Spring Master's Project Symposium 2021

Spring 2021 Master's Project Symposium

During the Spring 2021 Master's Project Symposium, the Nicholas School celebrated the professional and academic accomplishments of our second-year MEM and MF students. The MP Symposium was held Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9, 2021.

The symposium was held virtually, and all presentation recordings are available to view online. Reference the abstract book or the full schedule of presentations to find a topic of interest, then locate the session on the playlist using the corresponding presentation date and block number from the schedule.

Presentation Schedule

THURSDAY, APRIL 8

Presentations - Zoom Room 1

9:30 AM	Panayiotis Koutsogeorgas, EE & MBA Zoe Ripecky, EE & MBA	The Future of Big Oil in the Hydrogen Economy
10:15 AM	Christopher Lazinski, EE & MBA Cheryl Lee, EE & MBA	The Future of Heating: Evaluating Options for Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island
11:00 AM	Rajat Pungaliya, EE Yutong Xue, EE Yiwen Wang, EE	Accessing Transmission Bottlenecks for Renewable Energy in North Carolina
1:00 PM	Emma Frantz, EE & MPP	Understanding State-Level Regulatory Considerations for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment in South Carolina
1:25 PM	Zukhruf Amjad, EE Reed Leon-Hinton, EE Hassan Nadeem, EE	Project Resiliency - Overcoming Barriers for Repeatable Microgrids in the US
2:10 PM	Franco Ghadiri, EE Akshay Krishnan, EE Ruoshui Li, EE	Reforming Solar Net Energy Metering
2:55 PM	Xueying Feng, EE Shawn Li, EE	A Geospatial Approach to Siting Wind Right in the Southeast
3:40 PM	Abhishek Jain, EE	Estimating the Benefits of Energy Efficiency Standards in the U.S.: The Case of Residential Refrigerators

Presentations - Zoom Room 2

9:30 AM	Hunter Bowman, MF & MBA	Producing Growth Estimates of Duke Forest Pine Stands Using USDA’s Forest Vegetation Simulator
9:55 AM	Rani Kumar, ESC	Malaria Transmission in Border Regions of the Western Amazon: Incorporating watersheds into timeseries analysis to address disease re-emergence along the Ecuador-Peru border
10:20 AM	Chiara Klein, ESC Katie Taylor, ESC	Check Your Fish: Communicating Risks of Contaminant Exposure with Subsistence Fish Consumers Along the Lower Cape Fear River
11:05 AM	Andrea Gonzalez Natera, ESC Yingle Su, EEP	The Proposition of Value: Leveraging Carbon Capital to Finance Biodiversity Conservation in Peru
1:00 PM	Autumn Dunn, WRM	Identifying potential time lags through long-term water quality trends post-construction of the SWAMP project
1:25 PM	Tianshu Huang, WRM Logan Loadholtz, WRM Kathleen Mason, WRM	Milburnie Dam: A Case Study for the Management Implications of Dam Removal Mitigation Banks
2:10 PM	Johanna Kluck, EEP Karly Nocera, WRM Qixuan Zhang, WRM	Emerging Contaminants in NC Water
2:55 PM	Rachel Landman, WRM	Performance and Risks of Acid Mine Drainage Neutralization with Fly Ash from India and the United States

Presentations - Zoom Room 3

9:30 AM	Muhammad Abdullah, BE Garrett Blake, EEP Zhenchen Li, EEP Ayse Trail, EEP	Corporate-wide Sustainability Goals for Wolfspeed
10:15 AM	Angela Hessenius, EEP Elizabeth Howard, ESC Cleopatra Karanikolas, BE Catarina Martinez, EEP	Creating Value Chains for Soil Health and Resilient Food Systems in Warren County
11:00 AM	Garrett Corwin, BE Phoenix Feng, EEP Molly Johnson, BE & MBA Sara Naghavi, BE	The Future of Coffee in a Changing Climate
1:00 PM	Nikki Egna, ESC & MEMP	Occupancy and habitat associations of the reticulated giraffe as revealed by camera traps
1:25 PM	Lianna Gomori-Ruben, EEP	Women Farmers and Agroecology in the United States: A Case Study
1:50 PM	Hardy Almes, EEP Jimmy Gilman, EEP	Duke University's Alternative Transportation Future
2:35 PM	Aria Cai, EEP Ardath Dixon, ESC Cate Jaffe, ESC Erik Rieger, ESC	An Analysis of Ecosystem Services and Benefits to Guide Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
3:20 PM	Emma Hughes, EEP Sean Starkey, EEP	Economic Impacts of Managed Access at Zion National Park

