Mangroves, coastal trees with dense roots that are periodically submerged by tides, are essential to the South Florida ecosystem and infrastructure. Their roots stabilize shorelines by trapping sediment, which includes environmental contaminants. Microplastics are frequently trapped between mangrove roots and can accumulate within mangroves through root uptake, interfering with metabolic processes and inhibiting root growth. This is especially prevalent in urban areas, like Miami. Microplastic absorption weakens mangrove structural integrity and reduces the effectiveness of mangrove roots as shoreline protection. Our research focuses on studying the relationship between microplastic intake and the strain on mangrove roots. Part of this project involves developing a method using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to determine the prevalence of microplastics in a sample. This method consists of refining sample-preparation techniques for both leaves and propagules, enabling identification of microplastic levels in mangrove leaves and propagules via root uptake. We plan to combine our microplastic composition research with strain measurements on mangroves to understand their structure in urban areas. Our findings may contribute to assessing the risk that microplastic pollution poses to mangrove structural function in protecting vulnerable coastlines.

Note: Accepted to the Division of Biological Physics: Plant and Fungal Physics II

Mangroves are vital natural infrastructure for coastal cities. They protect urban coastlines by mitigating erosion and flooding, and they provide a habitat for commercially important fish species. These properties depend on root systems that can sense and withstand mechanical loads, yet the stresses and strains experienced by mangrove roots under natural forcing remain understudied. We want to quantify these values and then study how environmental toxins impact those mechanisms. We treat roots as load-bearing organs and test their mechanical response to stress by pairing field work in urban mangrove forests in Miami with controlled laboratory trials. In the field, we mount strain gauges on live mangrove roots to record bending strains under wave conditions. These strain gauges monitor stress on mangroves over time. Insights from observations inform the design of idealized roots for wave-tank testing. While holding their root geometries approximately constant, we expose our constructed idealized roots to repeatable wave conditions, thereby isolating material and contamination effects. Primary metrics include bending-derived stress and strain rates with the ultimate goal of comparing how different root geometries interpret stress and strain. By linking pollution, root mechanics, and wave loading, our study aims to inform future approaches to urban mangrove survival and nature-based defenses.

Note: Accepted to the Division of Biological Physics: Plant and Fungal Physics II

Optical tweezers enable the precise manipulation of microscopic particles using lasers. Because of their high cost, they remain unattainable for underfunded institutions. We have designed and built a cost-effective optical tweezer using a modified 3-D printed OpenFlexure Microscope. This open-source inverted microscope is designed for accessibility, modularity, and precision. The design uses Raspberry Pi control for smooth, three-axis motor motion crucial to stable optical trapping. The optical tweezer incorporates a visible HeNe laser into the optical path, for ease of use, which is reflected into the OpenFlexure microscope to create a single-beam trap capable of manipulating particles such as microspheres and pollen. The system uses simple, inexpensive optics, resulting in a build cost of less than $5,000, a fraction of the price of commercial systems. The setup features an adjustable three-axis stage for sample positioning and beam alignment. Beam collimation is achieved through an adjustable pair of expanding lenses that ensures uniform focus at the trapping plane, improving trap stability and control. By reducing costs and simplifying assembly, this project makes optical experimentation accessible to underfunded institutions. 

Pollen and other organic aerosols influence how light interacts with the atmosphere, shaping our understanding of climate science. Furthermore, the wide range of optical measurements that can be made on pollen makes it an ideal candidate for a group-sourced research project. Optical tweezers are an effective tool for measuring these properties. An optical tweezer uses a focused laser within a microscope objective to manipulate tiny particles. Commercial setups are often unattainable to smaller institutions that are a good fit for a group-sourced project. Our team has developed a low-cost optical tweezing setup based on a 3D-printed OpenFlexure microscope design, a Helium-Neon laser, and several affordable optics. With this inexpensive setup, we strive to create a reproducible measurement that these institutions can replicate to contribute to the greater scientific community. We will do this by suspending pollen in water and measuring our trap stiffness —the degree to which a particle is held in the trap —which is proportional to its refractive index. To accomplish this, we need to determine how to trap pollen particles and accurately measure their trap stiffness effectively. Our long-term goal is to create a database of these measurements to improve climate studies and provide opportunities for group-based research projects for underfunded institutions with young researchers. 

