SMoCS 2013 projects

The 2013 SMoCS (Science and Management of Contaminated Sites) classes are now complete.  The final projects were quite impressive.  They included a modeling project of PCB accumulation in mussels, a lab based experiment investigating the relationship between odor and toxicity in groundwater samples, a documentary on MTCA (Model Toxics Cleanup Act) and public participation, a documentary on a cleanup in Washington State, and a comic book on MTCA.

The links to the two documentaries are here:

MTCA and Public Participation

The Skykomish Cleanup

And here is the comic book:
The People Take a Stand Against Contaminon!

Let me know what you think - especially the comic book.  We're interested in how this format works as a way to communicate complex scientific and regulatory information.  Thanks!

 

New Wikipedia articles from Aquatic Toxicology class

The 2013 class projects in Aquatic Toxicology resulted in new contributions to Wikipedia, including:

Fish Acute Toxicity Syndrome (FATS)

Modes of Toxic Action

Pre-spawn mortality in Coho salmon

Tissue Residue

Toxicodynamics

Biosensor with your iPhone

My first thought was that it is indeed a Brave New World when I read about this new app and attachment that can turn an iPhone into a spectrophotometer.  That thought was quickly replaced by how cool this will be for Citizen Scientists, for me in the classroom, and for really tough field conditions (like my work in Peru last summer where I would have loved to use this).