Biological & Environmental Engineering Professional Masters Projects
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Item Condensation Flux Around Fungal PatchWei, Kelly (2025-05)Fungi are known for their ability to grow in extreme dry environments. While humidity and temperature are typically considered to be the main factors in fungal growth, our project explores a more direct cause, which is water condensation. This study investigated the relationship between how fungal colony and condensation flux. This research has implications for understanding mold formation in environments that seem dry on the surface, such as indoor walls and fruit skins. By studying the behavior of condensation near fungal patches, we aim to understand its role in fungal survival and growth.Item Assessment of Pesticide Leachability on Long Island Using the Theoretical Groundwater Ubiquity Score (TGUS) ModelShen, Xin (2025-05)This study evaluates pesticide leachability on Long Island, New York, using the Theoretical Groundwater Ubiquity Score (TGUS) model, a theoretically based expansion of the empirical GUS model that includes soil properties, preferential flow, and dynamic degradation processes. Long Island's sandy soils and vulnerable aquifer systems offer a best-case study area for groundwater contamination risk assessment. The research provides improved calculations for the leaching risk of pesticides by introducing a Time of Leaching Risk Period (TLRP). TLRP is designed to forecast pesticides with a high risk of groundwater contamination by identifying a time window after application, following a rainfall that causes leaching risk and groundwater pollution. The results suggest that TLRP reliably predicts the leaching of pesticides in groundwater. Ninety-two percent of the pesticides that leached into groundwater were predicted correctly. One difficulty in the data analysis was that many pesticides were not found in the groundwater samples, including pesticides that were classified as leachers in other studies. Also, many of the pesticides were not applied on Long Island according to the Pesticide Use and Sales Reporting (PSUR) data. Using the PSUR that specified the pesticide use per zip code level in the risk analysis was only partially successful for predicting spatial leaching.Item 3D Tracking of Circumnutation in Basil and Bush Bean Using RealSense Camera Point CloudsTseng, Bor-Jiun (2025-05)Circumnutation, the slow, oscillatory movement of growing plant organs is a well-documented phenomenon, particularly in climbing species (Darwin, 1880; Stolarz, 2009). In this study, we introduce a three-dimensional (3D) tracking method to quantify circumnutation in Ocimum basilicum (basil) and Phaseolus vulgaris (bush bean) using time-lapse point cloud data from an Intel RealSense D435i depth camera. Plants were imaged at regular intervals (5 min) under controlled conditions, and 3D point clouds were processed with spatial filtering and geometric tip-tracking algorithms to extract shoot apex trajectories over time. From these trajectories, we calculated circumnutation amplitude, period, and trajectory orientation, revealing distinct species-specific movement patterns. Our preliminary findings suggest that bush bean exhibits pronounced, continuous helical movements, while basil displays lower-amplitude and more irregular oscillatory motion, consistent with observations that circumnutation varies across taxa and growth forms (Kitazawa et al., 2005; Raja et al., 2020). By enabling non-invasive, high-resolution tracking of shoot tip motion in 3D space, this approach offers greater fidelity than traditional 2D imaging methods (Simonetti et al., 2021), providing insights into plant movement dynamics and underlying growth regulation. We also highlight future potential for automated trait extraction and multimodal sensing to investigate circumnutation responses to environmental stimuli (Song et al., 2023).Item China Oyster Reef Restoration Project Research -- Sanmen County Oyster Reef Restoration ProjectLiu, Siyi (2023)As large-scale industrial activities continue to adversely impact oceanic and coastal habitats, particularly oyster reefs, stand out as one of the most severely degraded environments globally. The paper discusses the significant decline in oyster populations worldwide due to various factors and emphasizes the importance of restoration efforts. The focus shifts to a case study involving The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) collaboration in oyster reef restoration in China. The Sanmen Oyster Reef Restoration Research Pilot Project serves as a landmark initiative aiming to explore tailored restoration methods. Key findings reveal seasonal variations in oyster densities, with insights into tidal areas and their impact on oyster larvae recruitment. The paper stresses the importance of considering local environmental conditions and engaging with the community for successful oyster reef restoration. Ecological monitoring and impact assessments are recommended, especially considering the proliferation of exotic oyster species and potential disturbances post-restoration. The study concludes with a call for proactive management strategies, legal safeguards against illegal activities, and increased public awareness about the ecological significance of oyster reefs.Item A Potential Liquid Supplement to Promote Cardiovascular HealthHashmall, Joseph (2021-05)L-citrulline is an amino acid which has been investigated for having potential human health benefits. It is of particular interest for its impacts on smooth muscle, skeletal muscle, and the cardiovascular systems. This project is the production of a liquid supplement that incorporates a L-citrulline formula in a way that will be suitable for consumers. Trial formulations were performed in food labs at Cornell University. The purpose was to make a fluid that has permissible hedonic properties and is well suited to abide by FDA regulation of dietary supplements. Hundreds of combinations were tried and tested for pH, temperature manipulation, and stability. The resulting product is one that mimics the flavor profile of lemonade, possesses the bioavailability of amino acids found in watermelon, and L-citrulline levels that are enhanced in comparison to anything found in nature.Item Estimating Aboveground Biomass Using Remote Sensing Data and Google Earth EngineWang, Hanyang (2021-12)Grassland is an essential component of terrestrial ecosystems. Biomass is a key indicator of ecosystem quality. It is of great significance to estimate the grass biomass yield effectively and accurately for the grassland management and utilization of grass resources and other related research. In order to pursue efficient and rapid estimation of the above-ground biomass of grassland, this study aims to find the relationship between satellite imagery data and ground survey biomass data through machine learning and Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform; and estimate the aboveground biomass using random forest (RF) regression algorithm and remote sensing data. In this study, a 16-acre research site was used as the research area. After evaluating the RF model performance, the R^2 of this model is about 0.75. The prediction of grass biomass yield in 2021 was presented. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the model and improvement methods are discussed.