{"id":15495,"date":"2017-07-27T15:51:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T19:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=15495"},"modified":"2017-07-27T15:51:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T19:51:42","slug":"surfs-up-2017-ri-undergrads-in-research-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2017\/07\/27\/surfs-up-2017-ri-undergrads-in-research-17\/","title":{"rendered":"SURF’s up 2017: RI undergrads in research"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Johnson_Hannah\"<\/a>Research fellow:<\/strong> Hannah Johnson<\/span>
\nHometown<\/strong>: Woodbury, MN<\/span>
\nSchool:<\/strong> Providence College<\/a><\/span>
\nMajor; minor:<\/strong> Biology; Neuroscience<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannah Johnson, a rising junior, spent her Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship<\/a> (SURF) studying the placement of animal propulsors in both flying and swimming species.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the propulsor is closer to the head, does it give more thrust or what kind of turn?\u201d she explains. \u201cOr, if it\u2019s closer to the back, what does that mean for their movement?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From marine animals like mollusks and sea angels to birds, both soaring and hovering, Johnson is helping to bring greater understanding to how nature manages to move \u2014 an understanding that will inform better building of manmade models that can conserve energy and move more efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very fun, actually,\u201d Johnson says of the research work with Professor Jack Costello<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a good time and I\u2019ve learned a lot. Sometimes, it\u2019s frustrating, when you don\u2019t see patterns fitting the way you might want, but it\u2019s cool to see where the data takes you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson says the work has involved taking videos and photos, measuring wing span and movement, and tracking acceleration. Then, the data goes into an Excel file and the scientists look for patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rhode Island EPSCoR<\/a> fellowship offered the first opportunity for Johnson to engage in full-time, hands-on research during the summer. <\/span>The intensified experience, which pays undergraduate fellows a $4,500 stipend and provides up to $500 for supplies, breeds a deeper involvement in the science, and advances technical and cognitive skills. The program also helps students define a clearer picture of their career path.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animal behavior, particularly in marine life, and the association to humans have long intrigued Johnson and she says she hopes to continue the pursuit of her interests in graduate school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely beneficial,\u201d Johnson says of the 10-week internship in Costello\u2019s lab. \u201cDuring the school year, you have classes. So, it\u2019s cool to dive right into it and have time to fully focus on the research. This has given me a little taste of what it\u2019s like to be a scientist \u2014 I\u2019m 100 percent on board!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson will present her research findings Friday, July 28, at the <\/span>10th Annual RI SURF Conference<\/span><\/a> hosted by the University of Rhode Island. The annual event is the largest presentation of undergraduate research in the state and marks the culmination of the SURF program, which this year involved 24 RI NSF EPSCoR students and 99 from the Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (<\/span>RI-INBRE<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research fellow: Hannah Johnson Hometown: Woodbury, MN School: Providence College Major; minor: Biology; Neuroscience Hannah Johnson, a rising junior, spent her Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) studying the placement of animal propulsors in both flying and swimming species. \u201cIf the propulsor is closer to the head, does it give more thrust or what kind of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21,51],"tags":[537,540,570,705],"class_list":["post-15495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-surfsup","tag-propulsion","tag-providence-college","tag-rhode-island-nsf-epscor","tag-surfri2017"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}