Nitika Dewan and Benton Cartledge, Ph.D. candidates at the University of Denver, will be our featured lunch speakers on Wednesday June 25, 2014, 11:30 – 1pm, at the National Park Service’s Academy Place office off Hampden and Wadsworth (7333 W. Jefferson, Lakewood). Nitika and Benton are winners of the inaugural year of the Rocky Mountain States Section of the Air and Waste Management Association student scholarship program. The scholarship awards are intended to provide recognition and a financial award for qualified students to encourage careers relating to the fields of air pollution control and waste management.

Benton Cartledge’s presentation is titled “Metal Concentrations in Fine Particulate Matter from the Light Rail System in the Denver Metropolitan Area”. Benton will be discussing his research in which fine particulate matter samples were collected from three locations in the Denver-Metropolitan area to study the impacts of the light rail on airborne metal concentrations. Benton is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate at the University of Denver where he carries out research under Dr. Brian Majestic, studying metal composition and iron solubility in atmospheric particulate matter.

Nitika Dewan’s presentation is titled “Characterization of Aral Sea particulate matter in Kyrgyzstan”. This presentation will highlight her research where she studied the recession of the Aral Sea and its impact on air pollution in Central Asia. Nitika is pursuing her Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry under Dr. Brian Majestic from the University of Denver. She is studying trace-elemental isotopes to identify atmospheric particulate matter sources in Central Asia. Growing up in New Delhi, Nitika has always been concerned about the environment. Nitika has her M.S. in Chemistry- Industrial Applications, from Jamia Hamdard University, India and a M.S. in Biochemistry from Miami University, Ohio.

If you intend to attend this meeting, please RSVP by Tuesday, June 24, to Sara Nuttall, [email protected].