4 August 2006
Julia
Brown
Vanderbilt
University
Nashville, Tennessee
Dear William A. and Nancy F. McMinn,
I was one of 20 students, from an applicant pool of almost 200, selected
to participate in the Research Training Program (RTP) at Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). I would like to thank you
for helping me to be a part of this amazing program, made possible by
the support of the summer research stipend of my scholarship. The experience
I have gained through my research in the Department of Paleobiology
will be valuable for years to come as I work through my senior honors
thesis, and hopefully continue on to a PhD program.
My research on deep sea ostracodes has provided me with a chance to
study organisms that lived millions of years ago, and has given me a
new perspective on time and the history of life. It has been wonderful
to broaden my studies to materials and research areas that are not available
to me during the school year. My advisor, Dr. Gene Hunt, a research
scientist at the Smithsonian, has been of invaluable help to me throughout
the research process, and has taught me a vast amount of background
information related to my project, as well as new research techniques.
I have been able to perfect my use of a dissecting microscope and digital
camera, and have learned to use popular computer programs for scientific
research purposes. I have also become familiar with many new forms of
data analysis and presentation that I will certainly use in the future
at Vanderbilt and beyond.
I cannot imagine a better place to spend a summer than the National
Museum of Natural History. The sheer number of specimens and different
collections in this museum is breathtaking, and when combined with world
class scientists, research, and educational programs, the opportunities
are endless. Aside from my full time research, I have been able to hold
a piece of Mars, see extinct species of birds and mammals, and take
a close-up picture with a triceratops skull. I have learned so much
more about natural history and biology, and even about disciplines,
like mineral sciences and anthropology, which I am not normally exposed
to as an undergraduate biology major. I was also able to spend a week
in the field in Wyoming on a fossil dig, working to track botanical
and ecological changes over periods of climate change that were very
similar to present levels of global warming.
Thank you again for allowing me to participate in the RTP. The experiences
I have had at NMNH have solidified and expanded my love for biology
and all sciences, and I will never forget my time here.
Sincerely,
Julia Brown
Research Training Program
Class of 2006