EV Day Thesis Presentations
2021-2022
Sara Dixon: "Mapping the Risk: Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal Aquifers to Tsunami-Induced Saltwater Intrusion in Maui, Hawaii"
Ryan Freedman: "Developing an Accessible, On-site, Open-Source Water Sensor for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Contaminants Using Closed-Cell Bipolar Electrodes"
Tova Salzinger: "Historical Residential Segregation and Air Pollution: An Analysis of Environmental Injustice in Colorado Springs"
Tiantian Zhu: "Summertime Ozone Behavior along a Vertical Transect near the Denver, Colorado Metropolitan Area"
Schuyler Luthy: "Ecological Linguistics for American Rights of Nature Discourse Analysis: A Case Study of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights"
Arity Sherwood: "Dendrochronology on the Front Range: Urban and Rural Landscapes and their effect on Tree Growth in Colorado Springs, CO"
Clara Stein: "A New Phase of Urban Climate Action: The Emerging Intersection of Urban Greening and Housing Justice in the Rocky Mountain West"
Frannie Nelson: "Evaluating the Use of Remote Sensing for Land Cover Classification and Monitoring of a Shifting Ecosystem in South-Central Alaska"
Sophie Pelletier: "Affirming Indigenous Sovereignty: Limitations and Potential of the Bears Ears Model"
Kerren Matthews: "Impacts of Snow Distribution and Temperature Regimes on Seedlings in a Diffuse Treeline on Pikes Peak, CO"
AiLi Pigott: "Multi-scale Evaluation of Landscape Metrics Associated with Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) Habitat Use"
Natalie Cross, Haidee Sticpewich, and Sophie Nasvik: "Banded Vegetation Formation in Southeast Colorado"
2016-2017
Block 5: Thursday, 2/2/17
Lani Chang: "Spatial analysis of tree growth and distribution at an abrupt treeline on Pikes Peak"
Elizabeth Forster: "Conservation and Identity: How Anglo-American and Native American Relationships with the Environment Dictate Ownership and Management of Public Lands"
Block 6: Thursday, 3/2/17
Lea Linse: "Roots of Impasse: The Impact of Neoliberalism on Recovery Planning under the Endangered Species Act"
Emily Lucas: "The Environmental and Spiritual Significance of Oak Flat, an Apache Sacred Site"
Block 7: Thursday, 4/6/17
Caleb Cofsky: "Treeline Micrometeorology and how it is Affected by Airflow on Pike's Peak"
Patrick Jurney: "Examining the Impact of the Northward Migration of Yellow Cedar in Southeast Alaska on the Existing Biogeochemistry and Net Carbon Equilibrium"
Siqi Wei: "Does culture or development construct the way people think about and act on the environment"
Charlotte Cadow: "The Development of Inquiry Skills in Response to a 10 Week Environmental Education Program"
2015-2016
Block 6: Thursday, 2/25/16
Barrett Donovan: "Aspen (Populous tremuloides) Response to Thinning and Elk Exclosures"
Laurel Sebastian: "Community Interactions between Two Monkeyflowers and their Pollinators in Mt. Rainier National Park"
Rachel Sussman: "Size-Resolved Aerosol Composition near Rocky Mountain National Park"
Kyra Wolf: " Effects of wildfire on soil carbon bioavailability in forested ecosystems of the Colorado Rockies"
Block 7: Thursday, 3/31/16
Ben Criswell: "Salmon in the Status Quo"
Marissa Maurelli: "Neonicotinoids and their Effects on Pollinators"
Eric Neumeyer: "Unlocking an Abrupt Tree Line: A Synthesis of Micrometeorology and Vegetative Response"
Gabriella Palko: "Why animal agriculture must be controlled, and how to do it"
Meredith Parish: "A Micrometeorological Study of an Abrupt Treeline on Pike's Peak"
2014-2015
Block 3: Thursday, 10/30/14
Rayna Ben-Zeev: "The Vulnerability of California Amphibian Species to Climate Change"
Rachel Severson: "Pyruvic acid photolysis: Characterization of the secondary organic aerosol formed"
Audrey Wheeler: "Causes and consequences of alpine shrub expansion on Pikes Peak, Colorado"
Block 4: Thursday, 12/11/14
Erika Berglund: "Assessment of Phytoremediation in the Kerber Creek Watershed"
Rebecca Marks: "Vertical Growth of Trees at the Treeline of Pike's Peak"
