Sponsored by Smithfield, VCU Life Sciences Education and Outreach hosted Charles City Middle School 6th graders for World Water Monitoring Day™ on Sept. 18, 2009.

WWMD is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world, by engaging citizens in conducting basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Test kits were provided by Smithfield and students measured the dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and temperature of the James River from the Rice Center Research Pier. Two VCU Ph.D. students, an undergraduate student and two Smithfield employees participated and helped direct the student groups.

The findings were added to an international database of water quality measurements from more than 70 countries.

Learn more about WWMD

Posted by Rob Downs at 9:00 AM | Permalink

Michael Brandt, a graduate student in the VCU Center for Environmental Studies was one of three award winners in a “Best Student Presentation Competition” at the Virginia Water Research Conference held October 15 and 16, 2009. The conference attracted 140 water scientists and managers and 75 oral and poster presentations.

Brandt’s presentation was titled, “Factors Limiting Benthic Algal Abundance in Virginia Streams of the Coastal Plain.”

>> View the presentation [PowerPoint]

Posted by Rob Downs at 8:24 AM | Permalink