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Marquis Scholar Joseph Goodwill ’04 (Camden, N.Y.), a civil engineering major, has been honored with a competitive research award from the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association. The award recognizes his work on a paper that he will present at PennTec 2004, the PWEA’s annual conference, scheduled for June 27-30 at the Penn State Conference Center in State College.
A summary of the project will be included in the PWEA bimonthly publication Keystone Water Quality Manager, which might also print the full paper.
“The Research Committee of PWEA certainly feels that Mr. Goodwill’s work is of high quality and we are looking forward to hearing more about his work in his presentation,” says Shirley Clark, head of the PWEA Research Committee.
Having gained acceptance at several top graduate institutions offering research assistantships, Goodwill will pursue a master’s of science in environmental engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst, which also awarded him a Carollo Engineers Scholarship. He plans to continue his education and earn a Ph.D.
“Almost every school commented positively on the research experience I have had at Lafayette,” says Goodwill, a four-year member of the varsity football team.
He continued work conducted by mentors and paper coauthors Art Kney and David Brandes, assistant professors of civil and environmental engineering, on a rapid-assessment method that those monitoring bodies of water can use to interpret the data they collect on conductivity, a measure of dissolved ions. The method can help uncover sources of intermittent chemical pollution, identify persistent sources of contaminants, and assess stream impairment due to industrial discharges in a way that distinguishes them from the effects of natural sources.
“Joe is a very hard worker,” says Kney. “He did a great job of pulling together the various aspects of the project, thereby enabling us to complete it. I am very proud to have involved with such a dedicated individual.”
An environmental science minor, Goodwill began the research project last summer through Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, in which students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. EXCEL has helped make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their research through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Goodwill verified the accuracy of the professors’ work and its applicability for the Bushkill watershed by running conductivity and alkalinity analysis on bedrock collected from various locations. He mixed the rock samples with pure water to determine the concentration of ions that they would release.
“I monitored the samples at set time intervals,” explains Goodwill. “When they reached equilibrium, I analyzed the samples for conductivity and alkalinity and also ran them through the ion chromatograph to better understand the species of the dissolved ions. I then compared the two data sets and combined them with linear regression. When my results were added to the existing groundwater data, they meshed very well.”
In addition to Kney and Brandes, Goodwill worked with several other EXCEL students and consulted with Dru Germanoski, professor and head of geology and environmental geosciences. The student spent about 35 hours each week on the project last summer, three to four hours per week in the fall, and another five hours each week this spring as he prepared the paper for submission.
According to Goodwill, the main challenge of the research was the need for complete accuracy in his results.
“Unlike any other lab experience I previously had, the emphasis was not on the learning process, but rather on coming up with accurate, justifiable results that could be used to draw legitimate conclusions,” he explains. “I did learn a great deal from going through the process of conducting the research, but it was unlike a laboratory class, where making a mistake in procedure or method only jeopardizes your grade on one assignment, not your entire research project. I found that I was required to bring my ‘A game,’ and it was an invaluable lesson to learn.”
The most enjoyable aspect of the project was the opportunity to make “a legitimate contribution” to the general pool of knowledge in the field of civil and environmental engineering.
“Especially as an undergraduate, I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some of the best in the field at a level that some students cannot obtain until they reach a Ph.D. level,” he says. “The results I am obtaining with the research are the most rewarding of my academic career thus far.”
Kney and Brandes regularly involve students in their research, co-authoring papers published in scientific journals and presenting them at academic conferences. They have received grants for their work from the National Science Foundation and other agencies. They also established a monitoring program for the Bushkill Creek that is carried out by student volunteers.
“The most important thing I learned during this process was my way around an environmental engineering lab,” says Goodwill. “Thanks to my research experience, I now am familiar with numerous techniques and laboratory equipment and also how to synthesize a publishable academic paper. My ability to use this equipment will be essential later in my academic and professional career.”
Goodwill believes that Lafayette’s civil and environmental department has numerous strong points.
“I feel that the strongest is the small class sizes,” he notes. “I’ve found that in classes of a dozen students or less, it is almost impossible not to receive a great education. In addition, the facilities in Acopian Engineering Center are possibly the best in the nation. Working in the confines of the center’s labs made the research easier, more enjoyable, and ultimately more accurate.”
Previously, Goodwill served a summer environmental engineering internship at Stearns and Wheler, Cazenovia, N.Y., representing the company at project sites, performing installation and maintenance, conducting field sampling, and assisting engineers in design and production.
He contributed to a project conducted by Lafayette’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, which involves sending eight of its members to Honduras next month as part of a project to provide communities with a clean water distribution system.
He also participated in the Environmental Remediation Team, a group of civil engineering majors guided by Kney and David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, in developing a cost-effective treatment technology to remove perchlorate from drinking water in small water delivery and domestic water systems. The work was presented this month at the 18th National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
In addition to playing defensive back for the football team, he is a member of the student chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers, Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection, Wrestling Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He has participated in Lafayette Leadership Education Program and worked as a facilities monitor at Kirby Sports Center.
Chosen from among Lafayette’s most promising applicants, Marquis Scholars receive special financial aid and distinctive educational experiences and benefits, including a three-week, Lafayette-funded study-abroad course during January’s interim session between regular semesters. Marquis Scholars also participate in cultural activities in major cities and on campus, and mentoring programs with faculty.
Lafayette ranks No. 1 among all U.S. colleges that grant only bachelor’s degrees in the number of graduates who went on to earn doctorates in engineering between 1920-1995, according to the Franklin and Marshall College study “Baccalaureate Origins of Doctoral Recipients.”
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Over the past five years, more than 130 Lafayette students have presented results from research with faculty mentors, or under their guidance, at the conference.