Optical tweezers are a powerful technology that uses lasers to trap and manipulate nanoparticles for research in fields such as biophysics, materials science, and quantum computing. Despite their research versatility, the cost of commercial systems can limit accessibility. We have built a low-cost optical tweezer using a modified OpenFlexure 3D printed inverted microscope. It includes a single-beam trap with a HeNe laser, providing visible-light trapping that is both cost-effective and safe. We are now developing low-cost approaches to establish reliable optical force measurements using back focal plane detection. This technique measures tiny displacements of a trapped particle by detecting changes in the light-intensity pattern at the focal plane. With this method, interference between unscattered and scattered light is related to particle motion, enabling precise measurements of position and force. We are working to implement detection using minimal equipment, including low-cost photodiodes and Raspberry Pi and Arduino electronics to record and analyze signals. We are designing this tool to measure the physical and optical properties of microparticles, such as pollen. After finalizing the design, our long-term goal is to share it with other research and educational groups to collect data on a wider range of particles and build a common database of these measurements.

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a powerful technique for determining the elemental composition of materials by optical emission spectroscopy. Building on our development of Pythonic algorithms for automated spectral analysis, we are refining these tools for environmental applications. We analyzed brownfield soil and sargassum samples collected in Miami to identify potential contaminants, comparing observed emission lines with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wavelength data and validating our methods against known standards. Our current focus is advancing from qualitative detection to quantifiable analysis, determining both element composition and concentrations. To improve precision, we are testing multivariate calibration methods that analyze multiple lines and elements simultaneously while accounting for spectral overlaps. We are also mitigating matrix effects, in which variables such as ambient air composition, sample preparation, or surface roughness influence plasma formation and signal intensity. By experimentally testing these parameters and adjusting accordingly, we can identify optimal sample preparation and measurement conditions to establish a robust framework for accurate, reproducible LIBS analysis. Extending this approach to real-world environmental systems, our research highlights how student-driven innovation can transform laboratory techniques into tools for understanding and addressing ecological challenges.

Throughout Miami-Dade County, “brownfields” —areas considered unsafe for development due to high levels of pollutants and contaminants —disrupt and burden residential communities. Low-income communities such as Little Haiti and Homestead are particularly affected, often as a result of industrial developments left abandoned or neglected. To revitalize these communities, brownfields must be safely redeveloped. The soil in these areas can contain arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals that threaten ecosystems and residents. Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) can be a powerful tool for identifying trace amounts of heavy metals; when the Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser ionizes the surface of a sample, unique spectra are emitted. We analyzed soil samples from undeveloped and redeveloped brownfield sites in Miami-Dade to determine whether potentially hazardous heavy metals were present in the soil. To achieve results with minimal background noise, we prepared samples using a blend of KBr binder and soil and optimized the optical alignment of our LIBS system. This project is part of a broader research effort to introduce high school students to meaningful physics research and ecological work, ensuring that Miami-Dade County’s urban areas are being safely redeveloped while uplifting the next generation of physics researchers.

Note: Accepted to the Division of Chemical Physics: Chemical Physics of Complex Materials and Enviornments

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic emission spectroscopy technique used to analyze the elemental composition of materials, including heavy metals. A high-powered laser ablates a sample’s surface and forms a plasma that emits characteristic spectra. Because LIBs can provide rapid results, one application is evaluating the safe redevelopment of brownfields, previously developed urban areas. When using LIBS to analyze soil, the sample’s natural heterogeneity and moisture content can influence its ability to withstand data collection. In many cases, the laser pulse will cause the soil samples to disintegrate completely. Because of its composition of organic matter and particles of varying sizes, soil requires a preparation method that improves its uniformity and preserves its integrity during laser exposure. This study compares how different preparation techniques affect the sample's ability to withstand laser ablation while maintaining consistent emission characteristics. Preparation techniques include heating, drying, grinding, layering, and adding binders, such as KBr, at varying ratios. By varying these conditions, the samples can better withstand multiple laser blasts, allowing for greater data collection and an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This study is part of YREP, a larger initiative that engages high school students in meaningful environmental research and encourages them to address community challenges through scientific inquiry. 

What began as one student’s curiosity about how to ask physics questions about Miami’s urban mangrove forests has grown into a wide-ranging, student-led research collaboration involving nearly twenty high school researchers. Through the Young Researchers Program at Ransom Everglades (YREP), students are exploring urban mangrove biophysics from multiple angles: measuring root stress and strain, using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to detect microplastics, building wave tanks to model coastal dynamics, and deploying Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems to monitor biodiversity. Others are studying the microbiomes of mangrove soil and leaves to understand better how these plants adapt to environmental change in urban environments. This project has strengthened and expanded YREP, showing how authentic, open-ended research can empower students to think creatively, design their own investigations, and contribute meaningfully to scientific understanding. By tracing how a single question evolved into a collaborative, interdisciplinary study of plant physics, this work encourages researchers to engage younger scientists in real, curiosity-driven discovery intentionally. Ultimately, it highlights how plant physics offers a powerful lens for exploring coastal resilience and for growing the next generation of researchers.

