In this Issue...

ENV NOTESNew Environmental

Science Ph.D.Program Approved

The Board of Regents approved a new Ph.D. in EnvironmentalScience that will educate a generation of scientists, scholars andprofessionals who can address the most challengingenvironmental issues that face humanity by advancing scientificunderstanding of environmental health, environmental chemistryand toxicology, which are core specialty areas within thedepartment. In addition, the doctoral programwill strengthen theUniversity’s position as a national leader in environmental sciencegraduate and research programs. The program officially began inJanuary 2015. “Impactful research activities in the environmentaland health sciences must combine core research strengths withininterdisciplinary team structures to address environmentalproblems, protect public health, steward the environment andachieve sustainable practices,” said George Cobb, professor andchair of Environmental Science in Baylor’s College of Arts andSciences. “The research and graduate education enterprise withinthe department of Environmental Science has a well-establishedhistory of top-tier research and strong collaborative relationshipwith natural, physical, social and health science programs. Withthe addition of the Ph.D. program, the department’s outstandingfaculty, students and staffwill bepoised tohelp leadBaylor towardthe Carnegie Very High Research level that is paramount in ProFuturis, while boosting the collaborative research base andgenerating significant levels of external funding at theUniversity.”Over the next five years, Baylor anticipates an increase in doctoralproduction in the STEM (science, technology, engineering andmath) fields. In 2014, Baylor produced 28 Ph.D. graduates inSTEM fields. By 2019, the University expects that it will award 44STEM doctoral degrees.

Spring 2015

Dr. Thomas LovejoyVisits Baylor p.2

ENV Fall 2014 Alumni p.2

35th Annual SETACMeeting p.3

Brazos RiverGround Breaking p.3

Biodiesel FuelExperimentation p.4

EHS Spring Lecture Series p.4

Faculty Retreatin Granbury p.5

ENV Teaching AwardNominations p.5

ENV Student & herShepard Internship p.6

ENV Senior Awarded EPAFellowship p.6

Bears in Law School p.8

Shear the Chair! p.8

Graduate Program

Acharya, AbhilashaM.S. in Environmental ScienceGray, StaceyM.S. in Environmental Science

Undergraduate Program

Aldaco-Manner, LindseyB.A. in Environmental StudiesBray, AndrewB.S. in Environmental ScienceBreard, JosephB.A. in Environmental StudiesBrown, WilliamB.A. in Environmental Studies

Congratulations to our Fall 2014 Alumni!Crook, William "David"B.A. in Environmental StudiesElmer, JamesB.A. in Environmental StudiesJohnston, JoshuaB.S. in Environmental ScienceLew, JoshuaB.S. in Environmental ScienceMcFall, HilaryB.A. in Environmental StudiesNehring, Kaleb DwainB.A. in Environmental StudiesPalza, SallyB.S. in Environmental SciencePearson, BridgerB.A. in Environmental StudiesSabatini, AlecB.S. in Environmental ScienceWoolridge, CapriB.S. in Environmental Health Science

The first week of Spring Classes held added energy and excitement asthe Department hosted Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, a seminal voice inconservation ecology. As part of a three day visit with theDepartmentof Environmental Science, Dr. Lovejoy presented “A Wild Solutionfor Climate Change. The Interaction Between Climate Change &Biodiversity - Both the Impacts and How Biodiversity can HelpAddress Climate Change” a technical seminar for the TheEnvironmentalHealthScienceSeries andwithin the VPRColloquiumhe presented “The Land of Cinnamon andGold: Five hundred yearsof exploration in the Amazon.”

Dr. Lovejoy is perhaps best known for developing debt-for-natureswaps. He also coined the terminology biological diversity. Dr.Lovejoy has broadly imformed public understanding of wildlife byfounding the PBS series Nature. These and other accomplishmentsled tohis receiptof theTylerprize in2001. GivenDr.Lovejoy’s staturein the field, our Department felt fortunate to host him.

Dr. Thomas Lovejoy VisitsEnvironmental Science Department

Students, faculty and Staff frommanyDepartmentstook full advantage of the chance to engage dialogueand to learn about the history and future ofconservation ecology. Dr. Lovejoy’s positions atGeorge Mason University and at the UNEP alsoprovide significant collaborative opportunities inWashington and internationally.

