CENS Technical Seminar Series

A rapid measurement tool for near real-time tracking of microbiological water quality in urban watersheds and potential applications for citizen science

Invited Speaker: Christine Lee, UCLA
Date: November 7, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Venue: BH 4760

Abstract

Developing rapid detection methods is at the forefront of establishing clean and safe recreational water initiatives. We devised covalently-linked anti-E.coli and anti-Enterococcus bead complexes that were used to measure water quality in freshwater and marine systems by immunomagnetic separation/ATP quantification (IMS/ATP). We collected and analyzed samples from freshwater and marine systems. IMS/ATP was also evaluated as a rapid, intermediate tier for a multi-tiered approach in source-tracking and identification and was able to rapidly identify the presence of high E.coli loading in one of the two channels comprising the Santa Monica Canyon channel system, which resulted in high levels at the confluence of the two channels. The implications of being able to identify pollution sources rapidly will be discussed in the context of a tiered source-tracking strategy as well as in terms of a tool for citizen scientist engagement in ecological and environmental campaigns.

Biography

Christine is a PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles. She intends to minor in Urban Planning. She works primarily in environmental engineering laboratory under the direction of Professor Jenny Jay. Christine did her undergraduate work at UCLA and received a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Christine's interest in studying and mediating impact on the environment extends to her personal and extracurricular life, where she enjoys embarking on different environment or service-related projects.