Environmental Protection Agency Greater Research Opportunities Undergraduate Student Fellowships
Issue 1,2013
Where are they n
Catching up with GRO Alumni
Alexander Guzzetta
Alex Guzzetta thinks like a scientist. "Having the opportunity to uncover
something new is really exciting to me," he says. "I developed a passion
for research in biology in high school and my interest in environmentally-
applicable research topics when I went to college," He's currently busy
taking a full class load and working on a research project at California State
University, Fresno (CSU-Fresno). He's also applying to graduate schools in
anticipation of his graduation in May 2013 with a degree in biology.
Alex is thankful for the support provided by the Greater Research
Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship that he received in 2010. He was able to quit
his part-time job and spend as much time as he wanted to working on his
independent research project. "Havingthat extra time really allowed me to
accomplish things that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do with a more
restrictive schedule," he said. "I'd encourage all GRO Fellows to make the
most of their fellowship by dedicating extra time to their research projects."
Alex's interest in the environment blossomed once he started working with
Dr. Alejandro Calderon-Urrea, a biology professor at CSU-Fresno. His first
independent research project related to plant parasites called nematodes,
also known as roundworms. Nematodes are extremely abundant in nature
and are an ongoing challenge to agriculture, where harmful pesticides are
used to control infection. Alex studied the possibility of using nematode-
resistant plants as a potential means of limiting the use of pesticides.
"I grew up in California's Central Valley," Alex says. The area is home to
California's most productive agricultural areas so as he notes, "Pesticides
are a constant presence in the lives of people who live there." As he moves
forward in his career, Alex says that he's particularly interested in human
environmental health. If he could work on any topic he wanted, he says,
"I would attempt to find a link between agricultural pesticide use and the
development of human diseases such as cancer."
Alex's current research project applies to another important environmental
issue, sustainable energy. It's a study of how different types of media used
in the lab to grow cells affect the metabolism of certain types of algae. "The
ultimate goal of this project is to understand how media influences algal
metabolism and oil production so we can design better media to increase oil
output for the production of biodiesel," he says.
Both projects appeal to Alex because their implications are not restricted
to the lab. "Working on projects that have the potential for real world
applications toward improving the environment is really interesting to me,"
Alex says, "because I can see the problems in my everyday life that I am
attempting to solve."
He learned firsthand how science is taken out of the lab and translated to
environmental management during his GRO summer internship at EPA's
Atlantic Ecology Division in Narragansett, R.I. "I got a sense of how the EPA
goes about investigating human impact on the natural environment," Alex
says. "It was really interesting to see the breadth of projects that were based
out of AED and how their results are directly applicable to the development
of rational regulatory policies to help preserve the environment."
Alex worked on a project that assessed the effects of bifenthrin, an
insecticide that is highly toxicto aquatic organisms, on the diversity of a
group of organisms in estuaries. The project used genetic material collected
directly from organisms in the field. "One of the coolest parts of my project
was being able to go out into the Pettaquamscutt estuary and harvest the
sediment cores used in our culture system," he says. "Before then, I'd never
performed field research, so that was a fun experience."
Alex is impressed by the multidisciplinary approach to science that he saw at
AED, and thinks the importance of collaboration and teamwork in scientific
research is the most important thing he learned during his internship. "I saw
people who were trained in biology, mathematics, engineering, chemistry
and many other fields come together to work toward a common goal of
environmental protection," he says. "I realized that there really is a role for
every kind of expertise in the environmental field."
Having an internship in coastal Rhode Island wasn't all work, though, Alex
made the most of his time on the East Coast, an area which was new to
him. "It was a great opportunity to visit a new place and meet some great
people," he says. Among the fun things he did over the summer were cycling
around Block Island, going to the Newport Jazz Festival, and visiting Boston,
New York City and Niagara Falls.

