Aquinas chemistry majors Lianne Griffiths '08 and Rob Sturm '07 presented a research poster at the 2007 Central Regional American Chemical Society meeting in Covington, Kentucky in May.  These two students worked with Dr. Elizabeth Jensen during the summer of 2006 on a project funded by Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI). They collected soil samples from PCCI property just south of Hastings, Michigan, and used Atomic Absorption Spectrometry to quantify the concentrations of lead, copper, and zinc and to determine whether the metal ion concentrations decreased with distance from roads.  Soil samples were also collected in Grand Rapids near the Aquinas College campus to confirm that metal ion concentrations increase with higher traffic volumes.