UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre) Water quality is one of the most pressing issues in today’s world, and many graduates from Penn State’s College of Agricul ture will pursue this area in their careers. To help students get hands-on experience in evaluating water quality, the college has established a new laboratory. The Fritz Water Quality Labor atory was officially dedicated on Nov. 27. Located in the agricultur al engineering building on the University Park Campus, the lab is named after Brent Fritz, an envir onmental resource management student who died in an accident in 1982, shortly before his graduation. “Brent had been especially interested in water quality,” says Herschcl Elliott, associate profes sor of agricultural engineering and coordinator of the Environmental Resource Management (ERM) Program. “His family wanted to give some money to the university in hopes of furthering his interests. They wanted an alternative to establishing a traditional scholar ship, so we used their donation to renovate space for a water quality laboratory and named the lab in Brent’s memory.” Equipment for the laboratory was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. “Universities seem to be offer ing fewer and fewer lab courses because they arc so time- and resource-intensive,” says Elliott. “But students need that experien tial component of learning. They need to get in there and run the tests themselves, not just read about them in a book or hear about them from a professor.” The Fritz Laboratory is primari- PSU Establishes New Water Quality ly for teaching, but it will also be used for graduate student and faculty research projects. Current ly a water quality chemistry class meets there. Students conduct var ious common water quality tests —analyses for pH levels; nit rogen and phosphorus content; dissolved oxygen levels, impor tant for survival of organisms in streams; and water hardness, a factor in home water supplies. Students have access to state of-the-art equipment, including an ion chromatography systems that rapidly analyzes samples for anions—negatively charged mole cules such as nitrates, sulfates, phosphates and chlorides. A gas chromatograph quantifies organic materials—pesticides, for exam ple. Another system analyzes water samples for metal content. ■'—■ /».■•■»-«' Mmm 2! S No More Painting _ i - _ cAff W&WJkil&mmmm&i'Mmm Wild J3RKil^jU|jßMnfp: MStm^fiJw Jr a. v -, *' ' ' £*&■'”••■■ * < '^ S/ KreffitGiC) NUTIwOJI W^^WmWp “Pmflti #t*ft ftMtf Co<t» #^{l^,’’ Contact Your Local Fertrell Representative Today! FARM BASICS (jlcnn E Manm 241)9 Marsh Pike Hagerstown MD 21740 (301) 733 0796 RANDY BOITEICHER EDWIN R. OTT Kl) *1 Bo* 2396 2039 Dtrk Shade Hr Milro> PA 17063 Wmdhir PA P)M (717) 667 2066 (814) 467 5909 COCIIRANTON CO-OP 808 ELLIS Ho* 246 Pine Si RD 3 Bo* 470 ( oehranlon PA 16314 I cwislown PA 1783/ (814) 435 7401 (717) 56X 0530 PAUL ZIMMERMAN HARRY M. BARNE Rl 4 Bo* 173 Bo* 265 I Hit/ PA 17543 lunar PA 16848 (717) 733 7674 (717) 726-3275 “A common problem with many university labs is outdated equipment,” says Elliott. “Because this lab has modem equipment, we don’t have to teach our students one thing and then say, ‘When you get a job you’ll probably do it a different way.’ We can expose our students to many of the conventional tests and instruments they’ll encounter in the working world.” The water quality lab is part of the Environmental Resource Man agement Program, an interdepart mental program involving Penn State’s departments of agricultural engineering, agronomy, horticul ture, plant pathology, agricultural economics and rural sociology and the school of forest resources, ERM is a four-year major designed for students interested in “VINYL ♦ FENCING” 13 Styles To Choose From! “Vinyl Horse Fence” QUALITY FENCING & SUPPLY, INC. 622 N. Shirk Road New Holland, PA 17557 717-354-9760 Also Available At: G. BEN MILLER HENRY B. HOOVER AGWAY, INC. Rouzervlllo, PA 717-762-2386 1731 Main St., Ephrata, PA 717-733-6593 “P.S. Our Large Display In Showroom’* TRI OUR GANIC FERTRELL Rl 2. Box 113 McAllisicmlle. PA 17049 (717) 463 2551 an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems. Issues addressed in the program include acid rain, hazardous waste disposal and groundwater pollution. ERM graduates pursue careers with state and federal agencies. They prepare and evaluate envir- For More Information Contact: (717) 538 9109 “Vinyl Picket Fence” Lab onmental impact statements, develop plans for multipurpose uses of natural resources and anal yze environmental and pollution problems. Many recent graduates are working for environmental consulting firms and toxic waste management firms involved in the Environmental Protection Agen cy’s Superfund objects. READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE MARKET REPORTS No More Rotting */ ' *
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers