{"id":16999,"date":"2023-03-02T21:24:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T02:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/?page_id=16999"},"modified":"2025-02-19T12:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:32:17","slug":"winter-2023-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/news-events\/winter-2023-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter 2023 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Winter 2023 Newsletter<\/h1>\n

Voices from STEEP<\/h1>

\u201cI think the proudest moments are always when students graduate\u2026that’s just a very, very wonderful thing.”<\/em>                                                                                                                                        <\/p>\n

STEEP Director, Rainer Lohmann, featured in the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography\u2019s mini-vid series, Get to Know GSO<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Feature<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Jitka Becanova, PhD, Assistant Research Professor and STEEP Senior Personnel<\/a>
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\"\"<\/a>\u201cComing here and starting with STEEP, it was really a family\u2026people who were enthusiastic about the work we started doing\u2026this was for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 2022, former STEEP trainee Jitka Becanova, PhD, began her new position as Assistant Research Professor at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, adding to her already impressive work as senior personnel in STEEP Project 4 (Detection Tools), an analytical lead in the DMAC core, and mentor for the RETCC core. An environmental chemist, Becanova has integrated her expertise in analytical chemistry with environmental engineering; her goal is to identify the presence of compounds of concern in the environment and help reduce human exposure.<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"STEEP Sightings<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Newly elected RI Congressman Seth Magaziner learned about STEEP from Director Rainer Lohmann and discussed water quality and novel detection tools with trainee Matt Dunn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In February, STEEP trainees convened in Cambridge, MA for research conversations and a tour of the Sunderland Lab at Harvard University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"\"Research Highlights<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Lohmann, et al. place second for the 2021 Environmental Science and Technology Best Paper Award: Addressing Urgent Questions for PFAS in the 21st Century<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>PFAS researchers collaborate on six urgent questions relevant to the what, where, how, and who of PFAS in our environment, and applicable science, technology, and policy considerations to address the problem. The paper was selected as Environmental Science and Technology<\/em> (ES&T<\/em>) Second Joint Winner in the Feature\/Perspective\/Viewpoint category. Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n

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PFAS may target bones, according to STEEP research<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>A new publication demonstrates an association between PFAS and diminished bone density in 5-year-old children. Pediatric bone density has been demonstrated to strongly track through young adulthood and possibly beyond; therefore, these prospective results may have important public health implications. Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n

STEEP team evaluates low-cost method for confident PFAS detection in water<\/a><\/h3>\n

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PFAS are everywhere, and in the environment, require effective and affordable discovery\u2014passive samplers could be the solution. In addition to efficiency and cost-effectiveness, integrative passive samplers allow for time-weighted averages of PFAS water concentrations, providing a holistic view of contamination over days, tides, and seasons. Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Program Updates<\/span><\/h2>\n
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STEEP at #SRP35! A strong opening of the 35th<\/sup> annual SRP conference included a presentation from KC Donnelly Externship awardee and STEEP trainee Matthew Dunn. Dunn spoke to the full conference about his trip to Cyclopure in Skokie, IL, to test affordable PFAS-sorbent material for water treatment. The poster session also featured former trainee Izak Hill, current trainees Juliana Agudelo, Asta Habtemichael, and Emily Kaye, as well as CEC Co-Lead Emily Diamond, PhD., and RTC Co-Lead Jaclyn Witterschein.<\/p>\n