Meet the 2022 Annual Conference Poster Competition Winners

By Justin Lindemann

Photo (from left to right): The deputy director of NC WRRI and NC Sea Grant, John Fear, Adeola Sorinolu, Emily Pierce, Carolina Zuber, NCWRA president Matthew Hornack and Lauren Grimley gather after the awards ceremony at the NC WRRI Annual Conference (not pictured: Alexis Kussman).

The 24th NC WRRI Annual Conference took place as a hybrid event, held online and in person at Jane S. McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University on March 23 and 24. The event was widely attended by members of different sectors and disciplines working in water resources across North Carolina, including water utilities, students, consultants, academics, nonprofits, state agency staff, among many others. Around 200 guests attended in person, with about 60 joining online. 

The annual conference also gave undergraduate and graduate students the chance to present their research via WRRI’s student poster competition and win votes from presentation judges. The North Carolina Water Resources Association (NCWRA) sponsored the contest and awarded prizes to each of the student winners.

2022 Winners

First Place: Emily Pierce

Emily Pierce won first place for her presentation of “Microcystin concentration, partitioning and structural concentration throughout bloom phases.” Pierce is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University, and her advisor is Astrid Schnetzer.

Second Place: Adeola Sorinolu

Adeola Sorinolu won for her presentation of “Kinetics of antibiotic resistance genes degradation and mitigation of horizontal gene transfer using sulfate radical and hydroxyl radical.” Sorinolu is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her advisor is Mariya Munir.

Third Place: Caroline Zuber

Caroline Zuber won for her presentation of “Can strategic buffers improve coastal resilience to changing conditions in the Cape Fear watershed?” Zuber is an undergraduate at North Carolina State University and her advisor is Katherine Martin.

Honorable Mentions:

Lauren Grimley received an honorable mention for her presentation of “Exploring the effects of climate change on compound flooding the N.C. estuary communities.” Grimley is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her advisor is Antonia Sebastian.

Alexis Kussman received an honorable mention for her presentation of “Analysis of subsurface stormwater management systems in a coastal aquifer setting.” Kussman is a master’s student at East Carolina University, and her advisor is Alex Manda.

Congratulations to all the winners and our thanks to all the participants!

Find out more about the WRRI Annual Conference and view session recordings on the Annual Conference website.