Lauren Santi, 2017, Geosciences

Lauren Santi ’17

This summer, I worked alongside Professor Tullis Onstott, a geobiologist in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University. The goal of our research was to evaluate the potential impact of the PennEast pipeline on groundwater arsenic (As) contamination in Mercer and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. Over the course of the summer, I performed literature reviews on current knowledge of As transport, collected sediment samples along the proposed pipeline right-of-way, performed DNA analyses on sediment samples (to identify bacterial communities involved in the cycling of As), and modeled As transport using a reactive transport model. This project exposed me to many new aspects of geology, including geobiological laboratory work and groundwater modeling software. More importantly, this project showed me how classroom knowledge can be directly applied to local environmental problems. This internship helped me realize that I value the ability to work on projects that directly impact the local community, and this will surely impact my choice of career and further studies.