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Student Secondary Field Research Program (SSFRP) (July-August 2021) https://lamont.columbia.edu/education-outreach/student-summer-opportunities-SSFRP
The Lamont Doherty Earth Observatories Secondary School Field Research Program gives high school students the opportunities to do environmental research supported by the Earth Observatories own staff. While I was there, I was a key member of the Ecology and Invasive Species team. I would take photos of organisms (primarily plants), and using iNaturalist, I would identify the species and categorize whether they were native or non-native. We did the this in a multitude of NYC parks to get a better idea of what percentage of the species there were native or non-native. When done with collecting and analyzing data, I presented it to the other interns and Lamont Scientists. SSFRP helped me develop my skills in gathering data and analyzing data.
Image to the left: A photo I took of American White Water Lilies in Van Cortland Park
Harbor SEALs ( September 2019 - Present) https://harborseals.org/
Harbor SEALs is a Civic Science Program, focusing on monitoring the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. Throughout my years in the Harbor SEALs, I have done many different things. In my Freshman year, I was part of the biodiversity group, which had the aim of sampling the organisms of the Harbor using ECOncrete. In my Sophomore year, I helped analyze the data from Air Quality Eggs to see whether there was a correlation between PM2.5 and Asthma rates across NYC. In my Junior year, SEALs started a new project focusing on the RipRap (RipRap being the rocks surrounding Governors Island). The overall goal of the project was to monitor the marine debris that washed up on the RipRap of Governors Island. I was the Junior Leader of the Physical Chemistry (Phys-Chem) team. What we did in Phys-Chem was test the water to monitor certain parameters such as Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrate, Nitrite and others. I took a leading role in writing the Phys-Chem portion on the RipRap monograph the SEALs team created, and I presented all of the Phys-Chem data in it to ConEdison. Over the summer, I helped design and install an art project using the debris we collected in. This project was made in collaboration with the Gallatin Wet Lab at NYU, and I helped present the art room to visitors. In my Senior Year (current), I am the Senior Mentor of the Physical Chemistry team. This means that I teach the other interns in Phys-Chem how to do the different methods, along with doing quality control for the group as a whole. Harbor SEALs has helped me learn how to formulate/plan a research project, take data using a multitude of methods and instruments, analyze the data and summarize it in scientific writing, take leadership roles and overall helped me grow as person.
Image to the left: Me teaching other members of the Physical Chemistry team how to do the Winkler's Method
SEA Education Association (SEA) (summer of 2022) https://sea.edu/program-list/sea-expedition/
SEA is a 2 week expedition on the Corwith Cramer in the Gulf of Maine starting in Woods Hole. While on the boat, I had to do many tasks such as work the sails, navigate, clean the ship, check different parameters about the engine and do chores to keep it up to shape. I gained a lot of a experience doing research while on the Cramer as well. We used j-frame's to cast a hydrocasts to get water quality data at different depths. We used Neuston Nets to collect, count and identify surface level microscopic organisms. We would also observe the ocean for megafauna like seabirds, whales and dolphins to log into a 50 year old dataset. While on the boat, I got to see a myriad of interesting megafauna such as Humpback Whales, Fin Whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Mola-Mola/Ocean Sunfish, Seabirds (Gulls, Storm Kestrels, Terns, etc) and Sharks. SEA has helped me learn about what life on a boat is like, how to work a boat, identify organisms, taking data using a multitude of different methods and take responsibility and leadership roles.
Image to the left: Me sitting with my watch on the bow net while docked in Boston Harbor.
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