Evaluating Alternative Nutrient Sources in Subsistence-Level Aquaponic Systems

Many food production methods are both economically and environmentally unsustainable. Our project investigated aquaponics, an alternative method of agriculture that could address these issues. Aquaponics combines fish and plant crop production in a symbiotic, closed-loop system. We aimed to reduce the initial and operating costs of current aquaponic systems by utilizing alternative feeds. These improvements may allow for sustainable implementation of the system in rural or developing regions. We conducted a multi-phase process to determine the most affordable and effective feed alternatives for use in an aquaponic system. At the end of two preliminary phases, soybean meal was identified as the most effective potential feed supplement. In our final phase, we constructed and tested six full-scale aquaponic systems of our own design. Data showed that soybean meal can be used to reduce operating costs and reliance on fishmeal. However, a more targeted investigation is needed to identify the optimal formulation of alternative feed blends.

Analysis of the effect of yoga on selective attention and mental concentration in young adults

Gemstone Team Om

Assessing teen risk behavior and later drug use

Gemstone Team Risky Business

Detection methods for common problems in solar home systems

Gemstone Team SHINE (Students Helping to Implement Natural Energy)

Crossing the cultural divide: assessing the needs of a local immigrant community

Gemstone Team CARE (Community Assessment of Resident Experiences)

Mobilizing Maryland: a look into the voting tendencies of students at the University of Maryland

Gemstone Team VOTE-CP (Voice of the Electorate - Collegiate Participation)

Improving the use of asset-building financial services by Latino immigrants in Langley Park, Maryland

Gemstone Team ANSWER Poverty (Assessing the Need for Services Which Effectively Reduce Poverty)

A study of the benefits of retrofitting cardiovascular exercise equipment of a gym with human energy harvesting technology

Gemstone Team HEAT (Human Energy Acquisition Technology)

Harvesting life's energy: increase in the aerotolerence of the electrogenic anaerobe geobacter sulfurreducens due to over-expression of superoxide dismutase and catalase

Gemstone Team iGEM

Excluding mammalian predators from diamondback terrapin nesting beaches with an electric fence

Gemstone Team Saving Testudo

Specializing pedestrian maps to address the needs of people using wheelchairs: a case study in community-sustainable information systems

Gemstone Team FASTR (Finding Alternative Specialized Travel Routes)

Glutamine supplementation and renal health

Gemstone Team Juiced

A navigation and object location device for the blind

Gemstone Team Vision

An investigation of the stability and diffusivity of flexible lipid vesicles for transdermal insulin delivery

Gemstone Team No More Needles

Identification and assessment of potential wind energy project sites in the State of Maryland

Gemstone Team Renewables