Studies of microbial diversity in the rivers of Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The objective of this project is to characterize various aspects of the diversity of the three rivers of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA metropolitan area including the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area is known for historically being highly polluted due to the industries in the area (specifically multiple steel mills). By studying this environment, we can detect potential long-term effects of pollution from the industries as well as the microbiological effects of present-day industrial activity and the urban environment. This project is educational in nature in that the specific activities undertaken are part of educational initiatives for high school through graduate level students led by the Computational Biology Department in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.