Kathy Ammari Received the Best Poster Award at the Emerging Researchers National Conference

Posted on February 27, 2015

NOAA-CREST undergraduate student, Kathy Ammari, was recently honored with a best poster award at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM. The conference was held in Washington, DC on February 19 - 21, 2015. It was a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to improve their science and research communication skills and to better understand how to prepare for careers in STEM fields. The meeting was organized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Kathy was looking forward to this opportunity to present her outstanding research results. Thanks to help from her mentors, Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi and Simon Kraatz, her graduate student advisor, she was able to prepare a sound and well-grounded presentation.

Kathy is a hardworking and dedicated student who feels very passionate about Environmental Engineering Research. She was born and raised in Yonkers near New York City and will be the first engineer in her family. She expects to complete her B.S. in Environmental Engineering this winter. Her research project is focused on investigating the urban hydrology in the Jamaica Bay Watershed. In her work Kathy uses a geographic information system (ArcGIS) for map analysis and visualization. Her objectives are to determine where pollutants affecting the bay originate and the consequences of contaminated runoff for the Jamaica Bay Watershed. She analyzed the area and mapped all potential runoff contamination contributors. She also noted that “runoff contamination is especially likely in regions which have a significant amount of impervious surfaces.” Her project results can allow for the development of better water management policies in the Jamaica Bay area.

She was excited to share her research results during the conference with her peers, faculty, and scientists from various universities. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory representatives also praised Kathy for her research. Seeing our students excel and how smart and intelligent they are makes us very proud. Congratulations Kathy, we wish you best of luck in your future research and professional endeavors!