Dylan Sondermann: "A micrometeorlogical study of tree line dynamics"
Block 5: Thursday, 1/22/15
Rebecca Lavietes: "Federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing: Fusing the fissure between energy and the environment"
Rebekah Barnett: "Electrified Reefs: Enhancing Growth in a Temperate Solitary Coral Species"
Emma Marshall: ""Microclimatology and tree-growth at the alpine treeline on Pikes Peak"
Kevin Moss: "Global Climate Change and National Park Service Management"
Block 6: Thursday, 2/19/15
Brooke Larsen: "Collaborative Conservation in the Contested Landscapes of Southern Utah"
Alec Sowers: "Green Roofs: Modeling the Economic Benefits for Architects and Developers"
Mallory Morgan: "Rethinking "Wild" and Reforming Policy: Facilitating Twenty-First Century Conservation Through the BLM's Wild Horse Program"
Betsie Hopper: "Terrestrial Hydrologic Response to Climate Change"
Block 7: Thursday, 4/2/15
Ross Sherman: "Effects of Wildfire on Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems"
Fiona Haslett: "How Can Formal Administrative Structures Enhance Sustainability in Liberal Arts Colleges?: A Case Study of Colorado College"
Sam Bray: "Nitrogen Dynamics in a Tidal Freshwater Zone"
2013-2014
Block 3: Thursday, 11/7/13
Christiana Shams: "Ecological Monitoring Informs Restoration and Regeneration Efforts in Mixed Conifer Forests of Colorado"
Emily Fish: "Life Cycle Assessment as an Effective Tool for Environmental Education"
Block 4: Thursday, 12/5/13
Zachary Bellows: "Water Quality in Bali: A Multiperspectival Approach"
Caitlin Armington: "A Qualitative Analysis of the LEED Potential of the Catamount Dorm"
Emily Guffin: "Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols in a Tropical Premontane Cloud Forest"
Block 5: Thursday, 1/30/14
Charlie Landsman: "Comparative Urban-Wildland Fire Policy: Australia and the U.S."
Sam Williams: "Conserving Biodiversity: A Qualitative Analysis of Federal Environmental Policies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem"
Block 6: Thursday, 2/17/14
Zane Randell: "Protected Areas, Ecosystems, and Poverty: An Analysis of the Effects of Ecosystem Services and Ecotourism on Quality of Life in Nicaragua"
Matt Zia: "Micrometeorological Feedbacks at Alpine Tree Line"
Lauren Hebert: "Spatial Distribution of Alpine Avens (Acomastylis rossii) Patches in the Pikes Peak Tundra"
Sarah-Emma Graham: "Atomkraft, Nein Danke: using social movements and the advocacy coalition framework to explain Germany's nuclear power policy after Fukushima"
Block 7: Thursday, 4/3/14
Johanna Jensen: "Pikes Peak's Freckles: Regular Pattern Formation of High Alpine Tundra Vegetation on Pike Peak, CO"
Alena Ede: "Tread Lightly: an Assessment of Researcher Trampling Impact on Understory Vegetation"
Eugene Tan: "Modelling the Potential Impacts of Climate Change: Making Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) Assess Risk More Scientifically"
Mollie Hayden: "Lessons from the Waldo Canyon Fire"
2012-2013
Block 4: Thursday, 12/6/12
Melanie Yemma: "Establishing Community Gardens for Long-Term Success in Colorado Springs"
Gracie Stallings: "Biopharming: A Look into the Policy and Science"
Block 5: Thursday, 1/31/13
Gabe Patterson: "Advanced liquid transportation fuel: improvements in enzymatic degradation of cellulosic biomass"
Margo Davis: "Long-term patterns of the diatom Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii in Narragansett Bay"
Nicolas Sander: "A technological, economic and policy comparison of Electric Vehicles and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles"
Block 6: Thursday, 2/28/13
Nicki Naylor: "The Climatic Effects of Tree Growth at Colorado's Tree Line"
Nicole Gillett: "Refocusing on the Local Aspects of Marine Resource Management: A Case Study of Two Marine Management Schemes and Their Impacts on Local Small-Scale Fisheries in Costa Rica"
Block 7: Thursday, 4/4/13
Chris Dickson: "Microclimatological Feedbacks at Treeline: Is Treeline Structure Modifying the Local Microclimate?"