Note: Accepted to the Division of Biological Physics: Plant and Fungal Physics II

This poster focuses on one question: can a low-cost LIBS system identify lead in Miami brownfield soil without generating excessive false positives? LIBS measures light from a laser-generated plasma, but low-cost soil spectra are crowded, matrix-dependent, and difficult to interpret directly. In this dataset, calibration-free LIBS was not sufficient for a strong Pb claim. Reliable interpretation required a staged workflow: calibration against known sand-lead mixtures, preprocessing to stabilize spectra, Non-Negative Least Squares (NNLS)-based spectral decomposition to handle crowded full-spectrum structure, a local falsification test in the visually strong but ambiguous 405.78 nm region, and final weighted multi-line Pb confirmation. The key result is that Pb is best treated here as a calibrated pattern-recognition problem rather than a single-line or calibration-free detection problem. Under the final scoring framework, 26 soil samples from 9 sites were classified as 16 confirmed, 9 plausible, and 1 not strong enough for a Pb claim, with Pb I 363.96 nm emerging as the most useful practical anchor line.

Note: Accepted to the Poster Session III: Instrumentation and Measurements

Mangroves are coastal trees found at the interface between land and sea. They are essential for mitigating storm surge, especially their roots, which are the plant's primary defense against currents and wave energy. In South Florida, mangroves are important nursery habitats for fish and other organisms vital to commercial and recreational fishing industries. Urban mangroves such as those in Miami are exposed to higher levels of environmental contaminants, including microplastics, which can negatively affect their roots and structure. The loss or degradation of this structure can be detrimental to the species that rely on it. We are measuring the subtidal biodiversity among the mangrove roots along Miami’s coast in heavily urban and more remote areas using Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV), a camera mounted on an aluminum frame with a bait crate.  Biodiversity data will enable us to assess the impact of mangrove root structure degradation, in part due to environmental contaminants, on the fish and invertebrate communities that rely on the habitat. In the future, we will compare the efficacy of BRUVs for biodiversity assessment with that of the Aqua MiR Robot, developed by the Goldman group at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in the same locations. This research is part of a larger project that focuses on the physics of mangrove root vitality in urban environments.

Mangroves play a key role in Florida’s coastal ecosystems, protecting coastlines, providing a stable habitat for a variety of marine life, and storing carbon. They are known for their extensive and complex root systems that extend into seawater, the air, and soil. Mangrove health and adaptability are impacted by the microbiota presence in the rhizosphere (soil and root). Pollution, pH changes, temperature changes, and salinity are known to impact the presence of microorganisms. The role of these microbial communities is to help the tree carry out essential processes such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. We are studying microbiome changes associated with the aforementioned environmental impact through DNA sequencing targeting 16s rRNA associated with six mangrove trees in our collection site to compare with previous data that suggests the presence of the genera Desulfococcus and Actibacter. Better understanding the mangrove microbiome provides key insights into adaptive strategies of these plants in the South Florida Ecosystem. This project is part of a larger biophysics study of mangroves at a collection site on the Ransom Everglades School campus in Miami, FL.

Mangroves are critical coastal ecosystems that act as carbon sinks, storm buffers, and biodiversity hotspots. They rely on a complex and diverse leaf microbiome for enhanced growth, stress tolerance, and protection against pathogens. The mangrove leaf surface, or phyllosphere, is a dynamic physical system where light, heat, and water vapor flux determine microbial survival. Factors such as temperature, pH, salinity, and changes in precipitation can impact the presence and quantities of microbes, and thus essential processes like nutrient cycling, affecting overall plant health. We aim to examine how these environmental factors influence microbiome composition by conducting 16S rRNA DNA sequencing on samples collected from six mangrove trees at our study site. In comparison with previous studies, we expect to find a variety of microbes, including proteobacteria, cyanobacteria, actinobacteria, and a wide range of fungi and microalgae. Better understanding the mangrove microbiome provides key insights into adaptive strategies of these plants in the South Florida Ecosystem. This study is part of a larger biophysics study of mangroves at a collection site on the Ransom Everglades School campus in Miami, FL.

