Sheila Saia

Email: sms493@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-4992
Office: B62 Riley Robb Hall
Advisor: Tammo Steenhuis
Degree Program: M.S./Ph.D.

Background

I graduated from Binghamton University in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Bioengineering. Afterwards I taught English for a year in Chiba, Japan and then worked for a year in Buffalo, NY (my hometown) as an Americorps sponsored volunteer coordinator at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. This is my first year as a graduate student at Cornell University.

My Current Research Projects and Interests

Monitoring New York State Well Water for Pesticide Contamination

The purpose of this multi-year New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) funded study is to (1) locate specific counties that maybe be vulnerable to well contamination and (2) survey wells in these areas in order to evaluate current state pesticide application regulations. This past summer, I was involved in collecting well water samples from various locations across the state and analyzing these samples for pesticides (using ELISA immunoassay techniques) and ions like nitrogen (using ion chromatography techniques). I'm also using models to predict the transport of pesticides into groundwater for new study sites.

Lawn Care Pesticide Study in Skaneateles, New York

As part of the NYSDEC study mentioned above, this two year study will look at the effects of lawn care pesticides on the water quality of Skaneateles Lake. This is important because the lake is a major source of water for the city of Syracuse.

Urban Hydrology and Human Decision Making

As far as future research goes, I'm interested in improving our understanding of urban hydrology and storm water runoff as well as how the decisions of city residence may influence these processes.

Other

Besides all of this nerdy engineering stuff, I enjoy traveling and going on outdoor adventures. I ride my bike a lot and just started getting into rock climbing. I love cooking for other people and am mesmerized by the movement of jellyfish.