Visiting summer students enhance research skills
Seven undergraduate students from universities across the nation and one from Virginia Tech are working side by side with Virginia Tech professors this summer on research projects related to sustainable management of resources.
The student research is supported through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU), a competitive grant program that is awarded to select research universities.
“The essence of this program is to allow undergraduate students work for 10 weeks in a stimulating interdisciplinary environment, while nourishing their analytical skills and creativity as future scientists and engineers,” says Tamim Younos, associate director at Virginia Tech’s Virginia Water Resources Research Center and research professor of water resources in the Department of Geography in the College of Natural Resources.
Younos is the program director for the summer-long interdisciplinary watershed sciences and engineering program, and is assisted by Vinod Lohani, associate professor of engineering education at VT.
The NSF-REU fellows are selected competitively, giving priority to highly qualified applicants of diverse cultural background who may have few research opportunities at their home institutions. Students working at Virginia Tech this summer have come from universities including the University of Nevada, University of Missouri-Rolla, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Laurel Ackison, a student at Marshall University majoring in ecology and Spanish, is working with Jack Webster, professor of biological sciences, to understand how an organism contributes to its ecosystem, an important step in maintaining the health of the environment.
“I think the many different forms of learning I am experiencing – lab and field work, data analysis, and general information from papers and articles – will provide a richer foundation for my scientific knowledge,” says Ackison. “I hope to have a career in academia some day and I would like to follow the same example I am seeing here at Virginia Tech – one of diligence, passion, and good, hard work.”
Another NSF-REU fellow, Christopher Burrell, a marine and environmental science major at Hampton University, feels like he is living a dream. “I love conducting research and experimentations in the labs. I have a true passion for science and discovery,” admits Burrell. He is working with Andrea Dietrich, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering, to improve control in drinking water of manganese, a naturally occurring mineral that can be harmful.
The NSF-REU program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in areas ranging from ethics and values to astronomical sciences. The Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s watershed sciences and engineering project will continue to bring undergraduate students to Virginia Tech during the next two summers.
The Virginia Water Resources Research Center was established at Virginia Tech in 1965 by the U.S. Congress as one of the nation’s 54 water institutes, and is affiliated to the College of Natural Resources. The center’s mission is to offer research and educational opportunities to water scientists and students, and provide citizens and government leaders with water science information.
