Are you a previous SJWP participant? If so, we'd like to hear from you. In an effort to build an alumni program, we are trying to reach as many past students as possible. Please email sjwp@wef.org.

2007: Jingyuan Luo (Arizona)
Toxicity and Bioaccumulation of Nanomaterials in Aquatic Species

Jingyuan is currently attending Rice University in Houston, Texas, where she is double majoring in biology and policy studies. She hopes to combine her interests in science and politics one day by working to resolve global health issues, in particular issues related to water. She is currently studying sociality in a species of amoeba in order to gain an understanding of the activities of microorganisms from an evolutionary perspective. Such understanding could be applied to disease systems and medical research.

2006: Emily Brownlee (Maryland)
A Tale of Two Oysters: The Chesapeake Bay Native and the Non-Native Oysters and the Effects of an Increasing Water Quality Problem, Algal Blooms

Emily is attending Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She has been interested in environmental science since she was young and has narrowed her concentration to the study of phytoplankton, especially the problem of algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay. Her past projects have focused mainly on the effects of algal blooms on the setting of oyster larvae and growth of spat as well as controlling and removing phytoplankton from Bay waters. She is also interested in phytoplankton taxonomy after being mentored by a taxonomist at the Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center. 

2005: Kathryn VanderWeele (Oregon)
Removal of Arsenic from Drinking Water by Water Hyacinths

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Kathryn is in high school at Oregon Episcopal School. Some of her activities include soccer, tennis, and involvement with her church. She has traveled to Mexico to help build houses for under-privileged families, and for the past four years, she has used her Spanish to work as a tutor at a local elementary school. It is also the third year that Kathryn has worked on a water-quality related research project. In college, Kathryn would like to study Spanish, environmental engineering, and chemistry. After college, she would like to join the Peace Corps in a Spanish-speaking country where she can do work related to water and sanitation.

2004: Brandon Fimple (Oklahoma)
The Environmental Impact of Aluminum Sulfate and Salicylic Acid Treated Poultry Litters on Forage Production and Watersheds

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Brandon is currently attending Oklahoma State University, majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Administration and pursuing a minor in German. He also served as an ambassador for the College of Human Environmental Sciences for the 2006-2007 school year.

2003: Heather Mispagel (Georgia)
Antibiotic Resistance from Sewage Oxidation Ponds

2002 International Winner: Katherine F. Holt  (Virginia)
Cleaning the Chesapeake Bay with Oysters

2001: Brenda Goguen (Virginia)
“Molecular Characterization of Potential Fish Pathogens in Waters Where Reported Pfiesteria piscicida Outbreaks Have Occurred”

2000 International Winner: Ashley Mulroy (West Virginia)
Correlating Residual Antibiotic Contamination in Public Water to the Drug-Resistance of Escherichia coli

1999: Kelly Serocki, formerly Kelly Schmiedt (Minnesota)
Chemical and Biological Analysis of Pike Creek 1998

Kelly graduated from San Diego State University with degrees in Communications and Psychology, and is currently working in Iowa as a regional sales representative for The Hershey Company. She has worked for companies such as the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority in drinking water quality, the YMCA as an Aquatics Director, and for an advertising agency in marketing and corporate communications.

1998 International Runner-Up: Brett De Poister (Pennsylvania)
Effects of Zinc, a Heavy Metal, and Diazinon, a Common Pesticide, on the Embryonic Development of the African Clawed Frog

1997 International Winner: Stephen Alexander Tinnin (Texas)
Changes in Development, Sperm Activity, and Reproduction in Lytechinus variegatus Gametes Exposed to Pesticides