AWRA NCRS Symposium 2025

AWRA-NCRS will give away three (3) awards and certificates to the poster competition winners

1. Anacostia River Pollutants Impact Biological Systems in Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Model

   • Abigail McDonald, Jonathan Barley, Sonora Robles, and Dr. Victoria Connaughton, American University, Washington, D.C.

2. Analyzing Presence of FoodNet Pathogens for Maryland Homeowners Relying on Septic Systems from 2010-2022

   • Cameron Smith and Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 

   • Emma DeAngeli, Penny Liao, and Margaret Walls, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.

   • Michelle M. Boyle, Maryland Department of Health, Emerging Infections Program, Baltimore, MD

   • Raul Cruz-Cano, Indiana University Bloomington School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Bloomington, IN

   • Allison Reilly, University of Maryland School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

3. Analyzing Reported Health Symptoms and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Homes Impacted by Sewage and Flooding Events: Is the water making people sick?

   • Claire M. Barlow, Riya Raikar, Brienna L. Anderson-Coughlin, Kathryn P Dixon, Nick An, and Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Priscila B. R. Alves, and Marccus D. Hendricks, Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab, School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

4. Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Factors of Staphylococcus isolated from Sanitary Sewer Overflow Events in Maryland

   • Brienna L. Anderson-Coughlin, Emily M.H. Woerner, Taeilorae Levell-Young, and Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Priscila B.R. Alves and Marccus D. Hendricks, Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab, School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Taylor Smith-Hams and Alice Volpitta, Blue Water Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

   • Rita Crews, Belair-Edison Community Association, Baltimore, MD

   • Malika Brown, Cherry Hill Development Corporation, Baltimore, MD

5. Assessing Ecological Stewardship in the Nation’s Capital: Applying STEW-MAP in Washington, DC

   • Elizabeth Gearin, Assistant Professor, Urban Sustainability, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

   • Amanda Huron, Professor, Interdisciplinary Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

   • Tayor Furukawa, Program Evaluation and Assessment Specialist, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

   • Oskar Karos, BA Architecture Student, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

6. Challenges and Opportunities: Exploring the Internet of Things (IoT) Sensors for Monitoring Stormwater Dynamics at Three Urbanized Campus Catchments in College Park, MD

   • Qianyao Si, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Reni Kaza, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Benjamin Walsh, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Priscila B R Alves and Marccus D Hendricks, SIRJ Lab, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

7. Community-Driven Rapid Response to Sanitary Sewer Overflows: A Model for Outreach and Recruitment in Marginalized Urban Communities

   • Shachar Gazit-Rosenthal, Sofia Santos, Brienna L. Anderson-Coughlin, Claire M. Barlow, Kathryn P Dixon, Nick An, and Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

   • Priscila B.R. Alves, Maeghen Goode, and Marccus D. Hendricks, Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab, School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

8. Empowering Rural, Small, and Tribal Communities for Sustainable Wastewater Management and Clean Water Access

   • Bashir Talulder, Xin Zhou, Samuel Kimani, James Hunter, Dong Hee Kang, and Zhuping Sheng, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD

9. Evaluation of Microbial Quality and Total Dissolved Solids in Harvested Rainwater and Municipal Water Used for Crop Irrigation.

   • Jalen Robinson, Emily M. H. Woerner, Brienna Anderson-Coughlin, Claire M. Barlow, Kathryn Dixon, Nick An, Alexander Choiniere, Hana Asrat Fisaha, and Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, College Park, MD

   • Donald Murphy and Guy Kilpatric, University of Maryland, Upper Marlboro Facility, Upper Marlboro, MD

   • Richard Francis and Tiara Matthews, Plantation Park Height Urban Farm, Baltimore, MD

   • Alan Gutierrez, Adib Adnan, Cheryl East, and Manan Sharma, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Northeast Area, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Environmental Microbiology and Food Safety Laboratory, Beltsville, MD

   • Kevin Tarwa, Rohan Tikekar, University of Maryland, Nutrition and Food Science, College Park, MD

   • Claire Hudson, Diksha Klair, and Shirley Micallef, University of Maryland, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, College Park, MD

