Plants, ponds and kayaks are a few of the tools that Sophomore Sophia Donner uses in her Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship from the Nebraska Water Center this summer. Donner and a fellow BSE undergraduate student roam several Lincoln-area ponds each month to measure the effectiveness of floating plant platforms designed to mitigate algae growth in the waters.
“Most of the time, when people think of engineering projects or anything related to engineering, they think you're just constructing something new, right off the bat,” says Sophia Donner. “You're designing, you're reconstructing, you're making a whole new world. But a lot of engineering problems are dealing with what you have, like, right now, and keep working with it.”
“This research fellowship is a unique hands-on opportunity for underclassmen,” says Aaron Mittelstet, Associate professor with Biological Systems Engineering and Sophia’s mentor on this project. “Part of the mission is to train future water researchers to address water problems. The fact that Sophia just completed her freshman year and is working in hands-on research that has a great community benefit is a great learning and work experience.”
“Ever since I was a young kid, I've always liked more environmental work,” explains Donner. “Even doing research when I was younger. So, I kind of stumbled across the water quality section of engineering.”
“The focus of my research is to make sure that these floating wetlands that we have around Lincoln, Nebraska, are actually still doing what they were supposed to,” says Donner. “They're supposed to help lower the nitrogen and phosphorus in the water to help with algae problems. It’s more eco-friendly than just dumping a bunch of chemicals and trying to dig up all the algae yourself.”
A typical day saw Donner and her colleague visit their first pond starting at 8:30 am, pull their kayaks to the shore, and start to collect water samples around the rim of the pond. Multiple samples are taken in 4-5 different spots, meticulously labeled, and then on to the next pond. This is repeated at three other ponds across Lincoln. The samples are taken back to the lab. Not only are the chemical levels measured, but also the number and type of macroinvertebrates found, which helps determine if the water in the pond is providing a healthy environment.
Having this working research opportunity also has given Donner more confidence in her academic studies. “I've realized that I'm a lot more comfortable in handling labs and chemicals and dealing with lab safety as well,” says Donner. “It helps with time management overall, and especially with classes in the future. As well as further on, with more complicated labs that I'm expecting.”
