribution,
Metabolism, and
Elimination Data
to Predict In Vitro
Metabolism in Fish
Duluth, Minn.
Eliza Sherpa
USEPA Region
2 Community
Engagement and
Pollution Prevention
Internship
New York, N.Y.
Ellen Bechtel
Implications of the
Proposed Susitna-
Watana Hydroelectric
Project for the
Functional Integrity
of the Susitna River,
Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Eric Kretsch
National Rivers and
Streams Assessment
(NRSA) (EPA Region 1)
North Chelmsford,
Mass.
Erin Corrigan
Global Climate Change
and Its Effects on
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Corvallis, Ore.
George Grant
Sustainability of
Great Lakes Coastal
Ecosystems
Duluth, Minn.
Heidi Keller
Enhanced Biodiesel
Production from
Municipal Sewage
Sludge
Philadelphia, Pa.
James Gaynor
Characterizing
Effects of Engineered
Nanoparticles (ENPs)
in Non-human species
and Terrestrial
Ecosystems
Corvallis, Ore.
John Griffioen
Mechanisms of
Particulate Matter
(PM)-lnduced
Respiratory Effects
Research Triangle
Park, N.C.
Kamil Khanipov
Near-Coastal Species
at Risk to Climate
Change
Newport, Ore.
Katy Austin
Characterizing the
Effects of Urbanization
and Nutrients Across
Trophic Levels and
Temporal Scales
Using Stable
Isotopes of Algae,
Macroinverteb rates,
and Fish in Lakes and
Streams
Narragansett, R.I.
Kenneth Ruffatto
Method Detection
Limit Modeling for
Pharmaceutical
and Personal Care
Products and Hormone
Analytical Methods
Denver, Colo.
Keri Caudle
Identifying and
Preventing Nutrient
Impairments in Pacific
Northwest Estuaries
Newport, Ore.
Kessa Turnbull
Near Zero Emission
Engine Technologies
San Francisco, Calif.
Kevin Dickey
Understanding
Combustion Efficiency
at Oil & Gas Flares
Denver, Colo.
Keyyana Blount
Global Climate Change
Effects on Coastal
Wetlands
Narragansett, R.I.
Kinyata Cooper
Green Chemistry
Washington, District of
Columbia
Lotanna Ikeotuonye
Water Quality
Monitoring
Edison, N.J.
Mary Beliveau
Evaluating the
Environmental Efficacy
of Biochar
Corvallis, Ore.
Megan Dalbec
Lake Chlorophyll, Light
Attenuation, Water
Clarity, and Nutrient
Study
Golden, Colo.
Michael Enright
Characterizing
Effects of Engineered
Nanoparticles (ENPs)
in NonGhuman
species and Terrestrial
Ecosystems
Corvallis, Ore.
Morgan Owen-Cniise
Global Climate Change
Effects on Coastal
Wetlands
Narragansett, R.I.
Natalie Flinn
Environmental Justice
Community Leaders
Institute
Atlanta, Ga.
Nick Ravotti
Keep it Clean; Storm
Water in the Pacific
Northwest
Seattle, Wash.
Sara Lafia
Integration of the
Social Determinants
of Health into
Environmental Justice
Analysis to Support
Regional Agency
Decisions
Seattle, Wash.
Sarah Hardy
Sustainable Water
Infrastructure
San Francisco, Calif.
Sarah Huang
Support of RIO EPA
Programs' Meaningful
Planning for Climate
Change Impacts to
Tribes
Anchorage, Alaska
Sergio Gonzalez
Mobile Workspace
Impact Study
Denver, Colo.
Tanya Bulock
Helicopter Monitoring
Program
Edison, N.J.
she says. Mary is interested in the applications of environmentally-conscious
techniques to Third World sustainable development. "The program fit my desire
to learn both about the policy behind conservation and the science driving the
policy," she says. "I learned about how much goes into creating an effective policy,
both from an environmental
and social standpoint." Those
insights should serve her
well as she pursues her B.S.
in international relations at
Seton Hall University, South
Orange, N.J.
