KU undergrads join ivy league researchers at geophysical meeting
Every year the American Geophysical Union holds a meeting in San Francisco, Cali., for professional scientists, professors, and researchers. This year, Michelle Kuhn and Sunshyne Ross, two KU undergraduate students had the chance to present their research projects; the first students in KU history to present at such a prestigious meeting.
This year’s event was held Dec. 14-16, and featured presenters from all over the world. Approximately 16,000 people attended, including Kuhn, a senior, and Ross, a junior. Other college campuses that held student presenters included Yale, Stanford, Texas A&M, Princeton, and MIT.
Summaries of the students’ work was sent into the American Geophysical Union, which was then deemed worthy to present, leading to their invitation to the conference. Both Kuhn and Ross presented their research on a 4×7 foot computer model, and then vigorously answered questions that were asked by professionals from all over the globe. Kurt Friehauf, associate professor of geology at KU, explained “some of those geophysicists can be very intense people and don’t wear ‘kid gloves’ when interrogating researchers about their work. Both Kuhn and Ross defended their work very successfully.”
Kuhn completed her research in the remote wilderness of British Colombia, focusing on the seismic studies of the earth’s crust. Friehauf said, “she installed explosives in the earth, set up high-tech sensors that measured the speed of the shock waves through the rock, and then set the explosives off.” This led to Kuhn’s collection of data, which was recorded by instruments to “deduce the structure of the earth’s crust in the rugged mountain range that characterizes that part of western Canada,” Friehauf added.
Ross, on the other hand, worked on gathering data for the agricultural community in Berks County. Ross extensively analyzed historical data, which then was correlated to the productivity of agriculture in general. “Climate change during the past century affects the amount of precipitation, etc., and so affects our farm output. She then used published projections of future climate to predict the effects on our future farm productivity.” Friehauf commented. Ross plans to continue her research and publish an article in a scientific journal later this year.
Presenting along with other prestigious colleges, as well as delivering information to professional scientists deems to be a stressful situation. Ross explained that, “it is an unexplainable feeling. It makes me feel that as long as you stay determined and keep an eye on your goal you can achieve anything in this world. I feel empowered.”
The accomplishments of the two students have not gone unnoticed by the university, and it is evident they have learned an extensive amount by attending the annual meeting. “Being a young researcher is an awarding experience; I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity. This experience gave me a clean pathway for my start into the research world,” Ross said.
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