Allegheny News and Events

Endowed Prize Established at Allegheny College to Address Environmental Challenges

Many environmentalists believe that climate issues are the biggest challenges facing world leaders today, and in particular they see the availability of potable water as a major source of future concern for many nations.

“Water will most likely become the new gold,” says Henry “Bing” Ewalt, a 1962 Allegheny graduate who majored in political science. “Many won’t be able to afford water and others won’t be able to get it no matter how much they might have to spend. While we won’t be here to act on such issues, we do firmly believe that future generations of environmental leaders educated at Allegheny will be prepared to make intelligent decisions, which will address the then-current issues in reasonable ways.”

As a way to help provide incentives to solve environmental problems, Ewalt and his wife, Mary, have created the Allegheny College Environmental Prize with an endowment of $100,000. The endowment also provides support for students pursuing internships, known as Ewalt Environment Scholars.

The Ewalts were considering bestowing the endowment elsewhere, but then learned that the Allegheny Environmental Science Program was the No. 2-rated program in the nation in 2015 by environmentalscience.org. “We concluded for a number of reasons that the gift would have more of an impact at Allegheny,” says Mary Ewalt. “People have a desire to be a part of, or associate with, winners and will spend to do so.”

The recipient of the prize created by the endowment will be chosen by a committee of Allegheny faculty and staff. The winner of the prize, to be awarded annually or biennially, will be brought to campus to interact with classes, deliver lectures, and have meetings individually with students interested in environmental issues. That person will have created an original environmental contribution and preferably excel in an area of research pertaining to water, hydro-geology, hydrology or environmental geology, according to the endowment terms.

“The intent of the Allegheny Environmental Prize is to focus and motivate students, potential students, faculty, the whole Allegheny family, and the public to seek creative solutions to ever-challenging environmental issues,” says Bing Ewalt. “The publicity to be generated by the prize is also intended to spread Allegheny’s excellent reputation.”

Terrence Bensel, associate provost and director of the Allegheny Gateway, says: “For almost 10 years, Allegheny has had a lot of success bringing experts and practitioners in many fields to campus for short durations. Many of these individuals have taught a three- or four-day, intensive short course on their subject of expertise with profound and lasting impacts on our students. The Allegheny College Environmental Prize from the Ewalts will ensure that we have the opportunity to continue to do that with a specific focus on critical issues related to water and sustainability.

“Issues of water supply and quality are both a significant environmental challenge of our time as well as an area that many of our students are interested in learning about and pursuing careers in. As such, the Ewalts’ prize could not have come at a better time, and we are very appreciative of their generosity,” Bensel says.

The Ewalts, who split their time between living in Pennsylvania and New Mexico, focus their charitable giving in three areas: 1) Environmental challenges and education “because it’s critical to the health of the planet and the welfare of all people,” Mary says; 2) Medical services for those who can’t afford them, “including refugees,” she says. “Without physical health, people can’t thrive and survive”; 3) Education, especially early childhood education. “We can attempt to benefit the world long after we leave it,” she adds.

“Usually we become aware of an organization doing good work in one of our areas of interest. Then we make a judgment as to whether the organization can make an impact with the limited funds we have to contribute,” says Bing Ewalt. “This, most importantly, involves determining how much of the gift hits the front lines of the need. Allegheny was attractive to us because of its long track record of escalating excellence and that none of our gift is ever used for ‘administrative costs.’”

Bing Ewalt is a retired lawyer who earned his law degree at the University of Michigan. He also is a decorated U.S. Army veteran, having been awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Mary is a retired teacher and business manager. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rice University and her master’s degree from Northwestern University. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny Senior Awarded Grant for Environmental Research

Allegheny College senior Alexandrea Rice has been awarded a Davey Foundation Annual Arbor Grant for her work in eco-friendly research. Rice is an environmental science major, with a focus in forest and soil science, and a geology minor.

“The award is a testament to Alex’s work as an undergraduate in (Professor) Rich Bowden’s lab on a green-industry approach to forestry and arboriculture,” says Scott Wissinger, chair of Allegheny’s Environmental Science Department.

The Davey Tree Expert Co. provides the grants yearly to about 50 college-enrolled students who focus on forestry, agriculture or another green industry. Over the past 25 years, the Davey Foundation has provided more than $500,000 of support to students for their academic work.

Rice says the $1,000 grant has allowed her to be more focused on her studies without having to take time away for a job. She is currently developing her senior comprehensive project, which investigates how acid rain affects soil’s ability to retain important forest nutrients. Bowden, her advisor, says Rice has been highly independent, praising how she “has been industrious in gathering her field soil samples and performing soil extractions.”

