Junior Workshop Highlights

The project: A scientific research project and website exploring the environmental quality of the East River.

The inspiration: I've always had a passion for marine biology, and also a strong belief in environmentalism. Going into the project, I wanted to do something related to my interests. I opted to research the East River, partially because there's less information on it, but I've also spent a lot of time around the East River throughout my life and have seen firsthand the various environmental issues.

The process: I created a comprehensive website on the East River that explored its overall environmental quality. I liked the idea of a website because it's accessible and I wanted to educate others. There were two ways I worked on the project: the online research I compiled to document the history of the river, and the scientific research I conducted to assess how pollutants affect the river's environmental quality. The scientific research, like collecting water samples and dissolved oxygen readings, was the most challenging part of the project and required a lot of work outside of class. 

What I learned: One of my biggest takeaways was learning more about the research process, and specifically scientific research. There's a lot of trial and error involved. As an example, for part of my project I measured the amount of oxygen in the water. I started off with a complex procedure of measuring it several different times and using chemicals. Each time, I tried to improve my methodology, but ultimately, I opted to rent a piece of equipment (a meter) to take the measurements. It was great to get experience with collecting samples out in the field and also improving my methodology as the project progressed.

What's next: I opted to further my scientific research after I wrapped up my Junior Workshop project. As part of the Experimental Design elective I was taking, I conducted a fish dissection, which allowed me to analyze the presence of microplastics in the East River. In the future, I am looking to pursue marine biology or environmental science.