Here's the updated UTF proposal;
""Intended Location/Department: Science Department
Description:
We represent a group of science students participating in NSCC's undergrad research program. Mentored by instructors Kalyn Owens and Ann Murkowski, our group is conducting research into water quality by quantifying microplastics load in samples from Puget Sound and local freshwater systems. Partnering with UW Tacoma and the Center for Urban Waters, our research will contribute to an international effort to address ecologically important questions about plastic concentrations in water. To that aim we would like to purchase 2 plankton nets, 2 geological sieves, a custom frame, and a flow meter. The frame has been custom designed by a local engineer for use behind a boat in wetlands or lakes. NSCC will be one of the first institutions to utilize the new international standards for microplastic collection, standards developed by our research partners at UW Tacoma. We will also partner with NSCC's nanotechnology program to identify plastics with the atomic force microscope, lending our project an interdisciplinary rigor.
Expected Benefits:
In line with NSCC's position as a national leader in community college undergrad research, this purchase gives NSCC students necessary tools for current and future research projects. NSCC students in a variety of scientific disciplines will be able to utilize plankton nets equipped with flow meters to capture, observe, and quantify organisms and debris suspended in the water column. The information gathered from on-campus studies with flow meter-equipped plankton nets will contribute to NSCC's wetland restoration by providing data on wetland life and pollution. Outdoor labs with engaging equipment also fosters an appreciation for science, nature, and sustainability in students. Providing community college students with meaningful undergraduate research opportunities and equipment supports NSCC's mission to innovate, expand partnerships, and embrace sustainability.
Line Items:
1– Flow Meter………………………….……..$370
1– Drift net……………………………………$350
1 -Custom net for manta frame……………..…$1000
1- Cod-end jar and assembly……………………$80
2 – Geological Sieves………………………….$200"
?? - ATF Tips......................................................$???"
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday (1.28.2011) Sample Processing
Friday morning the Whidbey Basin tow will be processed by Del Castillo and Earley, start time is 9am in the Organic Chemistry lab for any interested.
Going forward I'd like to ensure some continuity in procedure by having one or two people take ownership of the lab side of things (and then of course the field side of things when we get that rolling).
Going forward I'd like to ensure some continuity in procedure by having one or two people take ownership of the lab side of things (and then of course the field side of things when we get that rolling).
Friday, January 21, 2011
We've got a proposal draft!
"Intended Location/Department: Science Department
Description:
The microplastics team is a group of science students led by instructors K. Owens and A. Murkowski. We are doing research in conjunction with UW Tacoma and the Center for Urban Waters. We intend to conduct our own independent research to look for small plastic particles at the water surface of freshwater systems. To that aim we would like to purchase 2 plankton nets, and a flow meter. We will mount one net to a frame that has been custom designed and donated to us by a local engineer for use behind a boat in wetlands or lakes. The other net will be used in streams, creeks or rivers to collect floating particles.
Expected Benefits:
Outdoor labs with engaging equipment like the nets also foster an appreciation for science, nature, and sustainability in students. This purchase will allow the NSCC microplastic team to conduct novel research that has never been conducted by anyone in the world. This is cutting edge research looking for microplastic concentrations in the water column of fresh water systems.
In the future, other NSCC students in a variety of scientific disciplines will be able to utilize these Plankton nets equipped with flow meter to capture, observe, and quantify organisms and debris suspended in the water column. The information gathered from on-campus studies with flow meter-equipped plankton nets will contribute to NSCC's wetland restoration by providing data on wetland life and pollution. The geologic sieves can be used by geology students as well.
Line Items:
1– Flow Meter………………………….……..$370
1– Drift net……………………………………$350
1 -Custom net for manta frame……………..…$130
1- Cod-end jar and assembly……………………$80
2 – Geological Sieves………………………….$200"
What say you, team microplastics?
I think it sounds pretty good - short and to the point, clear representation of goals and equipment needed. I think we should add a plankton net assembly from General Oceanics, since it came with a bridle etc.
Description:
The microplastics team is a group of science students led by instructors K. Owens and A. Murkowski. We are doing research in conjunction with UW Tacoma and the Center for Urban Waters. We intend to conduct our own independent research to look for small plastic particles at the water surface of freshwater systems. To that aim we would like to purchase 2 plankton nets, and a flow meter. We will mount one net to a frame that has been custom designed and donated to us by a local engineer for use behind a boat in wetlands or lakes. The other net will be used in streams, creeks or rivers to collect floating particles.
