Session
Dates
25 May 2008 - 1 August 2008
|
- Gender:
Female
- Citizenship:
US
- Institution:
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
- Status:
Senior
- Major:
Geology and Ecology
Career
Goals:
Sponsor:
NSF EarthTime Grant
|
Kristin
Adams
Ms. Adams is a senior at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
She is majoring in Geology and Ecology with
a minor in physical sciences.
On
the personal side: Ever since I was young,
I have been fascinated with science, and it
never did matter what field- biology, ecology,
physics, geology, or chemistry- I loved them
all. Lately, I have been focusing on using remote
sensing to determine the mineral composition
of shear zone rocks. It is still in the preliminary
stages, but the combination of chemistry, geography,
and geology is completely riveting. Past research
has included identifying minerals under a petrographic
microscope. I hope that using remote sensing
will help in determining whether there is a
difference in mineral composition within or
out of the shear zone. In addition, I spend
my free time reading (Mercedes Lackey, Tolkien,
Carol Berg, etc) and watching movies. I also
love the outdoors, spending my summers on field
trips around the United States and playing softball
on local teams. Musicals and music in general
is another of my passions, and I attend events
whenever possible. I have always dreamed of
wandering the many corridors of the Smithsonian
Institution and to learn whatever the experts
could teach me, and thanks to this wonderful
opportunity, my dream has been realized.
PROJECT
TITLE:
Paleotemperature estimates
and carbon isotope stratigraphy across the Cretaceous
Supergreenhouse interval in Tanzania
PROJECT
HYPOTHESIS:
Sedimentologic and geochemical records from
boreholes drilled in Tanzania indicate a continuous
phase of extreme climatic warmth and occasional
bottom water anoxia during the Cenomanian-Turonian
(100-89 million years ago) "Hothouse"
climate
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The shells of pristinely preserved benthic (bottom
dwelling) and planktonic (surface dwelling)
foraminifera contain oxygen isotopic ratios
that can be analyzed to estimate water temperature
at the time of shell mineralization. By obtaining
oxygen and carbon isotope ratios from different
benthic and planktonic species from the same
samples throughout the cored sequence we can
reconstruct changes in bottom and surface water
temperatures and carbon isotope values across
the ~5 million year time span that has been
recovered. Two benthic and two - three planktonic
species will be identified and picked from at
least 30 sample levels using a stereomicroscope.
These samples will be sent to the University
of Missouri to obtain the oxygen and carbon
isotope ratios. The data will be plotted relative
to core depth and the history of paleotemperature
and carbon isotope changes will be interpreted.
We hope to be able to determine if the controversial
suggestion that polar ice sheets existed during
this time of extremely warm global climate.
PROJECT
SUMMARY: A
MATERIALS
AND METHODS: A
RESEARCH
ADVISOR:
Brian Huber
HUBER,
Brian T. Research Paleobiologist and Curator
of Foraminifera. B.Sc. (1981) University of
Akron; M.Sc. (1984), Ph.D. (1988) The Ohio State
University. Research specialties: Cretaceous
climate and oceanography; biostratigraphy and
paleobiogeography of Cretaceous and Paleogene
foraminifera; evolution and extinction dynamics
of Cretaceous and Paleogene planktonic foraminifera;
Cretaceous strontium and light stable isotope
isotope stratigraphy. Science
Unit: Department
of Paleobiology.
-
- - - - - - - - - * - - * - - - * - - - * -
- * - - - - - - - - - -
|
- Gender:
Male
- Citizenship:
US
- Institution:
Arizona State University
- Status:
Junior
- Major:
Biology
Career
Goals:
Attain a career in the academic world
as a professor or researcher of Biology.
Sponsor:
Smithsonian Latino Initiatives
|
Phillip
Barden
Mr. Barden is a Junior at Arizona State University
studying biology with a focus on social insects.
After graduation he plans to go on to graduate
school to continue studying biology in the field
of zoology and entomology.
On
the personal side: As long as I can remember,
the living world has fascinated me. Through
science it becomes possible to have a conversation
with the natural world and I can't imagine any
other way that I would like to spend my life
other than working to understand it. Currently,
my subject of study is entomology, with a focus
on social insects such as ants and bees. I became
interested in this field while working in a
social insect research lab at Arizona State
University as a research assistant. The intricate
caste system and diversity that these animals
exhibit astounds me. Presently, I am finishing
a project in the same lab, working to understand
how colony size affects productivity among ants.
