每年夏天, students at the 威尼斯人平台 have the opportunity to participate in the 学生科学研究 program, a 10-week program where students conduct research while working alongside a professor.
Elliot Sesma, 24岁, who is double majoring in Environmental Science and History, shares his experience while working on the 学生科学研究 program with the 斗牛犬的博客. 和他的指导教授一起工作, 瓦莱丽Rountree, Elliot conducted research on the effects of residential lawn types on ambient air temperature.
斗牛犬博客: Why did you decide to work on the 学生科学研究 program?
艾略特Sesma: I decided to apply for the 学生科学研究 program because I was looking for my first "real" job in the field I was going to be entering after graduation. I also have just recently become interested in the environmental studies area, so I wanted to get a feel for what a job might be like having this degree. Another reason was that I have had three classes with 教授 Rountree, and I loved them 所有. Her passion for the environment became clear quickly, and it only interested me more. 她也是我的导师, 所以有 this preexisting relationship helped me know that she would be a good boss to have, 我们可以很好地合作. 更有趣的一面, my roommate is also doing the program with the physics department, so I thought it would be fun to have a summer with one of my closest friends.
BB: Can you please explain what your research is and your goals for the research?
ES: 教授 Rountree had two main projects for our team to work on over the summer. The first one was studying the short-lived climate pollutants (CH4 and CO2 mainly) originating from 加州 landfills and analyzing 加州 State Senate Bill 1383, 目标是到2025年将这些污染物减少75%. The goal of that project was to determine if/how cities were in compliance with the bill and whether or not it is going to make a difference. 然而，这并不是我的主要项目. I was studying the effects of residential lawn types on the ambient air temperature around 雷德兰兹, CA. Our main goal was to determine if different landscape types lead to the formation of urban heat islands, or if some types can help mitigate the negative impacts of one. The categories of landscape types we surveyed were green grass, 褐色的草, 本地/耐旱植物, 基础设施(具体, 砖, 风化花岗岩), 污垢/死植被, 木片, 人造草坪. We wanted to see if the composition of a front yard had any impact on the surrounding temperatures, 如果是这样的话, 我们想确定差异有多大.
典型的一天是怎样的? 无论是在野外还是在校园里?
ES: A typical data collection day involves at least 3 (up to 6) collection times. 最常见的是在摄氏9度测量温度.m.中午和下午三点.m. in order to see how the temperature fluctuates over the course of the day. We had selected our testing sites at the beginning of the project using stratified random sampling. 在每个站点, we would try to test as many houses as we could in 75 minutes and try to hit our mark of collecting data from 3 houses of each landscape type. Whatever houses we collected from on our first visit of the day would be the houses we would come back to later. At each house we would collect the surface temperature of the yard, 温度在院子上方五英尺处, then the surface temp of the street and five feet above the street. If permitting, we would also test the soil temperature and moisture. We inputted our data into FieldMaps by ArcGIS so each data point could be paired with a location, 日期, 和时间.
BB: What has been your favorite part of this research program?
ES: My favorite part about this program is getting to work in a sm所有er team of like-minded, 勤劳的, 有创造力的人. 我的队友，还有 P朗特里教授，每个人都有不同的技能 布景和背景, 所以有 所有 我们对一个项目的想法使它们顺利地运行. I know most people would cry at the thought of having to do a 10-week-长时间的小组项目，但我们享受每一步. I got to make some new friends while also working alongside some old friends.
BB: How will this research help you in the future as a student or in your future career?
ES: I believe this research will help a lot more than just myself in the future. Our findings will hopefully help homeowners and landscape man年龄rs make informed decisions when addressing water scarcity and urban heat island exacerbation and help them understand the tradeoffs between the two. As a bonus, we hope it helps educate the public on sustainable landscape practices. 只要它能帮助我实现我的职业目标, I think it is very helpful that I can enter a job with actual experience in forming answerable research questions, 微调研究方法, 分析收集的数据, and showing how that data is relevant to our ever-evolving society. I was given a great opportunity to earn experience and it paid off by helping me round out my skills as a researcher and teammate.
基冈·摩尔，25岁, 物理专业, shared his experience while working in the 学生科学研究 program with the 斗牛犬的博客. Working with his research advisor Physics 教授 Martín Hoecker-Martinez, Keegan is investigating how different landscapes can affect temperatures and the heat island effect around campus.
斗牛犬博客: Why did you decide to work on the 学生科学研究 program?
基冈·摩尔: I wanted to join the program because it 所有ows me to work during the summer on the topics that I'm interested and invested in while still being an undergraduate, 而不是在某个地方找一份更典型的暑期工作.
BB: Can you please explain what your research is and your goals for the research?
KM: My research involves measuring temperatures around campus to find where heat islands occur, and how the surrounding landscape and infrastructure influence this. Since man-made materials like concrete and asphalt hold on to heat much more than natural materials, it is important to consider this when building an urban area. 要做到这一点, I will be constructing and programming a cart with temperature sensors and a GPS to walk around campus with. I also collected data using six stationary sensors placed in high-traffic areas. 然后，我将使用Python绘制的图形来分析数据, 计算机程序设计语言, 以及在ArcGIS中创建的地图. The main goal of this project is to create a cart that will be used in Dr. Martinez's upcoming climate change class and any future projects. I am also working on a story map that will show my work in an easy-to-digest fashion, which I hope to use to encour年龄 the University to inst所有 more trees and other heat-mitigating practices.
