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Trustee Scholar Michael Nilson ’05 (Wantagh, N.Y.) is researching the effects of rapid urbanization on stream flow in Southeastern Pennsylvania and areas of New York and New Jersey this fall.
Nilson, a civil engineering major and mathematics minor, is working as an EXCEL Scholar with David Brandes, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.
“We’re looking at the effect of land development on baseflow in streams,” Brandes explains. “Stream flow is comprised of groundwater, which is referred to as ‘baseflow,’ and water that flows into streams as runoff during rainfall events. Development results in an increase in impervious surfaces such as macadam and concrete. We’re testing the idea that if you pave over the landscape, you’re not only increasing runoff, but also restricting the amount of infiltration and recharge (replenishment) to groundwater, because the water cannot seep through these surfaces to the water table. The effect should be seen as a reduction in baseflow over time.”
In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. Lafayette is a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the 180 students who participate in EXCEL each year go on to publish papers in scholarly journals and/or present their research at conferences.
Brandes regularly involves students in his research, coauthoring papers with them that are published in scientific journals and presented at academic conferences. He has played a leadership role in obtaining grants from the National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. He also helped establish a monitoring program for the Bushkill Creek that is carried out by student volunteers.
Nilson and Brandes have been studying stream flow records from the U.S. Geological Survey for the Lehigh Valley and suburban Philadelphia that span five decades. Interestingly, so far they have found that baseflow in many of the study watersheds has not shown a measurable decrease. Brandes recently presented their results at the annual Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium at Villanova University.
Nilson says the EXCEL project is helping him to narrow down his choices in the field of civil engineering and is “the perfect opportunity to explore hydrology.”
He adds, “Dr. Brandes has been a great mentor. He has given me the freedom to go out on a limb and experiment with new ideas that may help our research. This being my first exposure to hydrology, he has also taken the time to teach me about the field as circumstances arise that are new to me.”
Nilson is pleased with both the facilities at Lafayette and the atmosphere of collaboration between students and faculty.
“Lafayette truly promotes student participation in faculty-led research. The recent modernization of Acopian Engineering Center and the engineering labs in particular has provided students and faculty with cutting-edge facilities in which equally impressive research may be conducted. A main reason I chose Lafayette was the labs available for use by undergraduates. Having no graduate students guaranteed that all the labs seen were for undergraduate use.”
Nilson is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Pennsylvania Society of Civil Engineers, and National Society of Professional Engineers. He also belongs to Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection, the pep band, brass ensemble, jazz band, and pit orchestra, and is a former member of the concert band.
Last summer, he worked for A. James de Bruin & Sons as a construction inspector for a community drainage improvement project. He will return this winter as an inspector for a steel bridge improvement project.
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 conducted with faculty mentors, or under their guidance, at the conference.
A National Leader in Undergraduate Research. Michael Nilson ’05 was invited to present his collaborative research with David Brandes, asst. professor of civil and environmental engineering, at the 18th National Conference on Undergraduate Research.