20 July 2006
The Chemical Sciences Division is hosting three Hollings Scholars this summer:
Anna Fabiszewski is a student from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She is a double major in Physics and Environmental Science with a minor in Biology. She is here May 30th - July 28th. She is looking at relationships between the distribution of sardines measured with the NOAA Fish LIDAR and environmental parameters like water depth, sea-surface temperature, and primary productivity. Ms. Fabiszewski is being mentored by Dr. James Churnside of CSD.
Holly Sewell is a student from the University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in Chemical Engineering. She is here June 6th - August 25th. She is developing algorithms to determine chlorophyll concentration from ocean color measurements made from a low-flying aircraft. The main emphasis is on development of the appropriate atmospheric corrections for the remote sensing reflectance. Ms. Sewell is being mentored by Dr. James Churnside of CSD.
Shannon Capps is a senior in Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She's been in Boulder since May 30 and will depart July 28, followed by a week in Silver Spring visiting NOAA HQ along with the other Hollings Scholars. This summer, Ms. Capps is doing extensive analysis of electric power plant pollutant emissions. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide have been continuously monitored at nearly all U.S. power plants since 1995 and are reported with hourly frequency to the Environmental Protection Agency. Ms. Capps is looking at the behavior of these emissions at different temporal scales and relating it to regional differences in pollution control implementation, meteorology, and power usage. This analysis will lead to improvements in NOAA ESRL's air quality modeling capabilities. Ms. Capps is being mentored by Dr. Greg Frost of CSD.
Background: The Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program provides recipients with awards that include academic assistance; a 9-10-week, full-time internship position in NOAA-related scientific, research, technology, policy, management, or education activities; and, if reappointed, academic assistance for full-time study during a second 9-month academic year.
Significance: Internships such as these help to advance NOAA's goals in environmental literacy and building a sustainable workforce. The students gain an appreciation and understanding for the real-world aspects of scientific research. At the same time, NOAA gains a broader exposure within universities and the general public.