典型的一天是怎样的? 无论是在野外还是在校园里?
KM: A day for me usu所有y involves working on code or circuitry in Appleton. When I'm working with the data I collect with the stationary sensors, I'm taking the data I collected and turning it into a graph with Python. Then, I do an analysis on it, as well as inevitably having to fix my code. 当我在推车上工作时, I'm using the Arduino interface to program the various sensors I have, as well as messing with the circuitry I need to connect them to the microcontroller I use. 一天一次, I also must check on the sensors that are out on campus to make sure they haven't been stolen and/or collect data from them.
BB: What has been your favorite part of this research program?
KM: My favorite part of the program so far has been researching heat islands and the associated city planning that causes them, as I'm a huge nerd for 所有 things related to urbanism and city design. It's been fulfilling to have a dedicated space to pursue that interest.
BB: How will this research help you in the future as a student or in your future career?
KM: Doing research has given me a taste for what it's like to work independently. 我过去只在食品服务和零售行业工作过, 所以有 this kind of experience could help prepare me for the kind of work I'll be doing with my degree. 另外, it's given me time to practice coding and working with electronics, both things that will likely be useful for me in the future.
The 2023 participants in the 学生科学研究 program include:
Ale Cordova, Li Almazo Garcia, Daniel Plata with Michael Ferracane (Chemistry)
Synthesis and evaluation of opioid cyclic tetrapeptides for treatment of pain and addiction.
Jordyn Cab所有ero, Claire Love和Jim Blauth(生物学)
Monitoring wildlife and human visitation in open space reserves in Redlands using game cameras and GIS tools. Contributing to a grassland restoration experiment through soil sample analysis and native seed collection.
Ace Trede和Dustin Vanoverbeke(生物学)
Contributing to a grassland restoration project through monitoring pollinators and ground 住宅节肢动物.
Madisen H所有sten和Rebecca Lyons(化学)
Investigating the uptake of environmental pollutants into medicinal plants.
Lauren Kline和Bryce Ryan(生物学)
The Behavioral and Reproductive Effects of Nonylphenol in Mice: Water Consumption, 肛门生殖器距离和存活率.
Dan Bajda和Martin Hoecker-Martinez(物理学)
Engineering Automatic and Easily Accessible Data Collection.
Alec Kendrick和Bryce Ryan(生物学)
Identification of Sexu所有y Dimorphic Assays in C57BL6/J Mice.
Starla Murillo, Anafer Cardenas with Sean Wilson (Pharmacology, LLU)
低氧条件下的产前肺部发育.
Victor Perez, Malia Miguel和Sue Blauth(生物学)
Glacturonic and Glucuronic Acid Catabolism in Sinorhizobium meliloti.
Briza Martinez with Penelope Duerksen-Hughes (Biochemistry, LLU)
30-hydroxygambogic acid (GA-OH) displays Anticancer Activity in HPV+ and HPV- Cancer 细胞.
Lucy Stiff, Grace Vogt和Lei Lani Stelle(生物学)
Analyzing the Impact of Human Disturbances on Marine Mammals in Southern 加州.
Janet Rayo Celaya, Alejandro Palomares with Caryl Forrist所有 (Biology)
利用爪蟾胚胎研究激素污染物.
Grace Beaty, Eli Sesma with 瓦莱丽Rountree (Environmental Studies)
Effects of Residential Lawn Types on Ambient Air Temperature.
泰勒·戴维斯和布莱斯·瑞恩(生物学)
The Effects of Developmental Exposure to Nonylphenol on the Nervous and Reproductive C57BL6/J小鼠系统.
Makayla Sorenson和Julie Unternaher(生物医学，法学硕士)
SNAI1和Let-7在早期发育和卵巢癌中的作用.
迪莉娅·卡里略与玛丽·科恩斯-杨克斯(生物医学，法学硕士)
太空飞行对心脏组织和DNA损伤的影响.
Joseph George, Celine Rafie with 瓦莱丽Rountree (Environmental Studies)
Evaluating the Implementation of SB 1383: 加州’s Organic Waste Diversion Policy.
基冈·摩尔和马丁·霍克-马丁内斯(物理学)
UoR校园热岛效应研究.
学生 science research is funded by generous donor contributions and endowment funds. 捐赠包括:
Steven K. 马蒂亚斯学生暑期研究基金
赫伯特W. 和凯瑟琳E. 格雷达诺斯学生科学研究基金
泰勒家族夏季科学研究基金
汉萨克夏季科学研究捐赠基金
Larry and Rita Seratt King Endowment for Summer Science 研究
Ifft捐赠研究基金
Steven D. 简·R. 卡迈克尔学生科学研究基金
Jerry and Arlene Lewis Endowed Fund for 学生科学研究
夏季科学研究基金. 朱丽安·F. Levings
夏季科学研究基金. 和夫人. 杰克Dangermond
夏季科研基金- Ms. 苏珊·M. Lea
To learn more about the 学生科学研究 program, click 这个链接.