Bears in Vancouver: Baylor ENV Faculty and Students Attendthe 35th Annual SETAC Meeting

Last November, Environmental Science graduatestudents and faculty attended the SETAC NorthAmerica 35th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC,Canada. By bringing together individuals fromacademia, government, and industry, SETACmeetings are a platform for scientific discussions andsharing new research in the field of environmentaltoxicology and chemistry. The 2014 meeting hadover 2000 attendees from more than 40 countries.SETAC meetings offer lectures, scientificworkshops, and meetings by day, with the postersocials kicking off the fun-filled evenings. The 2014meeting debuted the SETAC Jail and Bail. Thepremise was simple: attendees paid to get anyone atthe conference thrown in jail andprisonershad topaytheirwayout.Our very ownDr.GeorgeCobb andDr.BryanBrookswere behindbars for the entirety of oneposter social. The offenses? Hoarding tea andexcessivewinking, respectively.Buthey! Itwas all for

On Tuesday, January 27, officials from the City of Waco, U.S.Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, Texas WaterDevelopment Board, as well as members from BaylorUniversity broke ground in preparation for an experimentthat will be known as the Brazos River DemonstrationWetland; scheduled to open Summer 2015 at an estimatedcost of $2.5 million.

The site will be used to investigate and test several naturalmethods of removing traces of pharmaceuticals from treatedwastewater. Scientists are extremely concerned about theeffects of drugs on aquatic life, as current regulations do notrequire pharmaceuticals to be removed from wastewater.The demonstration wetland will contain engineered surfaceand subsurface treatment zones. Treated wastewater will bemonitored as it progresses through areas of vegetation andstreams before reaching the Brazos River. “What it looks likeis that these wetlands may be able to do much more thanpeople first thought as far as cleansing water,” City ManagerDale Fisseler said.

Groundbreaking for Brazos River Wetland

Gavin Saari,M.S. student in the Brooks lab, andJone Corrales, postdoc researcher in the Brooks lab,evaluate maps of the Wetland, which willevaluate pharmaceutical treatment technologies.- City of Waco photo—Mark Randolph

a great cause; the SETAC North AmericaEndowment Fund supports studentpresentation and travel awards. Rumor has it theevent will return for this year’s meeting in SaltLake City…so get your cameras ready!

Biodiesel Experiments FuelingStudents’ Future

Environmetal HealthScience ProgramHosts World-classLecture Series

By Sarah Czerwinski

The Environmental HealthScience program at BaylorUniversity has replaced fictionalTV characters with real lifeenvironmental and healthsuperheroes with their springlecture series. From Jan. 14,through the end of April, the EHSprogram will be hosting a dynamicassortment of world-renownedexperts to share their perspectiveon an array of current regional andglobal issues. All lectures will beheld in Baylor Sciences BuildingRoom C. 105 on Wednesdays at5:00pm. “Wehave this series sowecan bring in speakers on a widevariety of topics as they relate toenvironment and public healthassessment and management,”said Bryan Brooks, Ph.D.,professor of environmentalscience and biomedical studies,and director of EnvironmentalHealth Science program. Theunique and interdisciplinarynature of the EnvironmentalHealth Science program creates adiverse spectrum of speakers andtopics. As a whole, the series willoffer perspectives from Asia toAntarctica to Waco, Texas.“We’re interested in diverseperspectives not only forenvironmental health sciencestudents but also for all Baylorstudents to get a glimpse of thediverse jobs and career pathsavailable after they leave Baylor,”Brooks said.Pearland sophomore Mark McComb

