This week marked the halfway point of the 2023 Young Scholars Program!
During Week 2, which was abbreviated for the Fourth of July, students attended a presentation from Sara Hashmi (ChemE) on “Squishing Complex Fluids Through Small Spaces,” as well as a session about research learning contracts from Pam Mabrouk (Chemistry/Chemical Biology).
On Monday of Week 3, Mark Casto (Amesbury High School) led an activity on creating a backpack using the engineering design process.
On Wednesday, Erin Cram (Biology) hosted a lunch seminar on “Everything You Wanted to Know About Worms.”
On Thursday, the Young Scholars were joined by our REU students on a field trip to the Northeastern Marine Science Center at Nahant. Led by Sierra Muñoz and co-op student Emily Jerome, students spent the morning interacting with wildlife through the center’s touch tanks, visiting the Muñoz Lab to learn about soil sampling, and investigating coastal ecosystems and invasive species with the Kimbro Lab. This was followed by a presentation from Remy Gatins on how marine biodiversity is affected by evolutionary processes.
After lunch, students went out to the shore to collect data such as pH, salinity, temperature, and wildlife in various tidal zones.
As we progress into the second half of the program, students will continue their research and begin preparing for final presentations.