Announcing the 2026 Summer Research Scholars

April 16, 2026

Announcing the 2026 Summer Research Scholars

Group picture of 2025 SES summer scholars

Congratulations to the 2026 Summer Research Scholars! 

Ten Earth Science majors will receive scholarships to pursue research projects over the summer under the supervision of SES faculty. They will present the results of their research at a poster session on August 27th. Funding is provided by the Jessup Endowment in Earth Sciences.

Thank you to the Friends of Orton Hall Committee (Steven Lower (Chair), Melisa Diaz and Motomu Ibaraki) for conducting proposal reviews.

NameProject TitleSupervisor
Aiden FullerSupraglacial Sediment Mineralogy and Its Role in Sustaining Microbial ActivityDr. Alex Michaud
Alfonso AguirreDevonian-age fish fossils from the Old Red Sandstone, ScotlandDr. Loren Babcock
Hailey WilliamsDoes UZELA accelerate wound healing in Red Sea corals?Dr. Andrea Grottoli
Christopher HulseEvaluating Budyko-Based Runoff Sensitivity in the Mississippi River Basin Using Streamflow Observations and CORDEX Climate ProjectionsDr. Michael Durand
Jonah SmithCalcium isotopic compositions in karst hydrology on San Salvador Island, The BahamasDr. Elizabeth Griffith
Lily StarkCalibration and Validation of Reef3D for Coral Morphology MeasurementsDr. Andrea Grottoli
Claire LoefflerMapping the Geochemical Transition Between Scioto Sublobe Till Assemblages in Fairfield County, OhioDr. Bryan Mark
Morgan LeesonInvestigating Body Size Changes in Fossil Bivalves of PanamaDr. Jill Leonard-Pingel
Lilly DriaEffect of UZELA enhanced feeding on coral biomass and pigmentation of the mounding coral Oribicella faveolata.Dr. Andrea Grottoli
Evan MillerDistribution of seafloor pockmarks in Garden Banks, Gulf of Mexico.Dr. Ann Cook