Rice has participated in projects outside of Allegheny as well, such as spending a semester at the Ecosystems Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and working as a research assistant in Alaska in the summer of 2016. She also has worked on an independent research project looking into changes in fungal communities in response to nitrogen deposition, both at the Harvard Forest and Allegheny’s Bousson Experimental Forest.

“She is passionate about forest ecosystems and has always been among the first to volunteer for fieldwork related to our climate-change studies,” Bowden says. “She brings an inquisitive personality blended with a delightful confidence, sincere humility and spunk.”

After graduation, Rice plans to attend graduate school. But she hopes first to spend the summer of 2017 conducting climate-change research on the effects of permafrost thaw on ecosystem nutrient cycling.

“Out of all the good that a person can do, I think the most a person can contribute is to the knowledge and understanding of the planet so that we can enact ways of prolonging its life,” says Rice, a Pittsburgh resident. “I am in this industry and science not just because I enjoy being outside in the forest, but because I want to educate the world about the importance and critical role that forests play in our lives. By protecting them we are providing a future for our children to grow from.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny Senior Awarded Grant for Environmental Research

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Allegheny College senior Alexandrea Rice has been awarded a Davey Foundation Annual Arbor Grant for her work in eco-friendly research. Rice is an environmental science major, with a focus in forest and soil science, and a geology minor.

“The award is a testament to Alex’s work as an undergraduate in (Professor) Rich Bowden’s lab on a green-industry approach to forestry and arboriculture,” says Scott Wissinger, chair of Allegheny’s Environmental Science Department.

The Davey Tree Expert Co. provides the grants yearly to about 50 college-enrolled students who focus on forestry, agriculture or another green industry. Over the past 25 years, the Davey Foundation has provided more than $500,000 of support to students for their academic work.

Rice says the $1,000 grant has allowed her to be more focused on her studies without having to take time away for a job. She is currently developing her senior comprehensive project, which investigates how acid rain affects soil’s ability to retain important forest nutrients. Bowden, her advisor, says Rice has been highly independent, praising how she “has been industrious in gathering her field soil samples and performing soil extractions.”

Rice has participated in projects outside of Allegheny as well, such as spending a semester at the Ecosystems Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and working as a research assistant in Alaska in the summer of 2016. She also has worked on an independent research project looking into changes in fungal communities in response to nitrogen deposition, both at the Harvard Forest and Allegheny’s Bousson Experimental Forest.

“She is passionate about forest ecosystems and has always been among the first to volunteer for fieldwork related to our climate-change studies,” Bowden says. “She brings an inquisitive personality blended with a delightful confidence, sincere humility and spunk.”

After graduation, Rice plans to attend graduate school. But she hopes first to spend the summer of 2017 conducting climate-change research on the effects of permafrost thaw on ecosystem nutrient cycling.

“Out of all the good that a person can do, I think the most a person can contribute is to the knowledge and understanding of the planet so that we can enact ways of prolonging its life,” says Rice, a Pittsburgh resident. “I am in this industry and science not just because I enjoy being outside in the forest, but because I want to educate the world about the importance and critical role that forests play in our lives. By protecting them we are providing a future for our children to grow from.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Senior project research leads to published paper

Mark Kirk ’11, Scott Wissinger, Brandon Goeller ’10, and Leslie Rieck ’09 of the Biology and Environmental Science Departments recently published an article titled “Covarying Impacts of Land Use and Non-native Brown Trout on Fish Communities in Small Streams” in the journal Freshwater Biology. The paper is based on research conducted through senior projects funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Federation. Kirk (lead author) is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in fisheries at the University of Wyoming, Goeller is pursuing a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology at the University of Canterbury, NZ, and Rieck is completing her Ph.D. in fisheries at Ohio State University.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Senior project research leads to published paper

Mark Kirk ’11, Scott Wissinger, Brandon Goeller ’10, and Leslie Rieck ’09 of the Biology and Environmental Science Departments recently published an article titled “Covarying Impacts of Land Use and Non-native Brown Trout on Fish Communities in Small Streams” in the journal Freshwater Biology. The paper is based on research conducted through senior projects funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Federation. Kirk (lead author) is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in fisheries at the University of Wyoming, Goeller is pursuing a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology at the University of Canterbury, NZ, and Rieck is completing her Ph.D. in fisheries at Ohio State University.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Journal features work of Environmental Science professors, sustainability coordinator

Campus Sustainability Coordinator Kelly Boulton; Eric Pallant, the Christine Scott Nelson Professor of Environmental Sustainability; Beth Choate and Ian Carbone, assistant professors of Environmental Science; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Casey Wilson published an article in the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, “Energy challenges: isolating results due to behavior change.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Journal features work of Environmental Science professors, sustainability coordinator

Campus Sustainability Coordinator Kelly Boulton; Eric Pallant, the Christine Scott Nelson Professor of Environmental Sustainability; Beth Choate and Ian Carbone, assistant professors of Environmental Science; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Casey Wilson published an article in the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, “Energy challenges: isolating results due to behavior change.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny College Awarded $37,500 Grant to Heat, Power Greenhouse

Allegheny College has been awarded a $37,500 grant to power and heat a small-scale greenhouse using energy that would otherwise be wasted.

