wptv.com
FAU graduate student uses Miss Fort Lauderdale crown to turn science into action
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A crown and a lab coat may seem like they belong in two very different worlds, but for Florida Atlantic University graduate student Paige Aldred, they serve the same purpose: getting people to care about the environment around them. Aldred is a biological science master's student at FAU studying water quality, harmful algal blooms, and Sargassum in and around the Indian River Lagoon. She is also Miss Fort Lauderdale, a title she is using to take the science she studies in the lab out into the community. At FAU, Aldred's research examines water quality at locations stretching from Sebastian Inlet south to Jupiter Inlet, including Fort Pierce and the St. Lucie Inlet. “The work that I'm doing at FAU is I'm studying the Indian River Lagoon,” Aldred said. “I'm not only studying the water quality of the Indian River Lagoon, but as well as what the Sargassum is bringing into the Indian River.” Looking at what we can't see For Aldred, much of the work begins with something Floridians know all too well: Sargassum. She collects samples in the field before drying and grinding the seaweed into a fine powder that can be sent for isotope...
