Since November, I’ve participated in the EnvironMentors program, a DC-based education initiative that prepares students from underrepresented backgrounds for careers in environmental science. The EnvironMentors program pairs high school students with scientists and engineers across industry and academia for a one-on-one mentoring relationship that culminates in a year-long environmental research project. High school students learn the scientific process, opportunities and strategies for pursuing a career in science, and, in the case of my student, Lalaram, how cool it is to microwave the living crap out of wheat grass seeds and “see what happens”.
Lalaram first approached me with an interest in exploring how electromagnetic waves released by cell phones affect the environment. However, I was unable to think of a practical way to test that and still generate measurable results. We discussed various options and decided to explore how microwave radiation affects plant growth. This allowed us to utilize the common household microwave and control the amount of exposure.
After conducting background research, we found that this very topic was the focus of NASA researcher, Dr. JW Skiles, who is investigating the long-term effects of continuous microwave energy illumination of the biosphere. In his 2006 Acta Astronautica paper, “Plant response to microwaves at 2.45 GHz,” Skiles exposed alfalfa to microwave energy and found there was no difference between the control and the microwave treatment plants. Noting a passage in Dr. Skiles paper that said, “other experiments are necessary,” we set out to break new ground in the field of microwaves and plants!
Our experiment design consisted of three groups (water, soil, and seeds) that would recieve increasing amounts of microwave exposure (0, 15s, 30s, 1min, 2min, and 4min). In the water condition, the water would be microwaved and allowed to cool before being administered to the wheat grass on each watering day. In the soil and seeds conditions, the soil and seeds were microwaved at the beginning and given regular control water on each watering day. Not the most complicated experiment of all time, but with three replications, it was critical to keep things organized. We had three measures: 1) the day that sprouts first emerged from the soil, 2) the length of each blade of wheat grass recorded every three days, and 3) the percentage of seeds that sprouted.
Our paper is in final revisions and due to the EnvironMentors program on Tuesday, so be sure to check back in a few days for the finished product. For now, enjoy the above picture of Lalaram measuring wheat grass on Day 10 after microwave exposure. Stay tuned!
April 19, 2009
community service, science, Washington DC