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Fellows' reflections - summer 2012 GRO internships
All in all, my internship in
Corvallis was an amazing
experience. If I could
go back and do it all
again, I gladly would.
Mackenzie Billings i

I have five years of
experience working in
research laboratories,
and the experience
of working with this
team was phenomenal. We
understood each other, solved
problems very quickly in the
lab, and had the facilities to
do our work. The people were
very kind and helpful; I'm truly
coming back to Puerto Rico
with a smile on my face.
Carlos Juan Cruz ~
My impression of the Western
Ecolog/ Division is a fabulous
one. I feel like I fit in here. The
people here are all filled with so
much knowledge; you could pick
their brains for hours! And this
internship surrounded me with
science lovers, which was tough
to leave.
Katie Steele ~
Working at EPA has
taught me that I really
enjoy research. I am
going to make it my
definite goal to earn my
doctoral degree. I love
working in an environment
of people from all different
places and backgrounds
coming together for a
common goal that could
affect the way that people
perceive the world around
them.
Tyanna Smith ~
i
I had a great and positive
experience in my internship.
I really appreciate everything
those I worked with and those
I encountered at the laboratory
did for me. They all contributed
in their special way to help me
achieve what I accomplished
and to complete the internship
successfully.
George Osei ~
My adventurous
tendencies landed me
somewhere interesting.
I could almost call the
EPA lab in Narragansett
home. It's never difficult
to find someone to answer
your question, or to gather
a group together for field
work.
Clarice Esch ~

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Introducing the 2012-2014 GRO Fellows
Alice Zanmiller
California State
Polytechnic University
Pomona, CA
Alice Theibault
Hobart and William
Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY
Amanda Stone
Salisbury University
Salisbury, MD
Amanda Ballard
Loyola Marymount
University
Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Alleman
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Assata Thompson
Spelman College
Atlanta, GA
Catherine Winters
Hartwick College
Oneonta, NY
Cori Speights
Texas A&M University -
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, TX
David Baltrusaitis
Loyola University of
Chicago
Chicago, IL
David Dreier
Baylor University
Waco, TX
Eliza Sherpa
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ellen Bechtel
Wellesley College
Welles ley, MA
Eric Kretsch
University of Rhode
Island
Kingston, Rl
Erin Corrigan
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY
George Grant	Heidi Keller	James Gaynor
Castleton State College Barnard College	Concordia University
Castleton,VT	New York, NY	Portland, OR
John Griffioen
Lake Superior State
University
Brimley, Ml
Kamil Khanipov
University of Houston -
University Park
Houston, TX
Katy Austin
State University of New
York
Syracuse, NY
Kenneth Ruffatto
Illinois Institute of
Technology
Chicago, IL
Keri Caudle
Fort Hays State
University
Hays, KS
Kessa Turnbull
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH
Kevin Dickey
Rochester Institute of
Technology
Rochester, NY
Keyyana Blount
Salisbury University
Salisbury, MD
Kinyata Cooper
Howard University
Washington, DC
Lotanna Ikeotuonye
Howard University
Washington, DC
Mary Beliveau
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ
Megan Dalbec	Michael Enright
Michigan Technological	Ripon College
University	Rjpon w,
Houghton, Ml
Morgan Owen-Cruise	Natalie Flinn
Michigan Technological	Villanova University
University	Villanova, PA
Houghton, Ml
Nicholas Ravotti
Green Mountain College
Poultney, VT
Rachael Korinek
University of Wisconsin -
Eau Claire
Eau Claire, Wl
Sara Lafia
California State
Polytechnic University
Pomona, CA
In summer 2012, GRO Fellow Aiden Irish
interned in EPA's Alaska Operations Office in
Anchorage. His internship project, Sustainable
-: I-—
Energy Opportunities: Best Practices for Alaska

Tribes, was sent to all of the Tribes in Alaska as a
valuable resource on alternative energy options
in their communities. It's also available on EPA's
website. "The best and most significant
experiences of this internship took place
on the trips to rural Alaska communities,"
Aiden says. "Wherever I end up going in
life, the experiences of living, working
and exploring in the 'real' Alaska will be
influential to how I view environmental
and cultural issues around the world."
Continued.
Sarah Hardy
Lafayette College
Easton, PA
Sarah Huang
Ursinus College
Collegeville, PA
Sergio Gonzalez
Loyola Marymount
University
Los Angeles, CA
Tanya Bulock
University of Nevada -
Reno
Reno, NV

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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
February 2013
www.epa.gov/ord
...Continued
GRO Fellow Tiana Ramos interned at EPA
Region 2 Headquarters in New York City. She
posted on EPA's "Greening the Apple" biog
about moving to NYC and working on EPA's July
2012 Applying Green Building Research Today
symposium. Tiana is working toward her B.A.
in Environmental Studies and Economics at
Wellesley College.
Ciarra Greene, a member of the Nez Perce
Tribe, provides her perspectives on being a
Native American woman, scientist and alumna
of the GRO Fellowship Program in a post on
EPA's science blog "It All Starts with Science."
Ciarra is currently pursuing a Master's degree
at the University of Idaho.

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