In my free time, I enjoy reading, fishing, hiking,
and I play drums in a few local bands for fun.
I think that I am generally a very driven person,
with lots of aspirations for the future, but
I am always willing to have fun, experience
new things and enjoy life. This is a fantastic
opportunity and I am very excited about being
in this program, meeting new people, and learning
a lot in Washington this summer.
PROJECT
TITLE:
Diversity of leaf-litter
Pheidole in Guyana: DNA barcoding and
Auto-Montage digital images
PROJECT
HYPOTHESIS:
Patterns across 9 sites in Guyana inferred from
ant morphspecies in leaf-litter samples will
be congruent with those inferred from DNA barcodes
of Pheidole species from the same samples.
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Two legs will be removed from hundreds of Pheidole
specimens from the leaf-litter specimens. DNA
will be extracted from the legs and sequenced
for the mtCOI "barcode" region to
identify "barcode" species. The barcode
species will be compared to the morphospecies
to determine whether they are congruent. Biodiversity
analyses will be applied to the barcode species
and the results will be compared to those derived
from biodiversity analyses of the full morphospecies
dataset to determine whether they are congruent.
As time permits, preexisting Auto-Montage multi-layer-focus
images of Pheidole morphospecies will
be incorporated into web pages to facilitate
identifications and images of newly detected
cryptic species will be generated.
PROJECT
SUMMARY: A
MATERIALS
AND METHODS: A
RESEARCH
ADVISOR:
Ted Schultz
SCHULTZ,
Ted R. Curator of Hymenoptera. B.A. (1988) University
of California, Berkeley; Ph.D. (1995) Cornell
University. Research specialties: Evolution
and systematics of ants, especially the fungus-growing
ants (tribe Attini, subfamily Myrmicinae), utilizing
both morphological and molecular characters;
historical ecology and evolution of the fungus-growing
behavior; theory and method of phylogenetic
analysis. Science
Unit: Department
of Entomology.
-
- - - - - - - - - * - - * - - - * - - - * -
- * - - - - - - - - - -
|
- Gender:
Female
- Citizenship:
Colombia
- Institution:
Universidad Industrial de Santander
- Status:
Senior
- Major:
Biology
Career
Goals:
Sponsor:
Max Berry Donation
|
Ana
Marcela Florez
Ms. Florez is from Bucaramanga, Colombia. She
is currently a senior at the Universidad Industrial
de Santander in Colombia where she's pursuing
a major in Biology.
On
the personal side: Long before I knew the
meaning of genetic diversity I was passionate
about the plant diversity that surrounds me
in my country. Very early in my high school
years I decided to study biology. During my
studies many teachers and courses have orientated
me towards the study of plant genetic resources.
A major influence on my research orientation
came from the courses of Genetics, Population
Genetics and Systematics. These three courses
introduced me to a lot of interesting scientific
readings and concepts and gave me the chance
to work on a variety of research questions and
apply concepts and important tools such as bioinformatics,
through the execution of small projects. Actually
I'm starting an investigation on Cucurbita
moschata domestication. Besides being a
full time undergraduate student, I work as an
English teacher. So I don't have much free time,
when I find the time I enjoy the company of
my friends and my family. One of my biggest
passions is gardening. I love to read, to travel,
going to field trips, jogging, hiking and camping.
PROJECT
TITLE:
Evaluating the development
of compound leaves through a study of Bischofia
PROJECT
HYPOTHESIS:
The evolution of Bischofia leaves are
pinnate in nature.
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Bischofia is an Asiatic-Indopacific genus
of 2 species of invasive trees in Phyllanthaceae
(a segregate of Euphorbiaceae). It presents
unusual vegetative features, notably 3-parted
compound leaves (trifoliate) with theoid teeth
and pouch-like domatia that house predatory
mites. These leaves have been proposed to be
of pinnate rather than palmate derivation, which
makes them unique among all euphorbs where most
taxa have obviously (i.e., more than 3-parted)
palmately compound leaves. The isolated phylogenetic
placement of Bischofia - sister to exclusively
simple-leaved taxa - is uninformative and an
array of leaf mutants. Specimens of multi-leaflet
pinnate and palmate forms have been collected
and thus is equivocal. This project will examine
the evolution of these leaves by looking at
their development to test whether they are pinnate
in nature. The development of compound leaves
has been poorly studied and in particular whether
there are different developmental processes
that can be recognized in trifoliate forms.
