NSF Undergraduate Research Experience in Thailand and Cambodia

National Science Foundation Grant, International Research Experiences for Students

The general objectives of this project were threefold. First, the project provided U.S. undergraduates with a 6 week research experience pertaining to the scientific and social aspects of sustainable and technologically-appropriate wastewater treatment practices and assessment of drinking water quality. Second, the project would be conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, and Phnom Penh (and surrounding rural areas), Cambodia. As such, U.S. students gained experience working, living, and doing research in cultural settings very different from their own, and, in the case of Cambodia, gained insight to the education, research, and socio-economic challenges faced by a developing country.  Third, this experience allowed these future scientists to experience how international collaborations are important for working in the global scientific context and allowed them to form relationships with international scientists that may develop into future educational opportunities or research collaboration.

The project was run in the summers of 2008 and 2009 and the project partners included Asian Institute of Technology, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Resource Development International – Cambodia, and Eastern Mennonite University. The student participants and their projects were:

Lauren Schifferle, Nitrogen Mineralization in Fecal Sludge as it Applies to the Sustainable Landscape (Site, Asian Institute of Technology; Local Advisors; Dr. Thammarat Koottatep and Ms. Atitaya Panuvatvanich)

Myrta See, Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of E. coli and Salmonella in Irrigation Canals in Pathumthani, Thailand (Site, Asian Institute of Technology; Local Advisors - Dr. Thammarat Koottatep and Mr. Narong Surinkul)

Allison Glick, Application and Longevity of Organophosphates and Carbamates on Water Spinach in Wetlands of Cambodia (Site, Royal University of Phnom Penh; Local Advisor - Chea Eliyan)

Matt Cutolo, Establishing a Meteorologic Network in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Challenges and Preliminary Results (Site, Royal University of Phnom Penh; Local Advisor – Kok Sothea)

Cesar Hernandez, Levels of Pesticide Residue In Cabbages In Phnom Penh Markets (Site, Resource Development International – Cambodia; Local Advisors – Dr. Mickey Sampson and Ms. Sok Kunthy)

Laura Cattell, Comparing Source and Point-Of-Use: How Handling, Storage and Treatment Affect Water Quality in Cambodian Homes (Site, Resource Development International – Cambodia; Local Advisors – Dr. Mickey Sampson and Ms. Huoy Laingshun)

Jakob Zumfelde, Diurnal and Rainfall-dependent Variation in Water Quality in the Combined Sewer System of Rattanakosin Village, Thailand (Site, Asian Institute of Technology; Local Advisors – Dr. Thammarat Koottatep and Ms. Nonglak Samantarat)

Jessica Bakert, Sewer System and Surface Characteristics of the Rattanakosin Village, Rangsit, Thailand (Site, Asian Institute of Technology; Local Advisors – Dr. Thammarat Koottatep and Ms. Nonglak Samantarat)

Kelly Duval, Phnom Penh Sewer System Model Calibration and Wetland Modeling (Site, Royal University of Phnom Penh; Local Advisor – Kok Sothea)

Andrea Patterson,  Assessment of Drinking Water Quality via Water Cleaning Technologies and Rainwater Harvesting with Observation of the Precision and Reliability of Available Kits to Test for Nitrogen (Site, Royal University of Phnom Penh; Local Advisor - Chea Eliyan)

Eugene Fifer, Survey of Farmer’s Fertilizer and Fuel Use, and Interest in Methane Digesters in Kean Svay District, Kandal Province, Cambodia (Site, Resource Development International – Cambodia; Local Advisor – Andrew Shantz)

Christine Kreider, Household Drinking Water Quality: Comparing the Escherichia coli levels in Source and Point-of-Use Water in Kandal Province, Cambodia (Site, Resource Development International – Cambodia; Local Advisor – Andrew Shantz)

Images of the 2008 research experience can be viewed at http://view.buffalostate.edu/main.php?g2_itemId=36201

Images of the 2009 research experience can be viewed at http://view.buffalostate.edu/main.php?g2_itemId=36251