Audrey Burns: "Navigating the Path to Water for Electricity Generation in the Colorado River Basin"
Andrew Hall: "Reconciling Institutional Levels of Water Governance and Management for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply"
2011-2012
Block 2: Ian Shiach, "Evaluating the Response of the Terrestrial Biosphere to Significant Drought"
Block 4:
Daniel Kidney: "Coccinellid Predation on Aphis Helianthi: Diffusive Instability and Pattern Formation in Predator-Prey Systems"
Christopher Lutz: "The Cruising Industry in the Caribbean"
Karen Ritland: "The Human Wildlife Interface in the Lake Manyara National Park Region of Tanzania"
Rebecca O'Brien: "The Ants Go Marching: A study of ant movement within and between yucca plants"
Block 5:
Sally Hardin: "An Analysis of Alternatives for Water Distribution Between Municipal and Agricultural Users on the Colorado River"
Kelsey Elwood: "Spatial patterns and distribution of an advancing treeline on Pikes Peak, CO"
Hilary Lempit: "A Comparison of Revegetation Methods for Montane Forest Burn Recovery, Pike National Forest, Colorado"
Block 6:
Allison Stewart: "A Comprehensive Study of the History and Future Sustainability of Colorado Land Trusts and Conservation Easements"
McKenzie Woolley: "The effects of Mining on Stream ecology in the Peruvian Andes"
Daniel Boyes: "Assessing the Impact of Mining on Water Quality in the Central Peruvian Andes"
Sebastian Tsocanos: "Tallgrass Prairie of Eastern Colorado: Change Since 1950"
Block 7:
Tiffany Calabaza: "Exercising Self-Determination by Engaging in Renewable Energy Technologies: Introducing Solar Water Pumping Systems to Kewa Pueblo"
Tim Weiss: "Methods for Distributing Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technology in Developing Nations: A Comparative Study"
Warren King: "The Law of the Colorado River Basin: A Flexible Foundation or a Rigid Relic"
Josh Anderson: "Micrometeorological Feedbacks at Treeline: Are the trees at the leading edge responsible for increased local temperatures?"
Block 8: (EV Day 5/4/12):
Meredith Stewart: "Examining the response of soil nutrients to mastication treatments in Colorado's Front Range ponderosa pine forests"
Shannon Morgan: "The German Experience in Promoting Photovoltaic Markets: A Cautionary Tale to the U.S."
Jonathan Harmon: "The Environmental Perspective: Metaphor and Empathy in Leopold's Land Ethic"
Sam Stewart: "Using Abiotic Diversity Indices to Assess Stream Geomorphology and Channel Habitat Along a Stream Restoration Gradient"
2010-2011
Block 4: Joel Minor, "Internalizing Environmental Costs through Severance Taxes: Using Sovereignty to Protect Tribal Natural Resources"
Block 5:
Paul Hawkins, "Epiphyte Control on Cacao (Theobroma cacao trees"
Jack Siddoway, "Variance of Organic Nitrogen in Arctic Tundra Soils: How the Future Landscape of the Arctic can be Predicted by Amino Acid Profiles"
Katherine Heal, "A Novel Method for Preconcentrating Marine Dissolved Organic Phosphorus: Laboratory Development and Application in the South Pacific"
Block 6:
Kyle Hemes, "Vegetation Phenology as a Constraint on Global Surface-Atmosphere Exchange: An evaluation of a prognostic phenology model"
Peter Kernan, "Harvesting Fallen Fruit: A Study on Improving the Efficiency and Impact of Building Energy Audits and Retrofits"
Maureen Botoman, "Social values and environmental actions: the role of environmental attitudes and socio-demographic variables on pro-environmental behaviors and political involvement"
Steven Getz, "Wind Energy Economics: Maximizing Potential in the United States"
Block 7:
Alexis Johnson, "Characteristics of microclimate impacting growth of Engelmann Spruce at treeline on Pikes Peak, Colorado"
Carol Earnest, "Treeline Dynamics on Pikes Peak, CO: Is the treeline moving and what is controlling the movement rate?"