As climate change accelerates rising sea levels, storm surges, and shifting wave conditions, South Florida’s coastal communities face heightened vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Mangrove ecosystems serve as natural buffers that mitigate such impacts. However, urban mangroves, specifically those in Miami, are increasingly exposed to pollution from heavy metals, microplastics, and other contaminants, which may affect their effectiveness and overall health. This project investigates methods to analyze and monitor these pollutants using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). This technique generates plasma through high-energy laser pulses and identifies chemical compositions through optical emission spectra. Our focus is on developing optimized preparation methods for organic samples, including mangrove leaves, propagules, and substrate, suitable for LIBS ablation. This entails identifying effective binding agents (e.g., potassium bromide, KBr), determining optimal granularity, binding ratios, heating temperatures, and pressing techniques. Refining these parameters is essential to obtaining data that will contribute to a larger research study aimed at understanding the physics of urban mangroves.

Optical tweezers are a Nobel Prize-winning technology that have contributed to research in molecular biology, quantum computing, and biochemical physics. By focusing a laser beam, optical tweezers enable precise nanoparticle manipulation. However, the cost of tweezers can restrict use and dissemination, often exceeding the budgets of many high schools and undergraduate labs. Our setup, referred to as the Cheezer, consists of a replicable and precise optical tweezer for under $5000. It is derived from OpenFlexure’s affordable 3D-printed microscope platform, extending the device’s capabilities with custom electronics, 3D printed parts, and other optics. The optics, along with certain microscope elements, align and prepare a laser beam. The wiring has also been reconfigured for a proprietary motor controller. These changes, among others, are used to implement cost-optimized laser-optics and backfocal-plane detection systems. Custom software has also been developed to operate the microscope and collect data, eliminating the need for a Raspberry Pi. This poster details the design process, engineering, and experimentation of this low-cost optical tweezer. Its open-source platform enables aspiring researchers to participate in particle physics and strengthen their skills for a quantum-ready workforce.

Industrial activity in parts of Miami-Dade County has left behind soils that may still contain heavy metals, posing potential health and ecological risks. The EPA classifies these areas as “brownfields,” and while remediation efforts by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have restored many sites for future use, it remains unclear whether contaminants have been completely removed or simply diluted below detection thresholds. To investigate this, we are using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to analyze the elemental composition of local soils. LIBS works by firing a high-energy laser pulse at a sample, creating a plasma that emits light characteristic of the elements present. Our goal is to refine sample preparation methods to ensure high-quality, reproducible spectra for accurate heavy-metal detection. We are testing different soil-pressing techniques, binders, and soil-to-binder ratios to find the optimal balance between adhesion and non-interference during LIBS analysis. This work on improved sample preparation runs in parallel with the development of new data-analysis approaches to identify contaminants more reliably. Together, these efforts aim to create a low-cost, accessible framework for environmental testing in under-resourced labs. This project is part of a larger high school research initiative focused on applying physics to conservation challenges in South Florida.

Industrial activity in parts of Miami-Dade County has left behind soils that may still contain heavy metals, posing potential health and ecological risks. The EPA classifies these areas as “brownfields,” and while remediation efforts by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have restored many sites for future use, it remains unclear whether contaminants have been completely removed or simply diluted below detection thresholds. To investigate this, we are using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to analyze the elemental composition of local soils. LIBS works by firing a high-energy laser pulse at a sample, creating a plasma that emits light characteristic of the elements present. Our goal is to refine sample preparation methods to ensure high-quality, reproducible spectra for accurate heavy-metal detection. We are testing different soil-pressing techniques, binders, and soil-to-binder ratios to find the optimal balance between adhesion and non-interference during LIBS analysis. This work on improved sample preparation runs in parallel with the development of new data-analysis approaches to identify contaminants more reliably. Together, these efforts aim to create a low-cost, accessible framework for environmental testing in under-resourced labs. This project is part of a larger high school research initiative focused on applying physics to conservation challenges in South Florida.

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a powerful technique for multi-elemental analysis due to its speed and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional spectroscopic methods. At YREP, a high school research collaboration, we have used LIBS to analyze brownfield soil, mangrove microplastics, historical pennies, and sargassum. Several software systems have already been developed for LIBS data visualization and quantitative analysis. However, these systems are often limited by closed-source designs, high costs, and a lack of flexibility for custom setups. We are developing an open-source Python library with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for streamlined LIBS data analysis and visualization. This provides an intuitive interface for spectral processing, peak identification, and elemental mapping without requiring advanced programming experience. Experimental validation across academic, industrial, and research applications shows that the open, GUI-accessible system performs comparably to commercial software. This framework reduces the barrier to LIBS use by enabling fast, reliable, and user-friendly analysis across diverse research environments. As high school students, we believe that creating an accessible GUI system will increase research opportunities and the potential of use of LIBS in schools, making data analysis more straightforward to use and implement across educational settings and underfunded research institutions.