A. Russell Flegal to Host Annual UC TSR&TP Symposium
Photo by Don Harris
"It's been a very busy, very productive year," says UC Santa 
Cruz
researcher A. Russell Flegal. Flegal mentors several undergraduate, graduate,
and post-doctoral students in various fields of study at UC Santa Cruz. "Each
student has been working on an 'off the wall' project--something that would
never be funded by traditional funding centers without sending initial data."
But, through funding provided by the UC TSR&TP via the Coastal Toxicology
Component, Flegal and his students are able to obtain initial data, demonstrate
that the university is contributing resources, and secure major funding from
sources like the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.
"A lot of the work we do wouldn't be considered fundable by many institutions
because the work actually bridges the gap between basic research and applied
research," Flegal said. "But there's an overwhelming need for this
type of research to be explored." An excellent example of this is the methodology
Flegal's team developed while gathering pore water sediment samples in San Francisco
Bay. Now called 'trace-metal clean techniques for sampling', what was once considered
an 'off the wall' project is now the preferred methodology used by the US EPA.
Flegal explains, "The US EPA is now requiring every group measuring contaminant
metals in any water system to use essentially the same methodology we developed.
We have refined our methodology and have successfully reduced the cost and difficulty
of implementing it." Over the last year, Flegal has worked closely with
US EPA to produce publications and training material for the government field
researchers.
Currently, Flegal has a very productive laboratory, filled with many talented students and laboratory technicians. Each student is trained in laboratory and field techniques by the 'senior students' already in the laboratory. Flegal says, "It's autocatalytic. Each student gets trained and then trains the next generation. Every one of my students is involved in each aspect of their research project-from ordering supplies to writing proposals." Flegal also stresses the importance of presenting research data in a clear and informative way. "With the support from UC TSR&TP, my students attend many scientific meetings. They see good and bad presentations, and I hope they will learn to emulate the former. Being able to explain complex scientific data to people from all different backgrounds is not easy-but it's essential. The UC TSR&TP Symposium provides a wonderful, non threatening environment for the students to present their work and learn from
other student's presentations."
Khalil Abusaba, also a graduate student, is continuing to investigate the health hazards of chromium. Salsz Leathers, a local plant that processes leather, has sponsored AbuSaba, establishing a fellowship in environmental chemistry at UC Santa Cruz.
Nicole Beck, a graduate student in Earth Sciences, has had her first glimpse at teaching this year-she's been a teacher's aid. As for her research, she plans to use lead isotopes as a tracer in groundwater samples gathered for some of Flegal's new work.
Carol Creasey, a doctorate student in Earth Sciences, is adapting the 'clean techniques methodology' for looking at the transport of trace metals associated with potentially contaminated groundwater.
Graduate Student Priya Ganguli hopes to use lead isotopes from rocks water draining from Iron Mountain to determine the trace metal concentrations and to pinpoint the origin of the contamination.
Ben Owen's research aims to quantify the extent to which human blood lead concentrations have been elevated above natural levels by anthropogenic lead contamination.
Undergraduate Rachel Ramirez has learned solid laboratory techniques from fellow students and the lab technicians. She plans to graduate in Environmental Geology and continue to graduate school.
Graduate Student Ignacio Rivera-Duarte came to UCSC in 1990 and worked closely with Flegal on the geochemistry of trace elements in the pore water. Now Duarte is focusing on eight elements and their concentrations within San Francisco Bay; he hopes to use the isotopic fingerprint of metals like lead, zinc, copper, nickel and silver to track the changes over the last year.
| <-Feb/March 1996 |