Winter Thesis Proposals

Michelle McFadden, and Cristina Halstead presented their thesis proposals at the end of winter quarter, 2009. The students, all in their second year of the MSRS, are also all preparing to conduct their research on site at the Lyle Center.

Cristina Halstead has started her thesis research on different types of green roofs on the test cells located on the Solar Terrace of the Center. The MSRS graduate student is interested in how green roofs can affect many different aspects of our built environment.

Michelle McFadden's research will be a combination of both a thesis and a project titled “Development and Testing of A Low-Cost Prototype for Heating and Cooling for Future Applications in Developing Nations." She has been using the TJ House prototype to build and test her system since her thesis proposal was presented winter quarter of this year. Eliminating, or at least reducing, the demand on mechanical systems in developed countries is a goal of McFadden’s work, as well as to improve the quality of life and reduce the need to burn wood in developing nations.

Congratulations LCRS Graduates!

Sunday June 14th the Lyle Center held a graduation ceremony for students from the MSRS program who graduated in the spring quarter of 2009. The students celebrating their commencement were: Telat Yalcin, who completed his thesis titled “The Estimation of Cal Poly Pomona Campus’ Carbon Storage and Sequestration by Examining Campus Trees;” Lora Hall with her research done on site at Santa Monica Community College and titled, “Behavior of Biodegradable Good Containers in a Vermicompost System;” and Jennifer Strouse, with her thesis project, “Medicinal Plant Design.” 

Faculty in attendance were Juan Araya; Dr. Pablo LaRoche; graduate coordinator Dr. Denise Lawrence; and director of the Lyle Center, Dr. Kyle Brown. Congratulations to all of the graduates this quarter and good luck on all of your future endeavors!

Fellowship Lecture: Labeling and Food Miles

Last week during U-hour, Lyle Center Faculty Fellow Dr. Jae Min Jung gave a presentation about his research on the use of state of origin labeling and its effects on consumer decisions. A state of origin label indicates which state in the union produces a particular item - in this case it would depict the state in which the food item was grown.

Dr. Jung's research question focused primarily on state of origin labeling and and how it affects the purchasing decisions of buyers. Previous research has shown links between country of origin and purchasing preferences; Dr. Jung wondered whether a state of origin label would produce a similar effect. For this research project, Dr. Jung used the state logos of two products, one from North Dakota and the other from ohio. Using university students as test participants, surveys were administered to assess purchasing preferences based on the state affiliation. Surveys showed that the students did prefer local foods, and when local foods were not available, they showed preferences by region. 

Dr. Jung's research  is intended to provide some marketing guidance to the state government, farmers, food processors and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable marketing programs that are locally based. These programs would encourage people to buy local produce and reduce the number of food miles (the distance products travel from farms to the stores and markets that sell them). If there proves to be a strong correlation between the state of origin labeling and an increase in local food purchasing, it should provide strong evidence that more informative labeling could help reduce the transportation of food and associated greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn, benefit the sustainability movement.