2010 Capstone Award Winners: Think Globally, Act Locally
On October 21, Boston University College of General Studies Dean Linda Wells and faculty presented awards to a winning Capstone group from each team, in recognition of the hard work, research, analysis and teamwork they invested into their Capstone projects. Each team took on the 2010 topic — “Think Globally, Act Locally.”
Team S
Nuclear Waste in New England: Finding Alternative Ways to Monitor and Store Nuclear Waste
Students: Landon Beamer, Andrew Farrell, Yessenia Guncay, Alexandra Hunter, Christina Macarthy, Megan Mitchell, Neva Wallach
Faculty: Samuel HammerWilliam Tilchin Jeffrey Vail
Advisor: John Lyons
“This paper was addressed to the EPA and the general public and dealt with problems and insufficiences regarding the storage of nuclear waste in New England, proposing a five-part solution. The group’s research was painstaking and their proposals were modest and reasonable-sounding. The writing and proofreading were very good indeed, clearly written and with very few mistakes. The capstone was full of great, detailed information and I and my colleagues felt that we learned a lot. It was well-timed too, as the disaster at the Fukushima Plant in Japan had just happened and was still being dealt with – the group included the transcript of an interview with an engineer at San Diego University where they asked great questions about the best storage for nuclear waste and the risks involved.” — Professor Jeffrey Vail
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Team T:
Who Owns Your Genes? The Future of Genetics and Gene Patenting
Students: Alexandria Bresnahan, Laura Brown, Livia Brown, Kate Festa, Harry Griffin, Gabriela Hernandez, Melanie Webster
Faculty: David Atkinson, Sally Sommers-Smith, James Wilcox
Advisor: Heidi Chase
“The paper was a well-argued and well-documented consideration of both the biological and legal issues surrounding the identification and sequencing of genes, and the patenting of both gene sequences and diagnostic testing procedures associated with those sequences. The group’s defense revealed the deep understanding and careful thinking that were necessary for the formulation of their policy.” — Professor Sommers-Smith
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Team U:
Recommendations for Regulating Ground and Surface Water Pumping in Vermont, USA
Students: Ireni Barounis, Carlos Barrero, Maria de Montserrat Bravo, Gabriella Emslie, Christopher Gordon, Daniel Lopez, Ryan Pritham
Faculty: Millard Baublitz, June Grasso, Adam Sweeting
Advisor: Linday Bondy-Ives
“Adopting the identity of a real-life organization, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, this group took on the daunting challenges associated with the continued privatization of Vermont’s public water resources. They tackled the issue in a professional manner. First, they noted that Vermont, compared to most states, currently lacks effective groundwater use laws. The consequence has been the economic devastation of many rural communities. They then reviewed relevant laws and regulations, offering suggestions for amendments and updates. Their recommendations for specific oversight committees and funding opportunities were reasonable and balanced. The group’s research was impressive and included a trip to northern Vermont to interview protagonists in this dispute. Citing a variety of sources from the national to local and neighborhood levels, CGS’s version of the Vermont Natural Resources Council has offered sophisticated and workable solutions to one state’s problems that could be used for models nationwide.” — Professor Millard Baublitz
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Team V:
America Runs on Dunkin’, Dunkin’ Runs on Green
Students: Whitney Anderson, Anna Cervisi , Kendrea Collins, Elise Fisher, Katrine Ghobrial, Hanna Matyiku, Allison Townsend
Faculty: Robert Schoch, Robert Wexelblatt, Thomas Whalen
Advisor: Ilda Hanxhari
“Who would have thought donuts and coffee could be so darn interesting. But in ‘America Runs on Dunkin,’ Dunkin’ Runs on Green,’ Whitney Anderson, Anna Cervisi, Kendrea Collins, Elise Fisher, Katey Ghobrial, Hanna Matyiku, and Allie Townsend have produced a paper that is as thoughtfully creative as it is insightful. They took a comprehensive look at one of our most successful local companies and showed how it could make itself more financially profitable and environmentally responsible by adopting such eco-friendly practices as using new compostable paper cups, and equipping member franchise restaurants with sustainable bamboo flooring and recycled coffee ground furniture. Put another way, by embracing this innovative business model, DD would not only go ‘Green’ but earn lots of green, as in money and profits, in the process. Their research paper comports to the highest standards of what a Capstone project is all about. Indeed, like DD, CGS ‘runs’ on such fine collective accomplishment. Kudos.” — Professor Robert Schoch