Speciment of Bischofia have been collected
in liquid preservative (FAA) over several seasons
as well as a series of shoot tips with leaves
at varying stages of development. For this project
these will be micro-dissected, critical point
dried and examined under SEM to look at structural
features and changes through time, especially
to determine the order in development of the
leaflet primordia. Limited clearing and/or anatomy
will look at vasculature, the unusual marginal
teeth, and domatia. Also available are numerous
pressed teratological leaves that may shed insight
into developmental processes, and 2 living plants
in the Museum's greenhouses for fresh material.
For a comparison, the development of Picrodendron
will be examined. This genus is embedded in
Picrodendraceae, another euphorb segregate and
a member of the sister family to Phyllanthaceae
This tree is also trifoliate but clearly of
a palmate derivation and can serve as a control
of a predicted developmental pathway. Additionally,
as time allows, an examination of some aspects
of the molecular evolution of Bishofia
may be investigated. It is highly polyploid
(n=98; close relatives are n=14) and thus gene
duplication is expected which might correlate
with the evolution of compound leaves and other
features. Some background (non-vegetative or
housekeeping) single-copy genes have been developed
that can test for genome duplication but also
genes for some leaf developmental processes
would be targeted. While it is speculative that
PCR primers can be designed for the appropriate
vegetative genes that will amplify and detect
gene duplications, if successful this aspect
of the project could be an exciting complement
to the structural/morphological analysis. The
first part of this project is of assured feasibility
and by itself represents an exciting and publishable
study; any molecular evidence would be considered
an added bonus.
PROJECT
SUMMARY: A
MATERIALS
AND METHODS: A
RESEARCH
ADVISOR:
Ken Wurdack
WURDACK,
Kenneth. Associate Curator. B.S. (1990) University
of Maryland, College Park; M.S. (1994), Ph.D.
(2002) University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill. Research specialties: Systematics and
evolution of the Euphorbiaceae. Science
Unit: Department
of Botany.
-
- - - - - - - - - * - - * - - - * - - - * -
- * - - - - - - - - - -
|
- Gender:
Female
- Citizenship:
US
- Institution:
University of Virginia
- Status:
Sophomore
- Major:
Environmental Science
Career
Goals:
Sponsor:
Max Berry Donation
|
Thushara
Gunda
Ms. Gunda is a 2nd year studying Environmental
Sciences and Dance at the University of Virginia
in Charlottesville.
On
the personal side: My focus in my studies
is hydrogeology - in other words, the connection
between water and soil. I hope to go to graduate
school and learn more about my interests. In
my free time, I enjoy cooking, reading and going
hiking.
PROJECT
TITLE:
The Significance of Blue
Quartz in Igneous Rocks
PROJECT
HYPOTHESIS:
The blue coloration observed in some igneous
quartz is believed to be due to the presence
of inclusions of rutile. However, there are
numerous examples of colorless or pink quartz
that also contain abundant rutile inclusions.
Is the presence of rutile really responsible
for the blue color? This research investigates
the validity of rutile as the principle cause
of the blue color in igneous quartz.
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Blue quartz is a very unusual variety of quartz
that has been reported in some igneous rocks.
These rocks include granites, anorthosites and
rarely gabbroic rocks. The student will examine
specimens of blue quartz collected from various
locations within the Piedmont and Blue Ridge
regions of Virginia (and possibly other states).
Quartz of various shades of blue color will
be collected from as many different rock types
as possible. Optical microscopy, SEM, cathodoluminescence
and electron microprobe techniques are among
the methods that will be used to characterize
the blue quartz with the goal of 1) determining
the cause of the blue color and 2) constraining
the geologic environment of the blue quartz-bearing
rocks.
PROJECT
SUMMARY: A
MATERIALS
AND METHODS: A
RESEARCH
ADVISOR:
Mike Wise
WISE,
Michael A. Geologist. B.A. (1979) University
of Virginia; Ph.D. (1987) University of Manitoba.
Research specialties: Mineralogy, petrology,
and geochemistry of pegmatites; petrogenesis
and evolution of pegmatites and pegmatite-generating
granites; systematic mineralogy; regional distribution
of pegmatites in the Appalachians. Science
Unit: Department
of Mineral Sciences.
-
- - - - - - - - - * - - * - - - * - - - * -
- * - - - - - - - - - -
