Senior Seminars
As of 2017-18 the Environmental Studies Program will no longer have Senior Seminars. Instead, EV Seniors will present orally at our annual EV Day if they choose. Presenting orally at EV Day is one of the requirements for our seniors to gain Distinction at graduation.
2016-2017
Senior Seminars will be held in Block 5-7. Each Block the oral presentations will be held in the Tutt Science Building room 122 beginning at 3:00PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held in Blocks 6-7. Each Block the oral presentations will be held in the Tutt Science Building room 122 beginning at 3:30PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held Blocks 3-7. Each Block the oral presentations will be held in the Tutt Science Building room 122 beginning at 3:30PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held Blocks 3-7. Each Block the oral presentations will be held in the Tutt Science Building room 122 beginning at 3:00PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held Blocks 4 - 7. Each Block the oral presentations will be held in the Tutt Science Building room 122 from 3:00-5:00PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held Blocks 2, and 4-7, with the final presentations on EV Day in Block 8. Each Block the oral presentations will be held on the second Wednesday or Thursday from 3:00-5:00PM. Following is a list of presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars will be held Blocks 4-7, with the final presentations on EV Day in Block 8. Each Block the oral presentations will be held on the second Thursday from 3:00-5:00PM. Following is a list of the presenters for each session, with the title of their presentation (as it becomes available).
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
Senior Seminars for this year will be accomplished by an EV Day, currently scheduled for the first Saturday of Block 8, April 24, from 9:00AM to approximately noon. EV Day will provide students with a new forum for sharing thesis work, capstone research projects and independent studies through posters and/or oral presentations with their fellow students and interested faculty and staff. Exceptions to this procedure will include any seniors who will only be on campus during the first semester, who will give their senior seminar prior to Block 5. These are listed below:
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
Senior Seminars for this year will be accomplished by an EV Day, currently scheduled for the first Saturday of Block 8, April 25, from 9:00AM to approximately noon. EV Day will provide students with a new forum for sharing thesis work, capstone research projects and independent studies through posters and/or oral presentations with their fellow students and interested faculty and staff. Exceptions to this procedure will include any seniors who will only be on campus during the first semester, who will give their senior seminar prior to Block 5. These are listed below:
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"
Senior
Seminars
for
2007-2008
The
Enviromental
Program
hosts
a
seminar
series
for
our
seniors
to
present
their
senior
research.
This
is
a
listing
of
the
Senior
Seminars
which
will
be
presented
by
the
Class
of
2008,
Environmental
Science.
Each
session
will
be
held
the
first
Thursday
of
the
Block,
at
3:00PM
in
Tutt
Science
Building
Room
122.
Titles
will
be
added
as
students
make
them
available.
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"