“It’s a privilege for me to have gotten into this program.”

Research fellow: Jeremy Hecker
Hometown: Warwick, RI
School: Community College of Rhode Island
Fellowship: at University of Rhode Island
Major: Associates degree, Science
Mentors: Dawn Cardace, Abigail Johnson
Project: Impacts of increased CO2 on carbon mineralization at microbe-mineral interfaces

On paper, the acronym RI NSF EPSCoR is a long-winded mouthful — Rhode Island National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

If the program, which fully immerses undergraduates in hands-on research, were a person, it would be Jeremy Hecker.

A biology professor told Hecker about RI EPSCoR’s 10-week Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF); a chance to gain research experience and explore his intended career path. Hecker applied to the program, was awarded a fellowship, and has spent his summer studying ocean sediment core samples to understand how increased carbon dioxide, CO_2, in the environment may affect deep sea microbes.

“A lot is known about increased CO₂ affecting surface water,” Hecker explains. “We want to see if that process of oceanacidification is circulating down and affecting deep water.”

But, he adds, the fellowship has involved more than conducting experiments, characterizing the environment the microbes live in at 3,800 meters below the ocean’s surface, and honing his skills and techniques: “I’ve also learned a lot through the process, the whole aspect of research, where it starts as a proposal to presenting what you’ve found. I’ve learned how to look at things objectively.”

Next spring, after three years of tackling his general education requirements at CCRI, Hecker will graduate with his associate’s degree in science. Then, he plans to transfer into University of Rhode Island in the fall as a junior and pursue his bachelor’s in geosciences, studying the earth’s systems and its changing environment.

“I’ve been part-time school, full-time work,” says Hecker, a hardware store manager who is putting himself through school, explaining his educational journey. “I don’t know if the SURF experience has helped narrow down anything — it’s all very interesting. But at least, I know what I want to do.”

As he prepares for the 9^th Annual RI SURF Conference Friday, July 29, when he and more than 150 other undergraduates from across the Ocean State will present their summer research findings, Hecker is aiming for perfection. He says attending the RI EPSCoR workshop earlier this month with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science boosted his confidence.

“I’m very excited to present,” he says. “It’s really important for me. It’s a privilege for me to have gotten into this program.”

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle