Students
The 2023 crew. From left to right: Dr. Tricia Chapela (teacher from Texas participating through Coe's REU program), Bode Carter, Meissy Calix, Evie Murphy, and Gavin Baugh. (Note the stylish "Let's Kill the Dead Zone" t-shirts from Raygun.) On the right is Anoushka Ray, another great high school intern from Linn Mar.
Another great summer in the books - the 2022 crew included (l to r) Clay Edwards, Jack Tupper, Bode Carter, and Liana Sweezer (pictured after canoeing on the Maquoketa). Tejas Gururaja, a rising senior from Linn-Mar, interned with us (but couldn't make it for the canoe trip.)
The 2021 water quality crew in the Maquoketa River. From left to right: Marissa Cartwright, Jack Tupper, Clay Edwards, Aaron McDermott, Noah Gronewold, and Alex Olson. And to top it off, we followed Professor David Cwiertny's research group, including Maddy Jensen (Coe '17) down the river.
Only appropriate that on the 2019 Coe Water Quality Fun Day, Lake Macbride has an E. coli advisory. The sign says "Concentrations of E. coli bacteria or toxins produced by blue green algae current exceed guidelines for recreational use." We were just kayaking though - we didn't actually consume any water! Left to right: Noah Gronewold, Zoe Bakken-Heck, Aaron McDermott, Daniel Turley, and Jackson Tupper. (Donald Janda worked in the lab in May, but then went on to work in the lab of Professor David Cwiertny at the University of Iowa.)
The summer 2018 crew (left to right: Madison Mathers, Zoe Bakken-Heck, Dan Turley, and Donald Janda) after dinner at Black Sheep Social Club and standing in front of the Cedar River at 15 feet, 7 inches (moderate flood stage).
So talented - capable of sophisticated field and laboratory measurements, but also able to stand up on paddle boards at Lake Macbride! The summer 2017 crew, left to right: Marissa Hedlund, Alyssa Olson, Joanna Funkhouser, Natalya Vrana, and Danielle Hollingshead. (Photo taken from a (much more stable) kayak.)
Students are the ones who do the work - who go out and collect samples, make the field measurements, and run the instruments in the laboratory. The summer 2016 crew with their new CWQL sportswear (on the front, it says "Stand back - I'm sciencing"): L to R - Joanna Funkhouser, Danielle Hollingshead, Maddy Jensen, Emily Davis, and Christina Brown.
The summer 2015 crew (L to R: Christina Brown, Laura Bybee, Ciera Rodriguez, and Maddy Jensen) are shown canoeing on the Maquoketa River. Since it was "CWQL Fun Day", no measurements were made and no samples were taken.
The summer 2014 students are shown above in the world-famous Brandon frying pan. From left to right: Kendra Miner, Laura Bybee, Kelsey McKillip, and Maddy Jensen.
The crew shown above is from summer 2013. From left to right: Laura Bybee, Kelsey McKillip, Jacob Fuentes, Deanna Marguglio, Kim Schorn, and Amanda Kohn.
From the archives - the "Stream Team" of 2002. Seated: Nick Goins, Heather Friberg, Kelly Whittlinger. Standing: Brent Ediger, Amy Burgin, Allison Hoppman, Wendy Bowers, and Cole Goater.
The following students have worked on water quality related research with Professor St. Clair since 1993 at Coe. They are an impressive group, and have gone on to be successful in a wide variety of fields. They are listed in (roughly) chronological order.
Collaborators
CWQL has been very fortunate to work with a number of great collaborators.
- The City of Cedar Rapids Utility Department has worked with us since 2001. Over the years, we have worked with John North, Roy Hesseman, Shelli Grapp, Steve Hershner, Mike Kuntz, Tariq Baloch, and Mary Beth Stevenson.
- We also had a longstanding relationship with the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Division - especially Mary Skopec and Lynette Seigley.
- We provide monitoring support to the Lime Creek Watershed Association's efforts to improve water quality in their watershed.
- Professor St. Clair has spent multiple sabbaticals working in the laboratory of Michelle Scherer, studying the interactions of iron oxides with pollutants in the environment, and, most recently, looking at issues associated with lead in drinking water. He also spent a productive sabbatical at the Iowa Geological Survey, working with Keith Schilling , Chris Jones, and Matthew Streeter.
- We worked with Rebecca Kauten, while she was working on her Ph.D. in the department of Geographical and Sustainability Studies at the University of iowa, to study the effects of road salts on mobilizing metals along our streets in Cedar Rapids and Coralville.
- Our rain garden wouldn't exist with the guidance of Amy Bouska (urban conservationist with IDALS), Jon Gallagher (Linn County Soil Conservationist) and funding from the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency through a Community Partnership Grant.
- The Indian Creek Watershed Assessment was coordinated by Jennifer Fencl at the East Central Iowa Council of Governments. Our RASCAL work has been greatly assisted by John Bruene (NRCS district conservationist), Jeff Tisl (Northeast Iowa Regional Basin Coordinator), and Jon Gallagher (Linn County soil conservationist).
- We worked with researchers at the University of Nebraska, the University of Iowa, and the University of North Carolina funded by an NSF-RAPID grant. The project focused on the effects of the 2012 drought on loadings of nitrogen in 2013.
- We currently provide analytical support for the Maquoketa WMA, the Wapsi WMA, NE Iowa RC&D (Upper Iowa), and the Turkey River.
The Chief
Marty St. Clair runs the CWQL. He grew up on a farm in northern Indiana and graduated from Butler University in 1983 with a B.S. in chemistry and environmental studies. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1989. After four years as laboratory director in Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa, he came to Coe in 1993. (Pictured with Ivy.)