Under the guidance of Dr. Duke Ophori, Odera aims to progress PFAS research in the United States. This grant recognizes Odera as one of only four exceptional graduate students across the state whose innovative research ideas have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of critical drinking water issues facing New Jersey and beyond.

Requirements for Anchor QEA Scholarship

• An inclusive mindset and the belief that everyone’s unique perspective deserves to be heard
• A commitment to giving back to their community and the environment
• Full-time student status (current or soon-to-be) at a school in the United States
• A demonstrated financial need
• A passion for engineering, environmental sciences, planning and restoration, technology and innovation, or a related technical field

Odera’s captivating presentation on the statewide occurrence and spatial distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Jersey groundwater systems under the supervision of Dr. Duke Ophori left a lasting impression on the judges and his fellow participants. Odera is diligently pursuing cutting-edge research on the silent invasion of PFAS into groundwater systems. His work is driven by a passion for developing sustainable solutions to the challenges posed by PFAS in New Jersey ground- and drinking water systems. The recognition bestowed upon him by the NJWEA is a testament to his exceptional abilities as a researcher and his unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the field of water resources management.

The Knauss fellowship is a one-year paid opportunity for current and recent graduates from advanced degree programs to apply their scientific knowledge and experiences to lasting careers in the sciences, policy, and public administration.

I am exceedingly grateful to Dr. Feng and Dr. Schuler for their strong recommendation letters and guidance for the fellowship application process. They, together with Dr. Chopping also supported my successful application and selection for the Environmental Defense Climate Corp Fellowship earlier this year.

Under the guidance of Professor Yang Deng (Department of Earth and Environmental Studies), Qiufeng is actively engaged in exploring innovative water reuse technologies. Her research primarily focuses on enhancing the sustainability and resilience of water supply systems in response to climate change. Her work contributes to advancing water management practices, addressing critical issues in the environmental field, and promoting a more sustainable water future.

Hermann Bermúdez will present evidence of this “mega-earthquake” at the upcoming GSA Connects meeting in Denver this Sunday, 9 October through the presentation, The Chicxulub Mega-Earthquake: Evidence from Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. Earlier this year, with support from a GSA Graduate Student Research Grant, Bermúdez visited outcrops of the infamous Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event boundary in Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi to collect data, supplementing his previous work in Colombia and Mexico documenting evidence of the catastrophic impact.

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Established in 1981,  is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of land and water resources through the empowerment of individuals and communities. For 38 years, the organization has awarded scholarships to residents of New Jersey who are pursuing degrees in environmental studies and who hope to have careers protecting our natural resources.

Victoria Hojnacki, a sedimentologist and doctoral student in the Environmental Science and Management program at �鶹��ý����, is one of 52 international scientists selected by the  (IODP) to sail on a deep-sea drilling vessel that will explore how physical, chemical and biological changes to the ocean crust can both record and influence long-term changes in ocean and planetary conditions.

The IODP’s South Atlantic Transect scientific drilling project comprises two expeditions that will investigate the western flank of the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Cape Town, South Africa, between April 7 and June 7, and June 7 to August 7, respectively.

The expeditions will recover deep geologic core samples from six sites on 7-, 15-, 31-, 49-, and 61-million-year-old ocean crust that formed on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and have been transported progressively west as a result of seafloor spreading from the mid-ocean ridge.

The goal of this effort is to investigate the history of hydrothermal interactions between the cooling ocean crust and the overlying ocean, the presence, diversity and activities of microbial communities that live deep beneath the seafloor, and recover sediment records of climate change and ocean circulation patterns in the Atlantic Ocean.

An expedition of this nature is not something I thought I would have the opportunity to participate in while still in graduate school, so it’s special and I am thankful for the support from �鶹��ý����. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to meet and work with all the other scientists sailing on this expedition.

Read the full article on the University Press Room

Participation in this IODP expedition will allow Victoria to expand her research skills and to work collaboratively with an international team of scientists.