Sorry for the delay but . . . no dramas!

I am so incredibly grateful to be here on my trip in Townsville, Australia! I should have begun my posts sooner but . . .  well . . . I didn't. A little bit about myself first.

I, Ms. Poole, am going into my 5th year as a biology teacher at Science Park High School in Newark, NJ with an undergraduate degree in biology and a masters degree in education. I remember hearing about the possible trip to Australia my very first day in the Columbia Program and thinking to myself, I truly hope that I will be lucky enough to be chosen for such an opportunity. Two summers later, hear I am. I cannot say how grateful I am to have been selected to work in labs at Columbia university and now at James Cook University in Australia! For the past two summers I have been in the lab of Kartik Chandran, in the Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology lab of the school of Earth and Environmental Engineering, each summer working with a doctoral student. The first summer I was working alongside a student, she received her phD this past May, who was looking at the role of bacteria in reducing the amount of harmful nitrous oxide produced in Wastewater treatment. Last summer, I worked with a different student evaluating the efficacy of different green infrastructures in the city, particularly looking for ways to reduce overflows (combined sewer overflows or CSO's) of wastewater into water ways (like the Bronx river) due to combined sewer systems (CSS) as well as to reduce the gas emissions produced by the microbial communities present in these green infrastructures.

Both summers allowed me to gain a huge amount of knowledge in the area of environmental microbiology and truly prepared me for the experience I am having now at James Cook University. This summer I am working with another doctoral student designing and implementing two experiments using cyanobacteria (green algae) to increase the productivity of their use in both agricultural practices as well as in the waste water effluent of coal plants. He and I have been working non-stop researching and discussing with his adviser and are now getting ready to implement these experiments.

This summer, as well as previous summer's, was and is making me a more equipped scientist, allowing me to better educate my students and hopefully instilling in them the true practices of science. My hope is that they will pursue science themselves, but I will be just as happy if I know that through my class they have simply learned to be better citizens of our planet, with the ability to think critically and analyze the world around them in a scientific way.

Take a look at the links I have posted below if you would like to gain a better understanding of the labs I have been working in and the Columbia Program that has funded my research experience. 

http://www.scienceteacherprogram.org/
http://www.columbia.edu/~kc2288/
http://cgc.jcu.edu.au/HeimannHP.html

PS: here in Australia, or at least in North Queensland, when you apologize or say thank you, you will get one of two answers in return: "no dramas mate" or the more universal "no worries".

Cheers!