experiments with his biodiesel fuelMonday in the BSB lab

ByDane Chronister

Pearland sophomore Mark McComb and Dr. Larry Lehr, Senior Lecturer ofEnvironmental Science, took their biodiesel project to the Baylor Science Building’slabs for the first time this semester to grasp better understanding its abilities. In thenext few weeks, Lehr and McComb will to travel to Abilene Christian University inorder to work with the biodiesel reactor alongside another group of scientists to seewhat they need to improve or change in their own process. Through a process knownas transesterification, vegetable oils, animal fats, and used restaurant grease areconverted into biodiesel that can be used as an alternate, renewable form of energy.“This chemical reaction conversion long-chainmono alkyl esters or fatty acidmethylesters which compose biodiesel when used as a fuel,” McComb said. The B20 blendis 20percentbiodiesel and80percentpetroleum.With theuseof this formofbiodiesel,engine upgrades are not needed because the majority of the biodiesel is stillpetroleum. For Baylor’s environmental goals and for McComb’s experimentalpurposes, B20 would be the most cost-effective and available form of biodiesel. Purebiodiesel is a cleaner formof fuel that burns the least amount of pollution, butwouldcall for engine conversions. Using this B20 version of fuel allows the extension ofcurrent oil supplies by reducing the percentage of petroleum diesel that is consumed,since 20 percent of the product is biodiesel. McComb said he hopes that Baylor’scampus transportation couldoneday runprimarily on this formof renewable energy.Ingredients in his process included a stock solution for the titration, which consistedof distilled water and potassium hydroxide. He also used isopropyl alcohol andmethanol. McComb created biodiesel that will later be sent to a lab for testingrequired by the Environmental Protection Agency for safe and protected usage.“Even though Mark is a sophomore, he is motivated and capable of handling thisproject. It’s great because I can step out of the lab, if I ever need to, and know thatMark is going to be safe and not blow you guys up,” Lehr said. Even as they workedin the lab for this new breakthrough in energy, Lehr warned McComb against beingcareless and irresponsible. The gallon-to-gallon yield of the B20 biodiesel is aroundeight percent more energy than regular diesel gasoline and fewer nitrates areproduced in the pollution process. “One of the benefits of using biodiesel is it’s a lotbetter on the engine. It’s cleaner, it lubricates the oil better and it helps your enginerunmore smoothly, especially for older diesel engine that don’t have the bestworkingcatalytic converters,” McComb said. He used a 99 percent isopropyl alcohol insteadof 91 percent, which had no drastic effect on the experiment. He also found that forevery liter of cooking oil or fry grease, 7.2 grams of catalyst would be needed tomakethe proper conversion. “It’s really cool being a sophomore and being able to doresearch because I don’t know a lot of sophomores or even undergrads that get to dothis kind of research this early. I could possibly make my career,” McComb said.

The Department of Environmental Science was fortunate to have two students nominated by the Graduate School forthe Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for Spring 2015, Casan Scott and Jennifer Gueldner. Casan Scott,a Baylor graduate student since 2011, has been an active member of our teaching assistant team since his arrival. He hastaught courses ranging from Introductory Environmental Issues to upper level labs such as Field Techniques inEnvironmental Science. Here are a few things our faculty had to say about Casan: He has consistently gone above and beyondwhat was expected. He has been great working with the students in both laboratory and field settings. He is well liked, rigorous, professional,and works hard to make sure the students understand the material and what is expected of them. I know of several examples where he spentenormous amounts of time working with individual students who needed additional help or guidance, well beyond what is expected.

Jennifer Gueldner recently began her graduate studies here in the Fall of 2014 but has already had a big impact on ourundergraduate students. Jennifer taught ENV 1103, Wildlife Ecology Laboratory, course this Fall. She has proven to bea uniquely conscientious teacher and has displayed an uncommon attention to detail in performing her duties as ateaching assistant. Jennifer is not just happy to fulfill her responsibilities as part of her education here at Baylor, she isdetermined to prepare well in advance of each weekly lab exercise and makes sure she is proficient in the material she ispresenting.

Both of these fine students have proven to be great team players and are always willing to help out when needed to helpserve as drivers to help us get some of our other labs to the zoo, wetlands, the lake and other educational venues. Thesetwo students are fine examples of the mission of Baylor University and very deserving of the awards for which they havebeen nominated.

How did you spend the first week of the 2015 NewYear?? Ten Environmental Science faculty membersspent three days of that week identifying ways to improvethe department and to strengthen our contributions toASPIRE and Pro Futuris. Discussions centered on:overarching goals, current departmental strengths, areasneeding improvement, optimizing our undergraduatecurriculum, and establishing a strong foundation for thenew Environmental Science doctoral degree program.Toaddress Pro Futiris and ASPIRE goals, our faculty agreedthat the long term goal was to become the topEnvironmental Science Department at a ChristianUniversity. This goal requires outstanding education inthe classroom and research environments.Undergraduate Program discussions were led by Dr.Heidi Marcum, and Graduate Program planning was ledby Dr. Sascha Usenko. Primary outcomes of the doctoralprogram planning were definitive policies for studentadmissions, designation of proper benchmarks andtimelines for doctoral student progress, and specifics ofpublication requirements. Proper implementation of the

Doctoral Program will increase our student and facultyresearch productivity. For undergraduate programimprovement, slight curriculum modifications weresuggested for the natural resource managementcurriculum. A structured course for those undertaking aninternship was planned as was attaching a laboratory tothe sustainability course. To minimize daily distractionsand insure emersion in the tasks at hand, participantsgathered at the Inn On Lake Granbury. In this settingfaculty were able discuss important topics and then breakfor meals as a group. This venue offered quiet andcomfortable surroundings where participants couldremain focused on the future without the normal dailyUniversity distractions. The ability to work-throughhours of thoughtful deliberations and then share arelaxing meal in the same Inn quickly eased disagreementsabout paths forward, and items that are truly importantmore readily came into focus. This immersion was criticalto the success of the retreat. In fact, the venue facilitateddiscussions of research and teaching approaches late intothe night.