Expected Benefits:
Outdoor labs with engaging equipment like the nets also foster an appreciation for science, nature, and sustainability in students. This purchase will allow the NSCC microplastic team to conduct novel research that has never been conducted by anyone in the world. This is cutting edge research looking for microplastic concentrations in the water column of fresh water systems.
In the future, other NSCC students in a variety of scientific disciplines will be able to utilize these Plankton nets equipped with flow meter to capture, observe, and quantify organisms and debris suspended in the water column. The information gathered from on-campus studies with flow meter-equipped plankton nets will contribute to NSCC's wetland restoration by providing data on wetland life and pollution. The geologic sieves can be used by geology students as well.
Line Items:
1– Flow Meter………………………….……..$370
1– Drift net……………………………………$350
1 -Custom net for manta frame……………..…$130
1- Cod-end jar and assembly……………………$80
2 – Geological Sieves………………………….$200"
What say you, team microplastics?
I think it sounds pretty good - short and to the point, clear representation of goals and equipment needed. I think we should add a plankton net assembly from General Oceanics, since it came with a bridle etc.
NSCC Microplastics
Hello Team Microplastics!
I've been wrestling with how to better coordinate our group. I think an open blog like this might be very useful for scheduling, posting progress reports/status reports on lab and field days, and compiling relevant papers/other media (like pictures). We can also use this as an informal lab/field notebook to keep one another informed.
In the vein of organization I'm also in favor of creating specific positions within our group. A group and project this large is going to require some specialization if we're to get anything done in a timely manner. I suggest that we designate someone to be in charge of;
- scheduling and running the lab end of sample processing (this includes ensuring there are at least two people to run a sample)
- someone responsible for maintaining lab standards(double checking lab notebook, addressing issues etc)and compiling data points (this one is a "numbers person" job, for someone who enjoys diligence :P)
- someone responsible for scheduling and running sample collections (this job could be split into open water vs. streams),
- someone responsible for compiling written documents (proposals, abstracts etc) and ensuring they're submitted on time.
The purpose of these positions would not be to pigeon-hole any one person into a single role, but rather to ensure all this shit gets done...so if you're scheduling and running sample processing its your job to badger people into showing up and doing it, if your job is making sure the proposals/abstracts/posters/whatever are written up and ready to go then its your job to badger people into contributing what you need to make sure they're on time, if its your job to maintain lab standards and compile data points (into graphs etc) its your job to badger people about sloppy notebook entries and ensure that graphs and figures in posters/papers are accurate and represent the data clearly...etc etc etc.
Anyway, thats my vision for the rest of our year - let me know what ya'll think.
I've been wrestling with how to better coordinate our group. I think an open blog like this might be very useful for scheduling, posting progress reports/status reports on lab and field days, and compiling relevant papers/other media (like pictures). We can also use this as an informal lab/field notebook to keep one another informed.
In the vein of organization I'm also in favor of creating specific positions within our group. A group and project this large is going to require some specialization if we're to get anything done in a timely manner. I suggest that we designate someone to be in charge of;
- scheduling and running the lab end of sample processing (this includes ensuring there are at least two people to run a sample)
- someone responsible for maintaining lab standards(double checking lab notebook, addressing issues etc)and compiling data points (this one is a "numbers person" job, for someone who enjoys diligence :P)
- someone responsible for scheduling and running sample collections (this job could be split into open water vs. streams),
- someone responsible for compiling written documents (proposals, abstracts etc) and ensuring they're submitted on time.
The purpose of these positions would not be to pigeon-hole any one person into a single role, but rather to ensure all this shit gets done...so if you're scheduling and running sample processing its your job to badger people into showing up and doing it, if your job is making sure the proposals/abstracts/posters/whatever are written up and ready to go then its your job to badger people into contributing what you need to make sure they're on time, if its your job to maintain lab standards and compile data points (into graphs etc) its your job to badger people about sloppy notebook entries and ensure that graphs and figures in posters/papers are accurate and represent the data clearly...etc etc etc.
Anyway, thats my vision for the rest of our year - let me know what ya'll think.
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