The E 2 Energy to Educate grant from Constellation, an Exelon company, is part of $380,000 the company awarded to 17 projects reaching more than 35,000 students, grade six through college, in 10 states. Grant funds support projects “designed to enhance students’ understanding of science and technology, and inspire them to think differently about energy.”

“The financial and institutional support provided by one of the leading energy companies in the United States will allow the environmental science department to construct a cutting-edge greenhouse at the vital juncture of sustainable energy and sustainable agriculture,” said Eric Pallant, the Christine Scott Nelson Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Allegheny College.

The greenhouse, to be built in the middle of Allegheny’s Carr Hall garden, will use innovative heating and photovoltaic systems to maintain a microclimate within the greenhouse for year-round food production, said Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Ian Carbone. The roof of the greenhouse will be composed of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), a novel photovoltaic technology that can generate electricity from “wasted” light. The panels capture and convert unusable wavelengths into electricity while allowing photosynthetically active light to reach the plants below. Waste vegetable oil recovered from campus dining facilities will power a heating system.

Students will be able to monitor and assess energy consumption in a state-of- the-art facility that will benefit the campus and community at large.

“The greenhouse will not only extend the growing season, helping meet campus food needs, but also teach thousands of students, visitors and community members about energy resources derived from recoverable waste,” said Kelly Boulton, the college’s sustainability coordinator.

Construction of the greenhouse is slated to start in May.

Since its inception in 2010, Constellation’s Energy to Educate grants program has provided more than $2.6 million in funding for 85 student projects that have enhanced the understanding of energy-related science and technology issues.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny College Awarded $37,500 Grant to Heat, Power Greenhouse

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Allegheny College has been awarded a $37,500 grant to power and heat a small-scale greenhouse using energy that would otherwise be wasted.
The E 2 Energy to Educate grant from Constellation, an Exelon company, is part of $380,000 the company awarded to 17 projects reaching more than 35,000 students, grade six through college, in 10 states. Grant funds support projects “designed to enhance students’ understanding of science and technology, and inspire them to think differently about energy.”
“The financial and institutional support provided by one of the leading energy companies in the United States will allow the environmental science department to construct a cutting-edge greenhouse at the vital juncture of sustainable energy and sustainable agriculture,” said Eric Pallant, the Christine Scott Nelson Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Allegheny College.

The greenhouse, to be built in the middle of Allegheny’s Carr Hall garden, will use innovative heating and photovoltaic systems to maintain a microclimate within the greenhouse for year-round food production, said Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Ian Carbone. The roof of the greenhouse will be composed of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), a novel photovoltaic technology that can generate electricity from “wasted” light. The panels capture and convert unusable wavelengths into electricity while allowing photosynthetically active light to reach the plants below. Waste vegetable oil recovered from campus dining facilities will power a heating system.
Students will be able to monitor and assess energy consumption in a state-of- the-art facility that will benefit the campus and community at large.
“The greenhouse will not only extend the growing season, helping meet campus food needs, but also teach thousands of students, visitors and community members about energy resources derived from recoverable waste,” said Kelly Boulton, the college’s sustainability coordinator.
Construction of the greenhouse is slated to start in May.
Since its inception in 2010, Constellation’s Energy to Educate grants program has provided more than $2.6 million in funding for 85 student projects that have enhanced the understanding of energy-related science and technology issues.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Environmental science, biology students and faculty present research

The following students and faculty in the Environmental Science and Biology departments presented research talks at the 12th annual Regional Science Consortium Research Symposium, Nov. 2-6, at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie.

  • Erica Moretti and Beth ChoateWild bee assemblages along a land-use gradient
  • Paige Hickman and Beth Choate – Investigating the effect of floral diversity on native bees in Meadville, PA
  • Zachary Gribik and Kristen Webb Developing an eDNA system to detect and monitor the spread of the invasive round goby in the waterways of Northwestern Pennsylvania
  • Hannah Eiseman, Allyson Wood, Casey Bradshaw-Wilson, Determining presence and effects of round gobies in the French Creek Watershed on native benthic fishes.
  • Liana Leja and Scott WissingerSeparate vs. combined effects of snails, tadpoles, and caddisflies on detritus decomposition in montane kettle ponds.
  • Liana Leja was awarded the best student talk at the symposium from among students from Mercyhurst, Gannon, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Main campus, SUNY Fredonia, Slippery Rock, and Grove City.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research