Presentations - Zoom Room 4

9:30 AM	Bea Smith, CEM	Assessing Space Use of Foraging Gray Seals (Halichoerus grypus) off the New England Coast
9:55 AM	Cristiana Falvo, CEM	Data Management: A Key to Effective Conservation
10:20 AM	Sage Riddick, CEM Lisa Snodgrass, CEM Megan Swanson, CEM	Innovation in the Blue Economy: Opportunities in Shipping, Aquaculture, and Offshore Wind for Climate Change Mitigation
11:05 AM	Lisa Myles, CEM	Exploring Coastal Acidification and Oyster Restoration on the Atlantic Coast of the United States: Summary of Restoration Activities and Recommendations for Community Educational Engagement
11:30 AM	Brandon Gertz, CEM	What's Mined Is Yours: Identifying Future Demand for Seabed Minerals
1:00 PM	Sarah Lipuma, CEM	Building Social Equity into Floodplain Buyouts
1:25 PM	Debbie Brill, CEM	Examining the feasibility of using photo-identification studies to assist in investigations of short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) strandings along the US Southeast Coast
1:50 PM	Niki Cleary, CEM	A Review of NOAA’s Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Process
2:15 PM	Yutian Fang, CEM	Estimating Cetacean Bycatch from Tuna Gillnet Fisheries in Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan
2:40 PM	Corie Grewal, CEM	Occurrence of depredation by common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) on reef fish captured and released by rod and reel fisheries in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico
3:05 PM	Kelly Scanlon, CEM	Macrofouling Settlement on Commercial Plastics
3:30 PM	Taylor Stoni, CEM	Reducing the Mortality and Serious Injury of North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of Maine
3:55 PM	Jack Eynon, CEM	A Review of Aquaculture Gear Characteristics and Impacts on Entanglement Risk for Protected Species

Presentations - Zoom Room 5

9:30 AM	Perry Piatos, EEH	Effects of early-life exposure to benzo(a)pyrene and triphenyl phosphate on respiration rates in aging zebrafish (Danio rerio)
9:55 AM	Lane Bogar, EEH	Exploring Associations Between Prenatal PFAS Exposure and Development of Childhood Asthma
10:20 AM	Kimberly Gaston, EEH	The Toxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Pre- and Post-Bioremediation Using Bacteria and Fungi
10:45 AM	Leon Li, EEH	Assessing Potential Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) in Produce and Drinking Water in Chatham County, NC
11:10 AM	Analise Lindborg, EEH	Assessment of Ethoxylated Surfactants in Wastewater, Stormwater, and Ambient Water of San Francisco Bay, CA
11:35 AM	Nancy Bao, EEH	Antibody responses to vaccines and PFAS exposure in early childhood
1:00 PM	Amireeta Kumari, DEL	An assessment of climate transition risks and opportunities for Indonesia’s Largest Electricity Company
1:20 PM	Chuck Chase, DEL	Deploying renewable energy infrastructure at former oil and gas extraction sites: potential and sustainability implications
1:40 PM	Mike Umbro, DEL	Oilfield Waste: An Overlooked Commodity
2:00 PM	Chris Landes, DEL	Assessing the Implications of PJM Interconnection Capacity Market Reforms on State Energy Resource Transitions
2:20 PM	DEL Panel

FRIDAY, APRIL 9

Presentations - Zoom Room 1

9:30 AM	Kathryn Davis, EE & MBA Davis Guebert, EE & MBA	European Market Entry for Long-Duration Energy Storage
10:15 AM	Mike Campton, EEP Grace Chan, EEP Karen Glibert, ESC Conor Mulderrig, EEP Audrey Wilkes, EE	Environmental Justice Considerations for the Implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North Carolina
11:00 AM	Dang Ding, EE Sam Pollan, EE & MBA Zoe Yang, EE	Renewable Natural Gas Investing Opportunities
1:00 PM	Thomas Hancock, EE Yuxin Hu, EE Yueyi Yang, EE	Analysis of the Microgrid Market for Small and Medium-Sized Municipalities and Electric Cooperatives
1:45 PM	Ian Reichardt, EE Isaac Rosenthal, EE	Utilities 2.0: Analyzing Customer Lifetime Value and Customer Transfer for a Novel Electrification Partnership
2:30 PM	Marie McNamara, EEP	Assessing Time-Variant Tariff Deployment for Mini-Grids in Sierra Leone
2:55 PM	Gray Li, EEP	Title: A Model-Based Policy Analysis: The Inter-play Between TCI and RGGI

Presentations - Zoom Room 2

9:30 AM	Michael Scott, ESC & MF	Analysis of Financial and Ecological Site Suitability for Long-Term Oak Management in Western North Carolina
9:55 AM	Jo Jahn, ESC	Evaluating and comparing in-person and virtual experiential learning programs for improving STEM career readiness of students from underrepresented communities
10:20 AM	John Alcorn, ESC & MF Katie Krejsa, ESC & MF Benjamin Newman, EEP Annika Socha, ESC	Multiple Analyses to Inform REDD+ Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) Project Development in the SAVA Region, Madagascar
11:05 AM	Elise Harrigan, ESC & MF	Analysis of current and future aboveground carbon for indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico
11:30 AM	Claudia Meca van den Berg, ESC	Analyzing Current and Future Landscape Connectivity for Felids in Oaxaca
1:00 PM	Stefan Bugge, ESC Connor Dupree-Sood, ESC Thaddeus Thomson, WRM	Prioritizing Conservation & Development in Durham, NC
1:45 PM	Kendra Sultzer, ESC	Managing for Wildlife Habitat and Connectivity in the Duke Forest: Case Studies of Bobcats and Three Salamander Species
2:10 PM	Leyi Ruan, EEP Evan Scofield, MF & MBA	Stumpage Price Impacts on Biomass Accumulation
2:55 PM	Joshua Frear, ESC	Remote Sensing Tree Physiology