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Team W
Growing Greener Cities: Boston University’s Guide to Becoming a Fully Sustainable University
Advisor: Megan Riedinger, Miranda Ciarrocchi, Amanda Cohen, Brooke Nicholas, Eli Rodrigues, Vicente Sierra, Elizabeth Tilchin
Faculty: Michael Kort, Kari Lavalli, Kevin Stoehr
Advisor: Louis Mayhew
“These students thoroughly researched the efforts that BU has undertaken to become more ‘green’ and concluded that much more could be done. In the course of their project, these students took the extra step of acquiring their own data by conducting a survey of 100 BU students to determine how much students knew about BU’s Office of Sustainability and what additional options students would like to have on campus to make going green easier. Their policy was a nice blend of (1) inexpensive green replacements to fixtures, machines, and vehicles done incrementally as old versions wore out, (2) changes to the BU Shuttle service, (3) installation of a rental bike system to decrease use of the BU Shuttle and MBTA, and (4) practical solutions to better engage students, including having the Sustainability Office create a BU Facebook and Twitter account to advertise events, and having the Sustainability Office become involved in new student orientation programs. Their capstone was well-written, referenced, and defended and the students, as a whole, appeared as a very cohesive group.” — Professor Kari Lavalli
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Team X:
Hungry for Knowledge: A Proposal to Help Combat Hunger in the Greater Boston Area
Students: Lee Castelo, Alex Figliolia, Matthew Given, Reava Iskhakov, Megan Kothari, Alexandra Remar
Faculty: Peter Busher, Jay Corrin, Natalie McKnight
Advisor: Stacy Godnick
“Think Globally, Act Locally. This was the theme of the 2011 Capstone Project and it describes the award winning Capstone on Team X for 2011. In this thoroughly researched and clearly written paper the students examined the problem of hunger, first on a global scale, and then by directing their focus on the local issue of hunger in the Boston area. While Boston is reported to have fewer food-insecure citizens than other U.S. cities the number is rising at an alarming rate, especially given the present economic situation. The students created an innovative group – The United Students Against Hunger – that is designed to coordinate the actions of existing State and City agencies with the actions of non-government agencies and college and university groups. They also went into the ‘field’ visiting food pantries and homeless shelters and conducting interviews with both organization representatives and the food-insecure including a number of the chronically homeless. The paper stresses interdisciplinarity by combining economic ethics, urban land-use practices, sociological imagination and the science of processing and distributing available food resources to those in need. The winning Capstone Group on Team X became a real agent for change through their proposal.” — Professor Jay Corrin
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Team Y:
E-Waste: A Practical Approach to a Growing Problem
Students: Karla Caraballo-Torres, David Hack, Alexis Medina, Michael Neff, Robin Schweitzer, Paula Villegas, John Brandon Wood
Faculty: Leonard Andres, June Grasso, Michael Kort, Neal Leavitt
Advisor: Alyse Bithavas
“The number of electronic products sold in the United States has grown rapidly in the last decade. And, since new electronic products are often introduced a year to sixteen months after their predecessor model – and since the number of people buying new electronic products continues to grow – an increasing amount of “electronic waste” is generated by the American consumer. This capstone group formulated a policy that would reduce the amount of electronic waste entering landfills – both at home and abroad. In particular, this group focused on the reuse of electronic products, primarily through the creation of more efficient “secondary markets” for cell phones, laptops, tablet computers, desktops and television sets. This capstone group also advocated for the creation of very large electronic recycling centers – using Japanese recycling centers as a model – that could handle the increasing volume of electronic products that will reach the “end of use” phase in coming years. Carefully crafted government regulations were also a part of the policy recommendation. Several facts stood out about this capstone. The argument was clear, the written presentation of the argument was excellent and the oral exam was really quite impressive. We – the professors of team Y – are very pleased to award this group the team award for outstanding capstone.” — Professor Neal Leavitt
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