USAFA cadet air quality study

U.S. Air Force Academy cadet Stephanie Ohms, a biology major slated to graduate in 2016, prepares a petri dish with fungus and bacteria found in air samples from the interior of expeditionary shelters July 8 at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Ohms led a project on air quality during a six-week internship with the AFCEC Readiness Directorate as part of the Cadet Summer Research Program. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jess Echerri/Released)

USAFA cadet's research brings AFCEC a breath of fresh air

Published July 27, 2015
By Jess Echerri
AFCEC Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Research recently conducted by U.S. Air Force Academy cadet Stephanie Ohms could help deployed Airmen breathe a little easier.

Ohms, who recently completed a six-week internship with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's Readiness Directorate as part of the USAFA's Cadet Summer Research Program, worked with AFCEC engineer Bobby Diltzon on a project to monitor air quality in expeditionary shelters.

"The study is relevant to our work at AFCEC," said Heather Luckarift, an AFCEC scientist who worked with Ohms. "It also parallels research done at the Academy, so we thought it would be a good fit for her to do here."

Using the "tent city" shelters at the AFCEC 9700 research area at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Ohms and Diltz collected air samples from the tents to monitor the presence, contamination and retention of microbial species. The research will contribute to a larger project that is expected to reduce the occurrence of illnesses in service members residing in expeditionary shelters.

"After the work she's done, she can tell us the current health conditions of the air inside the tents," Diltz said. "With that information, we can then go on to figure out if and how we can improve it."

Each week during Ohms' internship she spent about 15 hours in the field collecting air samples and about 20 hours in a laboratory analyzing the data and drawing conclusions.

"She has been a very quick learner from the start," said Diltz. "We were able to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time, which has really helped our progression overall."

Going into her senior year at the Academy, Ohms is getting ready to fill out a "dream sheet" that will list her preferences for her first set of orders as an Air Force officer. She said her experience at AFCEC has solidified her decision to earn her degree at the Academy and work for the Air Force.

"It's reaffirmed what I've always wanted to do, which is bioenvironmental work," Ohms said. "It really motivates me because I can see there is a purpose for me after I leave school."