Sustainable Carolina is excited to announce Adithi Reddy as the winner of this year’s Prize for Excellence in Sustainability Research. Reddy will graduate this month with a degree in global studies. She also minored in public policy and sustainability studies.
Amy Cooke and Kelly Alexander advised Reddy’s research, titled, Agriculture and Aquaculture: Exposing the Nexus Between Mangrove Deforestation, Climate Change and Modern Slavery in Southeast Asia. Cooke is a teaching associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the UNC Environment, Ecology and Energy Program (E3P). Alexander is an assistant professor in the Department of American Studies.
This is the second year Sustainable Carolina has awarded the prize at the Celebration of Undergraduate Research. Susan Cohen, assistant director of the UNC Institute for the Environment, has served as a poster judge both years. She praised Reddy’s ability to summarize her work clearly and thoroughly.
Reddy examined palm oil extraction in Indonesia and shrimp farming in Thailand, two major economic drivers for the region that also contribute to environmental degradation and labor exploitation. Through her case studies, Reddy identified three solutions for improving the outlook for mangrove forests: Inclusion of mangrove forests into Marine Protected areas, engagement of local and indigenous communities in government efforts, and creation of public-private partnerships.
“Adithi looked at the human element, highlighting the unjust labor practices that power these industries,” said Cohen. “She linked all of this to the choices we make everyday in our local grocery stores, empowering all of us! Adithi’s work was very comprehensive and showed just how complex these environmental challenges are and provided potential pathways for solutions.”
One point seperates first and second place
Amogh Rao, Nayan Bala and Alisa Pokazanyeva presented their poster, Determining the Accuracy of SWOT Water Elevation Data at Mono Lake, California. E3P Chair Drew Coleman advised their research, which made use of data collected by NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. SWOT is the first global survey of Earth’s’ surface water and is taking measurements across the globe.
The team traveled to Mono Lake to carry out ground-truthing of data collected by the satellite. They found some discrepancies between their data and data collected by the satellites. The team suggested SWOT could perform multiple flyovers and average the data to get more accurate measurements.
Three posters tie for third place
The competition was close! The three third place teams received just two points fewer than our first place winner.
Margot Francini, Christian Chung and Chloe Lind’s project, Advancing the Aqueous Film Forming Foam Deployment Pathway: Recommendations for Responsible use and Management in North Carolina, was advised by Greer Arthur. Arthur is the research director of the North Carolina Collaboratory.
The team carried out literature reviews, legislative reviews and interviews on AFFFs, a firefighting foam that contains PFAS. The team underscored the need for government agencies to identify PFAS as hazardous. They also identified synthetic fluorine-free foam as a potential alternative to AFFFs.
UNC Institute for the Environment Highlands Field Site Director Rada Petric advised Caroline Tintinger and Nikita McClure’s project, Survey of Disjunct Red Spruce Stands in the Rich Mountain and Alarka Laurel, NC.
Through vegetation surveys, the team assessed biodiversity and stand dynamics. They also looked at seedling and sapling health and their access to resources, like sunlight. The team found that the two red spruce populations they assessed are currently stable, but this work will provide an invaluable baseline measurement for future studies examining the impact of climate change.
Senior Gu Wei Tian (Leon) Xie worked with UNC Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability Director Jeff Mittelstadt on his project, titled, From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy: Navigating the Workforce Transition in the U.S. Energy Sector.
Xie used available data to examine how well worker requirements transfer between fossil fuel jobs and renewable energy jobs. Through this, Xie created a network plot, illustrating the alignment of some fossil fuel and renewable energy jobs. The work suggests that implementing new policies and helping workers develop new skills could lead to a fair and successful worker transition.
Thank you to the UNC Office of Undergraduate Research for providing an opportunity for students to share their research every year. It would be impossible for Sustainable Carolina to present these awards if not for OUR’s careful planning of the Celebration of Undergraduate Research.