Presentations - Zoom Room 3

9:30 AM	Sandy Lynn, BE	Time to Shine? Evaluating the Economic Feasibility of Energy Storage Retrofits
9:55 AM	Sierra Kindley, WRM	Linking Urban Land Use to Aquatic Metabolic Regimes
10:20 AM	Ha Do, EEP Pierre Mishra, WRM Longyi Yang, EEP	Mining Social Media to Assess Public Perception of Water Quality
11:05 AM	Sara Sayed, WRM Hannah Smith, WRM	Quantifying Racial Disparities in Water Affordability

Presentations - Zoom Room 4

9:30 AM	Victoria Rose, ESC & JD	An Evaluation of Natural Heritage Programs
9:55 AM	Emma Wellbaum, CEM & JD	Whose Boat is this Boat? Managing Abandoned and Derelict Vessels in Oriental, North Carolina
10:20 AM	Molly Bruce, CEM & JD	Passive Ecosystem Monitoring: Developing UAS-based monitoring methodologies for tidal wetlands in the NERR system
10:45 AM	Mary Edmondson, CEM	Revolutionizing Behavioral Sampling of Cetaceans with Unoccupied Aerial Systems: A Literature Review and Case Study
11:10 AM	Joanna Parkman, CEM	Policy Recommendations for Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations in the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)
11:35 AM	Nikki Shintaku, CEM	Population Genomics of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Northwest Atlantic
1:00 PM	Crystal Franco, CEM	Modeling Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) spatial distribution and abundance patterns in the Northeast Atlantic to project distribution shifts under climate change
1:25 PM	Claire Mullaney, CEM	Assessing fishing vessel compliance with area closures on the high seas
1:50 PM	Juli Schroeger, CEM	Ocean Justice: Strategies for an equitable implementation of North Carolina’s offshore wind industry
2:15 PM	Samantha Townsend, CEM	A Systematic Review of Facilitation in Intertidal Habitats
2:40 PM	Kim Corcoran, CEM	A Comparative Methodology of the Research Permit Process under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act
3:05 PM	Haley Jackson, CEM	Education and Outreach Development for the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands
3:30 PM	Colleen Baker, CEM	Learning from 30 Years of Small-Scale Fisheries Co-Management in Africa

Presentations - Zoom Room 5

9:30 AM	Shira Weintraub, BE & MBA	VC Co Impact Measurement Strategy
9:55 AM	Shannon Parker, BE & MBA	Market opportunity of application of environmental modeling methods in financial services
10:20 AM	Lauren Dunn, BE Ian Knisely, BE Ellen Li, BE Yezi Lyu, BE	Developing a Reputable Corporate Sustainability Strategy for the Philadelphia Macaroni Company
11:05 AM	Ke Ding, EE Angela Gamber, BE James Jurcak, BE Adrienne Shook, BE	Supply Chain ESG Compliance Strategy for AptarGroup
1:00 PM	Ned Burgwyn, DEL	Combatting the Threats to Large Scale Marine Protected Areas: How International Partnerships Can Ensure the Success of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary
1:20 PM	Jennie Shield, DEL	A Framework for Integrating Unoccupied Aircraft Systems Technology into Environmental Readiness at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific
1:40 PM	Carina Nichols, DEL	A Policy Evaluation considering the Pacific Salmon Treaty’s Impacts on the Southeast Alaska Chinook Troll Fishery
2:00 PM	Myriam Sekkat, DEL	Ecotourism for conservation : a case study of the Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique
2:20 PM	DEL Panel

About Master's Projects

The Master’s Project is a culminating hands-on experience for all Master of Environmental Management (MEM) and Master of Forestry (MF) students. Working in small groups, students apply the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom to projects that tackle real-world environmental challenges.

Learn More

Spring Master's Project Symposium 2021

Spring 2021 Master's Project Symposium

Presentation Schedule

THURSDAY, APRIL 8

Presentations - Zoom Room 1

Presentations - Zoom Room 2

Presentations - Zoom Room 3

Presentations - Zoom Room 4

Presentations - Zoom Room 5

DEL Panel

FRIDAY, APRIL 9

Presentations - Zoom Room 1

Presentations - Zoom Room 2

Presentations - Zoom Room 3

Presentations - Zoom Room 4

Presentations - Zoom Room 5

DEL Panel

About Master's Projects