Eastern Student Alexander Fazzino of Bolton Participates in Environmental Earth Science Undergraduate Research Project

2015 Oct 8

Undergraduate research and creative activities at Eastern Connecticut State University provide opportunities for students to work closely with faculty mentors on research or creative work. Projects are aligned with the mentor's expertise and designed to expose students to professional activities within a chosen field.

Alexander Fazzino '18 of Bolton recently participated in an undergraduate research project with Professor Stephen Nathan. Fazzino's major is Environmental Earth Science.

The project is titled "Hartford Basin Test Borings: A New Tool for Designing Better Geothermal Systems." The geothermal research project consisted of analyzing glacial deposits and bedrock samples from the Hartford Basin, an important geological resource located in Connecticut.

Retrieved samples are stored in a location in the greater Hartford area. The research consisted of identifying and retrieving suitable samples from the materials at the storage location, analyzing the samples in the laboratory and conducting computer modeling of the resulting data.

Fazzino said, "This internship allowed me to look further into my future and envision possible future job opportunities, which has helped motivate me to work harder in school."

Geochemical analyses were conducted at UMass Geosciences X-ray Fluorescence Laboratory at the Department of Geosciences at UMass Amherst. Fazzino traveled to UMass to assist with this process.

It is hoped the modeled data will help better predict the thermal conductivity of the materials for the design of more efficient geothermal systems. Another goal is to determine whether the samples can serve as equivalent substitutes for those studied by the Massachusetts Geological Survey, a project on which Professor Nathan collaborated.

The participating students will continue their summer research with independent studies. They may also have the opportunity to present their research at two research conferences during the upcoming year.

"Through our study of our rock samples, we may have made a discovery that would change how textbooks document a certain event that took place in Connecticut, which I think is really cool. It showed me that I have the ability to contribute to society and that has really stuck with me. As of now I would like to attend graduate school to study ocean technologies as a source of renewable energy," added Fazzino.