Faculty Retreat To Lake Granbury A Huge Success

ENV Students Casan Scott and Jennifer Gueldner Receive GraduateTeaching Award Nominations

By Ashton Brown

Sarah Guberman, a senior studying Environmental Science at Baylor University, hasbeen awarded a fellowship through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship Program. “EPA’s GRO FellowshipProgram supports undergraduate students interested in the environmental sciencefields their junior and senior yearswhile offering an internship at an EPA facility betweenthose twoyears,” said theNationalCenter forEnvironmentalResearchCommunicationsin a statement. The fellowship includes up to $50,000 in scholarship money and aninternship stipend. Only one other Baylor student has been awarded the EPA’s GROfellowship, causing Guberman to be stunned when she heard the news. “I was blownaway,” Guberman said. “I was obviously very excited but also anxious. I’ve always hada passion for recycling and going green, but I fell in love with environmental science inhigh school. I want to helpconserve themost beautiful gift thatGodgaveus.”Accordingto Guberman’s professors, it is her dedication to gaining experience that sets her apartfromother students. “Sarahhasalwaysbeengood in theclassroom,but she’smotivatedby hands-on experience in the lab and field,” said Cole Matson, Ph.D., AssistantProfessor of Environmental Science in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences andGuberman’s lab supervisor. “She’s been working in my lab for over a year, and as partof her fellowship, Sarah hopes to continue her research of nanomaterials and theirsustainability.”Guberman, a native of TheWoodlands, Texas, hopes the opportunitywillhelp her as she applies for graduate programs. “By receiving this grant, I’m allowed tointern with the EPA, which will broadenmy experience with research as well as helpmeto network,” Guberman said. “And, of course, it will look great on my résumé.”

ENV Senior Sarah Guberman ReceivesEPA Fellowship

Devan Mayer Speaks On Her ShepardInternshipDEVAN MAYER- This summer I did an internshipthrough Shepard internship program. The Shepard'sprogram takes 100 students each summer and placesthem all over the United States to work with homelessand poverty. Each student is placed in an internship thatis related to their major and has the same mission as theShepard program does. The program provides housing,usually something near low income houses and giveseach student $4 to eat eachmeal with.We are challengedto live like those we are serving. I rode a bike every dayto and frommy internship averaging about 10miles eachdayandmore if Ihadtogoanywhereother thanworkandhome.

I worked at a public health department with theenvironmental team and I was also on a planning teamfor an urban farm.While at the department I got to go onenvironment health inspections. I helped with leadinvestigations and food inspections. It was a uniqueopportunity to observe that aspect of public health. Theotherhalf ofmy timewas spentplanningandbuildinganurban farm. The farmwas placed on a plot of landwithinthe largest fooddesert inGreensboro. The entire purposeof the farm was to make fresh vegetables available tounderprivileged families living more than a mile awayfrom a fresh produce provider. I got to sit in on the citymeetings as decisions were being made about the farm,

but most importantly I was the work force for the farm. Idid a bulk of the work, building, planting and growingthe produce. I built 15 raised beds, filled them with theappropriate soils and planted a fall crop to start thegarden off. I managed volunteers and spread the wordabout thepurposeof thegardenandhowpeoplecansoonbuy groceries from the farm using their supplementalnutrition assistance program benefits (SNAP EBT). I amgrateful for this opportunity because it showed medifferent ways to apply my major and how I can helpsolve real world problems.

ENV Senior Sarah Guberman

Recent PublicationsR.S Lazarus, B.W. Rattner, B.W. Brooks, B. Du, P.C. McGowan, V.S. Blazer, M.A. Ottinger. 2015. Exposure andfood web transfer of pharmaceuticals in ospreys (Pandion haliaetus): Predictive model and empirical data. IntegratedEnvironmental Assessment and Management 11(1): 118-129.

L.A. Kristofco, B. Du, C.K. Chambliss, J.P. Berninger, B.W. Brooks. 2015. Comparative pharmacology andtoxicology of pharmaceuticals in the environment: Diphenhydramine protection of diazinon toxicity in Danio reriobut not Daphnia magna. The AAPS Journal (Journal of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists) 17(1):175-183.

S. Calvillo, E.S. Williams, B.W. Brooks. 2015. Street dust: Implications for stormwater and air quality, andmanagement through street sweeping. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 233: 71-128

B. Du, S.P. Haddad, C.K. Chambliss, B.W. Brooks., 2015. Pharmaceutical bioaccumulation by periphyton and snailsin an effluent-dependent stream during an extreme drought. Chemosphere 119: 927-934.

