Paul Mathisen - Projects
Project opportunities for 2015/6:
This section lists available project
opportunities for the 2015/6 academic year. Project availability is noted
as of 2/9/15. Since some students had already expressed interest, some
projects may already be taken before this web site can be changed. You are
welcome to contact Paul Mathisen (mathisen@wpi.edu)
if you are interested in any of these projects.
Major Qualifying Projects:
1. Impacts of wastewater
effluent discharges on water quality - see description below under general
project topic areas
2. Projects Affiliated with the Boston Project Center -
various potential topics - see description below under general project topic areas
3. Fish passage - various topics - see
description under general MQP topic areas
4. Reservoir Yield for the Boston
Water
Supply - possible topic to address future supply considerations
Some previously completed projects
Major Qualifying Projects:
Wastewater management
options for Mashpee, MA - by Alex Dismore, Paul Moran, and Allison Vasallo
Water Quality Management for the
Nashua River - by Jon Carelli, Dan Lafrance, Chris Luppino, and Kristin
Ostermann
Interactive Qualifying Projects:
Watershed management for
the Seven-mile River by Michael Belsky,
Bethany Santangelo and Drew Wopat
Information
management for the Boylston Water District
by Dave Sheridan & Josh Gardner
Some general MQP topic areas
1. "Impacts of
subsurface discharges of wastewater effluent on water quality"
To avoid direct discharges into streams and ponds, subsurface disposal is
commonly required for wastewater effluent discharges. Subsurface
discharges help provide additional treatment that improves the quality of the
discharges before they flow into surface waters. This approach is
important for many municipal treatment facilities as well as septic systems,
which are extensively used throughout Massachusetts. However, we still do not
fully understand how these subsurface discharges can affect nutrients such as
phosphorous and nitrogen, and we do not know how they affect emerging
contaminants. Projects in this area include the analysis of
the impacts of wastewater discharges on groundwater and
surface water, along with the development of improved
techniques for treatment and disposal of these discharges
2. "Groundwater Remediation"
These projects commonly are set up in collaboration with United States
Geological Survey and Installation Restoration Program at the Massachusetts
Military Reservation. A major cleanup has been on-going at this site for a
while. Key questions involve the operation of pump and treat systems and
how to make decisions regarding the operation of these systems.
Additional questions involve specific contamination problems and how to deal
with the remediation of these areas. Projects in this area
include groundwater assessment and modeling, along with
remediation design. Students interested in working on
groundwater contamination problems are encouraged to consider topics in this
area.
3. " Boston Project Center Projects "
I am planning to set up an MQP in conjunction with one of the organizations we have been working with for our Boston Project
Center. Recent sponsors have included the EPA, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection, MA Dept. of Energy Resources, NE Aquarium,
The Boston Harbor Association, and others as well. There are a few areas, but the likely topic areas for the MQP include (1)
adapting to climate change in urban areas or (2) promoting innovative water/wastewater treatment technologies (either test center
or technology development/design). I.d anticipate that the projects will likely be multi-term projects with some regular visits
into Boston to collaborate with sponsors. The project will likely take place in A through C terms, although there may be options
for a one or two term project.
2007/8
Previous MQPs have
addressed comtamination in Salisbury Pond, which is located adjacent to WPI in
Institute Park.
Projects in this area will include close interaction with
towns and watershed interested in restoring urban streams and
ponds.
4. " Fish passage in rivers
Many dams are located on rivers throughout the United States. These dams often
impact that ecosystem and do not allow for fish to follow their natural
migration routes. Projects in this area are intended to address these problems
by developing solutions to allow for fish passage at these dams. A recent
project concentrated on fish passage at a dam along the Quinapoxet River in
Holden, MA. This project
involved hydrologic and hydraulic analyses along with a
design to accommodate fish passage at this dam. Another project
addresses fish passage in the Manhan River in Easthampton, MA.
Additional
projects for next
year include design of fish passage facilities at other locations, along
with consideration of a variety of options for restoring fish passage
(e.g. natural fishways).
Some examples of Previous Projects:
Fish Passage:
"Facilitation of Fish Passage on the Quinapoxet River ", 2004/5, by Hunter
Bennett-Daggett, Janet Moonan, and Paul Ruszala, Collaboration with the Alden
Research Laboratory, Inc., US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mass Division of
Resources and Recreation.
Groundwater remediation:
"Long term Plan for Remediation of a Contaminated Groundwater Plume", 2002/3, by
Julie Forcier, Eric Kenney, Cati Knab, and Jackie Maiarano, Collaboration with
the USGS, Massachusetts Military Reservation, and the EPA.
Offshore Engineering:
"Design of an Offshore Wind Turbine in Nantucket Sound", 2002/3, by Dale
Horsmann and Andre King
Urban Runoff:
" Design of a BMP to Reduce Sediment Loads in Salisbury Pond" - 2003/4 - by
Sergio Cherenzia and Matt Zuccaro Water supply:
"Enhancing Groundwater Recharge in Blackstone,MA" - 2003/4 - by Luke Boucher,
Crystal Caron, and Anita Padmanabhan, sponsored by the Town of Blackstone, MA