Robin Fidel, University of Rhode Island

Project title: Assessment of biofilm communities in continuous and fragmented environments

Project advisor & location: Dr. Christopher Reid, Bryant University

I am currently a rising sophomore majoring in biotechnology at the University of Rhode Island and I am from Johnston, Rhode Island. This summer I’ve been working with Dr. Reid. The research is a continuation of a previous project last summer done by Keyana Roohani, Kayla Kurtz, Vinka Craver, and Dr. Reid. The previous project was an analysis of colonization and the development of biofilm on PDMS polymers within a marine environment. The overall goal of the research that I am performing is to use bioinformatic searches on microbial species to identify the species and the methods of metabolic processes that they might use in the biofilm. The research interested me since it involves both microbiology and marine science. I hope that the research will widen my skills and my knowledge of microbiology and marine science.

Sydney Duquette, Roger Williams University

Project title: Organic synthesis of metal-ligand complexes and evaluation as detectors of pollutant ion

Project advisor & location: Dr. Lauren Rossi, Roger Williams University

Hi everyone! I am currently a Junior at Roger Williams University. I’m originally from Swansea, Mass., and in my free time, I love to read and volunteer at the East Bay Food Pantry in Bristol. This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work with Dr. Lauren Rossi and fellow student Kate Gilbert in the labs at Roger Williams. The project we were working on focused to create metal-ligand complexes through the process of formylation and imine formation. Once created, these compounds were characterized with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and then evaluated with a spectrometer to see if the detection of pollutant ions was possible within aqueous solutions. I applied for this project because I think that it is extremely important that pollutants should be detected in order to keep marine animals and humans safe. I also love organic chemistry, so any opportunity to put my organic lab skills to the test is a plus!

Joshua Turner, Bryant University

Project title: Visualizing ecosystem dynamics in Narragansett Bay through large scale projection mapping

Project advisors & location: Jennifer Bissonnette (RISD), Georgia Rhodes (RISD) & Stewart Copeland (RISD), Rhode Island School of Design

As an environmental science major at Bryant University, I was very excited to hear about the RI C-AIM SURF program and especially the project I have become involved with, The Illuminated Bay, a large-scale visualization experience displaying complex ecological dynamics on a 3D printed model of Narragansett Bay. My role as a SURF student on this project is to tell a story about the bay to educate the public and I have chosen to discuss Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). I chose to pursue this research because it seemed to me to be something many people had no knowledge of, yet the effect of climate change increasing HAB frequency made me feel this was a story that needs to be told. I have always been fascinated by science and art so this particular SURF project through the RISD Nature Lab felt right up my alley. Throughout this project, I have been given the chance to work at the intersection of these two engaging areas in a rewarding way.

Read RI C-AIM’s Student Newsletter