B.R. Blackwell, T.R. Brown, P.R. Broadway, M.D. Buser, M.D. Brooks, J.C. Brooks, B.J. Johnson, G.P. Cobb, P.N.Smith. 2014. Characterization of Trenobolone Acetate and Estradiol Metabolite Excretion Profiles in ImplantedSteers. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 33(12): 2850-8.

S. Yu, S. Tang, G.D. Mayer, G.P. Cobb, J.D. Maul. 2015. Interactive effects of ultraviolet-B radiation and pesticideexposure on DNA photo-adduct accumulation and expression of DNA damage and repair genes in Xenopuslaevisembryos. Aquatic Toxicology. 159: 256-266.

S. Yu, S.M. Weir, G.P. Cobb, J.D. Maul. 2014. The effects of pesticide exposure on ultraviolet-B radiation avoidancebehavior in tadpoles. Sci. Total Environ. 481: 75-80.

D.R. Faust, M.J. Hooper, G.P. Cobb, M. Barnes, D. Shaver, S. Ertolacci and P.N. Smith. 2014. Inorganic Elements inGreen Sea Turtles (Chelonia Mydas): Relationships Among External and Internal Tissues. Environmental Toxicology andChemistry 33(9): 2020-2027.

J. Bone, C.W. Matson, B.P. Coleman, X. Yang, J. Meyer, R.T. Di Giulio. 2015. Silver nanoparticle toxicity to earlylife stage Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) and Caenorhabditis elegans in complex environmental media: Acomparison of mesocosm, microcosm and conventional laboratory studies. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 3(2):275-282.

M. Keane, J. Semeiks, A. E. Webb, Y. I Li, Quesada, T. Craig, L.B. Madsen, S. van Dam, D. Brawand, P.I. Marques,P. Michalak, L. Kang, J. Bhak, H.S. Yim, N.V. Grishin, N. H. Nielsen, M. P. Heide-Jorgensen, E. M. Oziolor, C.W.Matson, G.M. Church, G.W. Stuart, J.C. Patton, J.C. George, R. Suydam, K. Larsen, C. Lopez-Otin, M. J. O'Connell,J. W. Bickham, B. Thomsen, J. Pedro de Magalhaes. 2015. Insights into the Evolution of Longevity from theBowhead Whale Genome. Cell Reports 10(1): 112-122.

E.M. Oziolor, C.W. Matson. 2015. Evolutionary Toxicology: Population Adaptation in Response to AnthropogenicPollution. Chapter 11 in Extremophile Fishes 247-277.

P. Nallathamby, M. Lewandowski, M. Jaoui, J. H. Offenberg, T.E. Kleindienst, C. Rubitschun, J.D. Surratt, S.Usenko, R.J. Sheesley. 2014. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of unresolved complex mixture in PM2.5 ofBakersfield, CA Atmospheric Environment 98: 368-375.

Contact Us

A: One Bear Place, #97266 | Waco | TX 76706 T: 254-710-3405 | E: heather_guenat@baylor.edu

As a reminder: The Environmental Science Department produces a newsletter eachsemester. If you are an Environmental Science Student, working on a project,serving an internship, studying abroad, graduating, or have exciting news withinyour major that you want to share with an article or picture, send an e-mail to

Heather Guenat at Heather _Guenat@baylor.edu

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Bear Cubs:Coming Soon:

Harper Guenat

ENV Bears Get Claws! Our Grads speakAbout Their Journey in Law School

"I still have a great interest in Texas Water Law, but the more Ilearn about Energy Law, the more my interest grows in this field aswell. Tech Law has hosted a number of different Energy LawSymposiums that I had the privilege of attending. Thesesymposiums are paneled by representatives of the TCEQ, theRailroad Commission, and various Oil and Gas attorneys."-Emily Thakar, Spring 2014 grad

"I am making lots of good friends at Tech and enjoy being so closeto my family. I really miss Waco and all my ENV classes. I'mlooking forward to when I get to take some courses like Water Lawnext year. ...I appreciate the faculty's help in getting me into theLaw School of my dreams."-Sam Ballard, Spring 2014 grad

ENV Staff Spotlight:Heather GuenatCongratulations to ENVadministrative assistant,

Heather Guenat, who wasnominated for Baylor

University's Outstanding StaffAward!

Congratulations Heather!

Shear the Chair!In recognition of the newly implemented Ph.D. program, Dr. George Cobb is challenging therecipients of this newsletter to donate to a newly formed gradute stipend fund. To add someexcitement to the process, Dr. Cobb will grow his hair until Fall 2015 classes begin, and the topdonor will have the opportunity to shear-the-chair and help package the locks for donation.