SES Students & Projects
The structured laboratory experiences and techniques of the core courses and electives set the stage for what many students consider to be the most rewarding part of the SES program, the independent research projects. During the last five weeks of the course, students are able to devote full time to a project of their choosing. The project gives students a chance to work independently, although they are supported by a main advisor, a Principal Investigator (PI) at the MBL Ecosystems Center or MBL Josephine Bay Paul Center. Many students collaborate with their peers on their projects and may have the opportunity to work with a PI at other Woods Hole research institutions such as (WHOI) or . Students have access to Ecosystems Center facilities and equipment as well as access to MBL field sites such as the or .
Depending on their interests and background, students may have the opportunity to work jointly with local conservation organizations and government agencies on environmental studies that effect our local land, water and coastal ecosystems on Cape Cod. Some projects, like Wheaton College student Kristy Sullivan’s 2016 project on toxic algae in Falmouth waters make the local headlines.
In December, SES students present their research projects in a formal videotaped symposium before their classmates, mentors and guests, and the Ecosystems Center’s and bobÌåÓý scientific staff.
This event is open to the general public as well as local project collaborators and represents the culmination of the students last five weeks of independent field and laboratory research, observations and data analysis. For many it is the first time they have ever given a formal public presentation and a great introduction into communicating and defending scientific study and discoveries in front of a local friendly scientific community.
SES Class of 2024
| 2024 SES Student | College | Project |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Greeby | University of Chicago | Exploring the Effects of Event-Driven Sediment Deposition on Salt Marsh Resilience |
| Anneka Johnson | Hampshire College | Contaminants in Organisms Across Trophic Levels, Microplastics and Metals |
| Cameron Johnson | Bethune Cookman University | Examining Wildfire Survivorship & Post-Fire Metabolism Within Forest Soil Biomes |
| Emma Johnston | Dickinson College | Diets of Longfin Squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) in Relation to Size, Geographic Location and Time |
| Mycreta Johnston | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production and Bleaching in Astrangia Poculata Exposed to Heat and Oxidative Stress |
| Angelina Lopez Peinado | Oregon State University | Characterization of Grain Size Distribution and Carbon Content of Deep-Sea Floor Sediments in the Deep Sargasso Sea |
| Hoang Luu | Rhodes College | The Importance of Protists and Viruses in Bacterial Mortality Across Anaerobic and Aerobic Environments in Siders Pond |
| Elle Mader | Mt. Holyoke College | Measured and Modeled Nutrients of Cranberry Bogsheds and a Vegetation Denitrification Assay to Prioritize Cranberry Bogs for Wetland Restoration |
| Alena Maes-Polan | Hampshire College | Investigations of Microbial Biofilms Colonizing Macroplastics found in Freshwater Ecosystems |
| Bryan Miranda | University of Chicago | Friend or Foe:Investigating the Impact of Pea Crab Presence on Scallop Respiration, Behavior and Condition |
| Jenna Moor | University of Chicago | Effects of Salinity on Typha angustifolia Growth and Modeled Seeding Competition with Algae |
| Kevin Solano | University of Chicago | A Comparison of the Short-Term Recovery Rates of Astrangia poculata |
| Konoka Uematsu | Dickinson College | Characterization of Lipid Biomarkers during Temperature Stress in Sargassum |