Project-Based Learning

EV200 Creating Environmental Policy Project
Every spring, EV200 students plan and conduct a class or individual group projects that surround environmental issues at Clarkson. In the 2008 Spring Semester, the EV200 class made up of freshmen through junior level students did a Carbon Footprint Assessment of Clarkson University. The project included a detailed list of carbon emission sources and levels at Clarkson along with potential alternatives, reduction measures, a cost-benefit analysis of every alternative, and a possible timeline for their application. The students put together a formal report and presentation that was delivered to professors, administrative staff, and other students from campus. Both the Carbon Footprint Project and all EV200 projects include an indepth study of the scientific and policy aspects of a local environmental problem.
Examples of several EV200 projects include:

• Observation Deck overlooking Clarkson wetlands
• Nature trail along Racquette River adjoining Clarkson's campus
• Green housing design projects for student dorms

Capstone Projects
All students majoring in the Environmental Science and Policy and Environmental Health Science,are required to create and conduct independent thesis projects. The research projects range from an analysis of environmental policy to the study of biological and chemical interactions in our environment. In the spring of their junior year, students learn how to develop a research proposal and present the proposal to faculty and their peers. As seniors, students carry out the research under the guidance of a faculty advisor from any discipline. This allows students to focus on something of personal value to them while gaining experience doing hands on research which they design. At the end of their research, students give a formal written and oral presentation of their findings in front of their classmates and professors. The following is a short list of past projects that students have carried out.

• Measurement of Exhaled Nitric Oxide as a Biomarker
• Effect of denitrification on methanogenesis in groundwater in the Choptank River watershed
• An Evaluation of the Acid Rain Policies of the United States with respect to the Adirondack Mountains
• Impacts of ATVs in the Adirondacks
• A win-win situation: saving money and the planet at the same time
• Politics vs Science: Facing the controversy with the Public Peace Bridge Authority
• Policies used for Protecting National Parks
• A Case Study on Environmental Racism in Los Angeles, California
• Probabilistic and Point Estimates of Children’s Health Risks Due to Diesel and Biodiesel Exhaust