Will Stauffer-Norris, "Fire, Water and Wilderness: Effects of wildfire severity on large woody debris in the Frank Church Wilderness, Idaho"
Molly Morman, "The Potential of Solar: Modeling the Exports of Oil and Solar Energy in the Middle East"
Block 8 (EV Day - April 30)
Jillian Gold, "In-stream processing of nitrogen in a severely polluted urban stream"
Keith Fritschie, "Assessing Multivariate Pathways with Structural Equation Modeling: The Fate of Streams in Disappearing Eastern Hemlock Forests"
Kendall DeLyser, "Seeing the Trees for the Forest: The Role of National Governments in Achieving Sustainable Forest Management"
2009-2010
Kendra Garner will be presenting on December 10, 2009 on "Population Dynamics of the Flammulated Owl"
Listed below are those seniors presenting their thesis at EV Day:
John Gioia: "Effects of local pine squirrel assemblage (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) on reproductive success of a population of breeding flammulated owls (Otus flammeolus) in a montane forest of central Colorado"
Hallie Harness: "Environmental Education through Film"
Summer Roberts: "Potention Feedback Mechanisms Operating Among Engelmann Spruce at Alpine Treeline on Pikes Peak, CO"
Alex Tom: "Coccinellid Spatial Foraging Behavior"
Katherine Riley: "Evaluation of the Environmental, Economic and Social Efficiency of Carbon Offset Projects"
Jessica Kortmeyer: "Nest site selection by secondary cavity-nesting species"
Molly Feiden: "The dynamics of treeline on Pikes Peak in possible response to recent climate change"
Matt Bernard: "Ethical Economics and Biogeochemical Perspectives on Forestry Management Practices Along the Front Range of Colorado"
2008-2009
Neva Jacobs will be presenting 11/13/08 on "Human health risks and backyard gardening: Heavy metal contamination in urban soils and edible plants"
Julianne Kellogg will be presenting 12/11/08 on "Agricultural Development in the Tea Industry of Darjeeling in Post-Green Revolution India: The Sanjukta Vikas Society"
2007-2008
BLOCK 4
Nicole Scommegna: "Biodiversity Loss in the Daintree Rainforest in Australia"
Eric Szabelski: "Water, Violence and the Apocalypse"
Melissa Pollack: "Growing Smart: Causes, Consequences and Solutions to America's Increasing Problem of Urban Sprawl"
Brittany Vogel: "Managing Uranium Mining in the US: The Application of Environmental Management Systems"
BLOCK 5
Simon Cataldo: "Residential Energy Efficiency and Home Energy Auditing as Environmentally and Economically Beneficial Practices"
Matt Gettleman: "The role of Urban Gardens in fighting hunger and building community"
Andrew Millar: "Coal...Fuel of the future?"
Liza McElroy: "The EPA's failure to regulate carbon dioxide and the resulting acceleration of global climate change"
BLOCK 6
Jess Walton: "The Effect of Roads on Vegetation and Wildlife Grazing in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania"
Liza Mitchell: "Reforestation and Conservation In Northern Thailand: A Comparison of Governmental and Local Initiatives"
Aubrey Urban: "Intrusion of Seawater into Fresh Water Aquifers: Current Approaches and Proposed Improvements in Los Angeles County"...
BLOCK 7
Chris Simons: "Vine to Wine: A Thermodynamic Analysis of Californian Pinot Noir Wine Production"
Emily Harrington: "Application of Environmental Management Strategies to the Pulp Industry"
Liz Kolbe: "Ethanol in Iowa: Causes and Effects, and How to Move Forward"
Sarah Mitnick: "A song is worth a thousand pictures: Reconnecting the mind with nature"
BLOCK 8
Gillian Bobier: "The Trials and Tribulations of Teaching Atmospheric Science to Young Children"
Megan Vasquez: "The Dirt on Shade Grown Coffee: The Effects of Biodiversity and Shade on Soil Quality of Coffee Farms in Costa Rica"
Liza Mitchell: "Reforestation and Conservation in Northern Thailand: A Comparison of Governmental and Local Initiatives"