ea56@dana.ucc.nau.edu

Undergraduate Mentoring

in

Environmental Biology

Where is the Nitrogen?

Pinyon Ecological Research Group http://www.mpcer.nau.edu/ug/perg_print.html

Academia
Northern Arizona University http://www.nau.edu/text/

Environmental Science Dept. http://www.envsci.nau.edu/

UMEB Homepage http://www.mpcer.nau.edu/umeb/index.html

Phoenix College http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/

Active Adventures

Botany Club Resources http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~plants-c/botlinks.shtml

Society of Environmental Communicators http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~sec-p/

UMEB Course Resources http://www2.nau.edu/~libei-p/libres/?libres=BIO499-1-20041

Endocrine Journal Club with ASU http://www.asu.edu/

Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County               928-556-0313

Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Homepage http://www.cherokee-nc.com/

Greetings,

My name is Elizabeth Allen and I am currently a senior studying Environmental Science with an emphasis in Biology at Northern Arizona University.  My family are members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation from Cherokee, North Carolina.  While I was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, I plan to return to our land one day to study the water quality of the native aquifers in the Great Smokey Mountains. 

Prior to attending NAU, I was awarded scholarships to play soccer at Phoenix College for two years while I completed my Associates of Arts Degree with Honors.  In addition to soccer, my hobbies include softball, traveling, hiking, botany, photography, writing, salsa dancing, rock collecting, and art.  Thanks to Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County,  I enjoy tutoring English to a brilliant learner from Columbia.   

This upcoming 2004 summer I hope to begin a research project with my mentor, Dr. Catherine Propper.  The impacts of humans on the Colorado Plateau will be researched by analyzing the effects of reclaimed wastewater on plants.

Thank you to the National Science Foundation, Northern Arizona University, the Environmental Science Department, and the Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology Program, summer research will be made possible for many undergraduate students.

Research Prospectus

To study the properties of reclaimed wastewater from the Wildcat Water Treatment Plant in Flagstaff, AZ, nitrogen fixating legumes will be grown and the symbiotic bacteria will be measured over a period of 10 week.  I believe it is very important to study the effects of reclaimed wastewater on the ability for plants to process nitrogen because it impacts their growth rates.  The symbiotic bacteria with the measurement of nitrogen, may be able to indicate how much the reclaimed wastewater is benefiting or disrupting local plant life on the Colorado Plateau.

Image from: http://www.naturaltreatmentsystem.org/nitrogen.html

Sedona in the Fall