Eastern Student Joel Hara of Hebron Participates in Undergraduate Research Project

2015 Oct 9

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.

Environmental Earth Science major Joel Hara '16 of Hebron recently participated in an undergraduate research project with Professor Meredith Metcalf.

In cooperation with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Geological Survey and the Department of Public Health, groundwater from 100 well-distributed bedrock wells and dug wells in the town of Lebanon was sampled and tested during the summer of 2014. The samples and tests exemplify the hydrogeologic conditions of many New England states. The results from these efforts provided valuable information regarding the water quality of the area.

The summer 2015 undergraduate research involves analyzing the water quality results from the summer of 2014, in addition to historical water quality reports and well-completion report information (both dating to the early 1970's) through the use of geographic information systems (GIS).