Joshua Castellanos, a junior at Brentwood High School, has been researching nitrogen in Long Island's coastal ecosystems from runoff and cesspool leaching. Credit: Brentwood School District.

— By Michael R. Ebert, Newsday [Long Island / Education]

Brentwood, NY, April 22, 2021 - Two Brentwood High School students are using grant funds to help assess and mitigate pressing engineering and environmental issues.

Senior Javier Garcia is researching ways to assist disabled individuals who work in factory production settings, while junior Joshua Castellanos is assessing the impact of increased nitrogen on local salt marsh ecosystems.

Their projects were among 29 from metropolitan area high schools recently recognized by the New York Institute of Technology's Mini-Research Grant Award program, an initiative designed to offset expenses pertaining to high school research proposals or continuing projects in science, technology, engineering and math – also known as STEM.

Each student received $300.


Javier Garcia, a senior at Brentwood High School, has been researching ways to assist individuals with disabilities who work in factory production settings. Credit: Brentwood School District.

"Through science we have the ability to make changes in society and through engineering we can make change and assist people," said Garcia, who designed a device to help disabled workers label boxes.

Castellanos' project, meanwhile, focuses on increased nitrogen from runoff and cesspool leaching in coastal ecosystems. He is working with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the nonprofit Save the Sound and New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York.

"We applaud our students, Javier and Joshua, for their ambition and commitment to their studies," Brentwood School District Superintendent Richard Loeschner said.


More Info: Marine Small Grants


"Let’s Science That!" engages the public in scientific research conducted by the Brentwood High School research students.

The "Let's Science That!" Website is an offshoot of "No Child or Teacher Left Inside," a recent project of the Brentwood and Smithtown West students. 

It's one of six "2019 Marine Small Grants Projects" provided via a partnership between New York Sea Grant, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the Marine and Coastal District of New York Conservation, Education, and Research Grants Program. In addition to having helped educate students, these grants have enhanced fishing access for people of all abilities, and improved fisheries data collection to enable more New Yorkers to enjoy the state’s diverse marine resources. 

Funding is supported from the Marine and Coastal District License Plate which is administered by the Marine and Coastal District of New York Conservation, Education and Research Board, and authorized through NYS Environmental Conservation Law Article 13, Title 5 Section 13-0503. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Stony Brook University or New York Sea Grant.

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, University at Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Elmsford and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly. Our program also produces an occasional e-newsletter, "NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.