Shoreham-Wading River High School students Katelyn Schaefer and Julianna O’Neill continue their research as part of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s SPARK (Student Partnerships for Advanced Research and Knowledge) program.

Students in High School Science Research teacher Mrs. Dana Schaefer’s class, the duo is involved in the IR microscope and IR beamline at the NSLS-II. Their work includes examining the elemental composition of microplastics collected from surface waters in the Peconic Estuary to determine the types of plastics that are present. They then are tracing them back to possible point sources to identify the most common sources of plastic pollution.

Date Added: 2/23/2023