Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety: Determining Exposure

This project, done in conjunction with the US Coast Guard (USCG), responded to the dangerous nature of commercial fishing by determining how long fishermen are on the water so realistic fatality rates for fisheries could be calculated. We performed background research and interviewed government agencies who supplied us with the data necessary to complete our goal. After we obtained our results, we prepared conclusions and recommendations for the USCG, assisting in the achievement of their maritime safety mission

Isolation and Antimicrobial Potential of Epsilon Poly-L-lysine

Epsilon poly-L-lysine (ePL) is a biopolymer that has potential uses in a variety of fields including medicine, bioelectronics, and the food industry (as a food preservative). The goal of this project was to isolate ePL producing bacteria or fungi from soils suspected to be polluted by heavy metals, including chromates. The project concentrated on assaying the soil samples for chromium content, testing the specificity of the method of Itzhaki (to measure concentrations of ePL), and testing the antimicrobial effectiveness of ePL