Hobart and William Smith Colleges

In this special edition of This Week In Photos, we're showcasing students and faculty taking a deep dive into environmental issues in the Finger Lakes Region through two of several research programs being conducted on campus this summer. In the photo above, the William Scandling research vessel approaches a Finger Lakes Institute research buoy on Seneca Lake.

Hosted by the HWS Geoscience Department, a team of students and faculty members participate in the Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric & Related Sciences (NEPARS) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation. On Monday, participants traveled to Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg, N.Y. The REU is a collaboration between HWS and Plymouth State University with students participating from colleges and universities from across the U.S.

With a focus on atmospheric and related sciences, students learn about Taughannock Falls through a program directed and developed by HWS Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird and Plymouth State University Assistant Professor of Meteorology Jason Cordeira. Here, students and mentors view a waterfall in the gorge of the state park.

HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Tara Curtin talks with Emma Patterson of Earlham College and HWS Emma Loubsky-Lonergan '20. Curtin will be working with Patterson and Loubsky-Lonergan during the nine-week REU program.

Students and mentors hike the Gorge Trail at Taughannock Falls State Park.

HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Nick Metz and HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Tara Curtin share a laugh as REU mentors and students take a break along the hike.

Students walk the creek bed within the Taughannock Falls gorge.

The HWS Finger Lakes serves as a hub for several student research projects this summer. Here, a bicycle from the Colleges' yellow bike program awaits its owner outside of the Institute on South Main Street.

Amelia Smith '21 and Rylee Wernoch '21 examine water samples in the lab of the Finger Lakes Institute on Tuesday. This summer, Smith is studying how invasive species can affect water quality while Wernoch is researching how nutrient and nitrogen levels contribute to algal blooms.

Kely Amejecor '19 uses a fluoroprobe to analyze and study phytoplankton composition during lab work in the Finger Lakes Institute.

Lauren Mercer '19 records mercury levels from zooplankton harvested from Canoga Creek in Cayuga, N.Y.

Jobed Hilaire '21 digitally plots data points collected from a water sample from Canoga Creek. Hilaire is researching the effect of streams on local algal blooms.

Students participating in the NEPARS Research Experiences for Undergraduates program attend a class led by Director of the Centennial Center Amy Forbes. The class is the first session in a series of leadership training workshops.

The University at Albany Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science Brian Tang gives a talk on atmospheric science as part of the NEPARS Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

Through the NEPARS Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, students onboard the William Scandling observe lake measurements taken from Seneca Lake.

HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Tara Curtin describes multiple aspects of a sample taken from the bottom of Seneca Lake.

HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Tara Curtin shows samples of zebra and quagga mussels taken from the bottom of Seneca Lake.

Onboard the William Scandling research vessel, HWS Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird discusses observations taken on Seneca Lake.

Students examine a sample taken from the bottom of Seneca Lake.

HWS Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird explains how the weather balloon collects data as it travels through the atmosphere.

HWS Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird explains how the weather balloon collects data as it travels upward through the atmosphere to REU students aboard the William Scandling Research vessel.

HWS Associate Professor of Geoscience Nick Metz works with Megan Duncan of Plymouth State University and Anna Kaminski of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on a research project. This summer, Metz serves as their faculty mentor during the nine-week Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

Recent HWS geoscience graduates Samuel Bartlett 18 and Peyton Capute 18 lead a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) workshop as part of the NEPARS Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Bartlett will attend the graduate meteorology program at Plymouth State University in the fall. Capute is currently working as a research assistant with the HWS Geoscience Department.

HWS Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird works with Kristine Chen of the University at Oklahoma and Adrianna Kremer of SUNY Brockport.