10. From Colonialism to Climate Change: The Maasai’s Struggles for Equality

    • Tyron Grant, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

11. Hybrid approach of Adaptation Solutions for Coastal Flood Resilience in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay using different future conditions

    • Diana Veronez , Andre de S. de Lima, Tyler Miesse, Bahman Moghaddame-Jafari, and Celso M. Ferreira, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

    • Zeeshan Khalid, College of Engineering and Computing, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

12. Impacts of Sanitary Sewage Overflows and Basement Backups on Mental Health: The Case of Baltimore, MD

    • Maeghen Goode, John Junior Abu, Priscila B. R. Alves, and Marccus D. Hendricks, Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab, School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

    • Nick An and Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

13. Investigating PFAS Contamination in the Environment and Remediation Techniques: A Comprehensive Study on Prevalence and Remediation Techniques

    • Emily Goldburg, Graduate Research Assistant, PSM in Water Resources Management, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

    • Sania Rose and Sebhat Tefera, Project Specialists, Water Resources Research Institute, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

    • Tolessa Deksissa, Director of Water Resources Research Institute and Professional Science Master’s Program (PSM), College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

14. Lead Contamination in Drinking Water and the need for Comprehensive Mitigation Strategies

    • Roxane Chidlaw, Graduate Research Assistant, PSM in Water Resources Management, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

    • Sania Rose and Sebhat Tefera, Project Specialists, Water Resources Research Institute, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

    • Tolessa Deksissa, Director of Water Resources Research Institute and Professional Science Master’s Program (PSM), College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

15. Leveraging NASA SWOT altimetry observation to improve coastal storm surge model

    • Soelem Aafnan Bhuiyan, Viviana Maggioni, Celso Ferreira, Andre De Souza De Lima, and Tyler Miesse, Department of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

16. Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics in River Sediments within the Washington, DC Area

    • Barbara Balestra, Lauren Gygax, Hayes Johnston, Sydney Moss, and Jonathan Craig, Department of Environmental Science, American University, Washington, D.C.

    • Andrea Brothers, Department of Chemistry, American University, Washington, D.C.

17. Reducing Flood Risks Through Wetland Conversion in Belle Haven - Fairfax County

    • Rafael Bendo Paulino, Thiago Augusto Neiva de Lima, Andre de Souza de Lima, Tyler Miesse, and Celso Ferreira, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

18. Spatial Analysis of Publicly Reported and Field-Confirmed Sanitary Sewer Overflows from Baltimore, MD

    • Nick An, Raisa Haq, and Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

    • Priscila B. R. Alves and Marccus D. Hendricks, Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab, School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

19. Supporting Rural, Small, and Tribal Wastewater Treatment Systems: Enhancing Compliance, Resilience, and Public Health

    • Md. Nashir Uddin, Xin Zhou, Samuel Kimani, James Hunter, Dong Hee Kang, and Zhuping Sheng, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD

20. Transportation Infrastructure and Water Resource Management: Lessons from Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA)

    • Bassan Nondohou, Graduate Student, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

21. Using a Crop Model for Studying Water and Vegetation Variables in a Vineyard

    • Janani Kandasamy, Viviana Maggioni, Christian Massari, Paolo Benettin, Daniele Penna, Lorenzo Brilli, and Marco Moriondo, Graduate Students, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

22. Urban Stream Restoration in Melvin Hazen Valley: Insights into Challenges and Solutions

    • Bassan Nondohou, Momodu Munu, Emily Goldburg, and Christopher Iweriebor, Graduate Students, PSM in Water Resources Management, College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

    • Tolessa Deksissa, Director of Water Resources Research Institute and Professional Science Master’s Program (PSM), College of Agriculture and Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

23. Urban Stream Syndrome in the Anacostia: Elevated Cations and Emerging Synthetics of Concern

    • Stephen E. MacAvoy, Associate Professor of Environmental Science Department, American University, Washington, D.C.

    • Daniel Punales and Margaret Golembiewski, Graduate Students, Environmental Science Department, American University, Washington, D.C.