Andrew Reighart, a 2011
GRO Fellow, spent his first
semester abroad at James
Cook University (JCU) in
Townsville, Australia. He
says that his time there
eased him into living abroad
because many of his fellow
students from St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Md., were
also there, and, of course, there wasn't a language barrier. Most importantly,
during his time there he was able to take classes relevant to his two majors,
international public policy studies and political science, and three minors,
environmental studies, biology and French. Next, Andrew challenged himself
to put his French language skills to the test through a political science program
in Paris. "The more you put yourself in new and uncomfortable situations, the
more personal growth you will experience and the happier you will ultimately
be with your experience," he says.
Cara Mayo, a 2011 GRO Fellow, spent two semesters abroad, ultimately
ending up more than 13,000 miles from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.
Cara started with a semester in France's Catholic University of Lille's well-
regarded environmental program. She subsequently traveled some 5,000
miles further to Pondicherry (also known as Puducherry), India, a city on the
Indian Ocean. There she pursued her personal interest in marine science at
the Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning. Cara brought
her marine science training back to the U.S. and applied it to her GRO summer
internship at EPA's Pacific Coast Ecology Branch in Newport, Ore., where
she studied the effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems. Through

-------
vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research
and Development (8723P)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/600/N-04/198
September 2013
www.epa.gov/ord
her experiences, Cara came to a realization that's applicable to all her studies,
whether in France, India, or the U.S. "There's no right or wrong, especially when
it comes to environmental issues," Cara says. "We don't live in a black and white
world, yet there are many extreme parties pulling us to either side."
Robert Reynolds, a recent graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los
Angeles, studied environmental economics and politics at the London School
of Economics (LSE). Robert, who received the GRO Fellowship in 2010, says,
"I learned to think about solving environmental issues through understanding
incentives, trade-offs and cost-benefit analyses." Robert's insights are relevant
to his planned graduate studies of how to model the way individuals make
decisions and then to apply those results to seeking solutions to environmental
problems. He'll be focusing on the use of behavioral science in improving energy
policy as he works toward his master's in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy
School, Cambridge, Mass.
Studying "abroad" doesn't necessarily mean studying on dry land. 2012 GRO
Fellow Eric Kretsch, who's majoring in marine affairs and environmental and
natural resource economics participated in marine field research, gaining an
added dimension to his education. Eric, a student at the University of Rhode Island,
Kingston, R.I., spent six weeks aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer, a 135-foot-
long tall ship, in the Caribbean Sea. Tall ships are sailing ships, which gave
Eric some exciting opportunities, despite the occasional episode of seasickness.
"On this particular ship and with this particular program you are required to be a
crewmember of the ship," he says. In this Sea Education Association program,
students take part in the daily operation of the ship, ultimately becoming junior
watch officers. "I was required to take on all the responsibilities of mate on
board the vessel," Eric says. "This allowed me to develop my leadership skills
by putting me in the position to make decisions and motivate my fellow watch
members."
Abonusof studying abroad is the opportunity Fellows have to experience different
cultures and make friends from around the world. Robert says, "My favorite part
was being In a classroom with students from all over the world. Hearing citizens
from dozens of countries express their opinions and values opened my eyes."
Aiden shared an apartment with five German college students. He particularly
enjoyed his conversations with them about culture, politics and philosophy.
"They really welcomed me into their life and their home," he says, "and that really
started to make me feel at home in Freiburg."
Cara recalls sitting at a cafe with some friends shortly after arriving in France. "We
were all from different countries with varying levels of French, English, Spanish,
German, Korean and Japanese," she says. "We successfully had a conversation
about culture and politics without sticking to one language. It reminded me that
the drive to communicate is much stronger than the language barriers we create."
Mary had the special experience of staying with five Malagasy families during her
time in Madagascar and plans to keep in touch with them. "Each family I stayed
with proved that Malagasy hospitality cannot be rivaled," she says. "I now can
say I have family in Madagascar! How cool is that?"
mjggggg

-------