Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences
Date
August 22, 2025
2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Highligths
From freshly formed simple craters on the Moon to hydrogen sulfide production in the Salton Sea, DEEPS undergraduate students participated in cutting edge research throughout the 2025 summer break. We are proud to showcase some of these research projects with this photo series.
1
of
27
Jenna Serotta: "I am investigating strontium isotopic ratios in river waters from the Philippines to learn about silicate weathering rates." | Studying Earth, Climate, and Biology; Advisor: Assistant Professor Daniel Ibarra
2
of
27
Jenna Serotta: "I am investigating strontium isotopic ratios in river waters from the Philippines to learn about silicate weathering rates." | Studying Earth, Climate, and Biology; Advisor: Assistant Professor Daniel Ibarra
3
of
27
Jenna Serotta with Research Associate Hannah Tompkins
4
of
27
Hudson Fagan: "I am creating a deep learning model to effectively downscale climate projections for use in Pacific Island Countries and Territories." Visiting from Tufts University; Advisor: Assistant Professor Chris Horvat
5
of
27
Cassidy Charles: "I am creating a mathematical model to study whether interactions between two phytoplankton species can lead to transient growth, or blooms, in the total phytoplankton population." | Studying Earth and Climate Physics and Applied Math | Advisor: Assistant Professor Mara Freilich
6
of
27
Helena Soares Barros | Studying Applied Math and Computer Science; Advisor: Associate Professor Jung-Eun Lee
7
of
27
Wyatt Sieminski: "I am running numerical ocean models to study small scale dynamics in the upper ocean." | Studying Geophysics and Climate Physics, and Computer Science; Advisor: Assistant Professor Mara Freilich
8
of
27
Eric Ericson: "I am testing the utility of tetraunsaturated alkenones as a proxy for sea ice concentrations in the Barents Sea, as well as testing ways to extend the viable temperature range for using alkenone unsaturation ratios as a sea surface temperature proxy in the Pacific warm pool." | Studying Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, and Applied Math; Advisor: Professor Yongsong Huang
9
of
27
Eric Ericson: "I am testing the utility of tetraunsaturated alkenones as a proxy for sea ice concentrations in the Barents Sea, as well as testing ways to extend the viable temperature range for using alkenone unsaturation ratios as a sea surface temperature proxy in the Pacific warm pool." | Studying Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, and Applied Math; Advisor: Professor Yongsong Huang
10
of
27
Lena Hernandez (Visiting from UC Berkeley), Preya Nguyen (Studying Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry), and Shannon White (Studying Geology-Chemistry) | Advisor: Assistant Professor Emily Cooperdock
11
of
27
Lena Hernandez, Preya Nguyen, and Shannon White: "We are investigating the Twin Sisters Massif using triple oxygen isotopes, XRD, and microscopy to determine the relationship between fluid-rock interactions and serpentinized fault surfaces."
12
of
27
Maddie Connery: "I am looking at how official air quality standards can overlook persistent pollution burdens in frontline Providence neighborhoods through community data and hyper-local air quality monitoring." | Studying Environmental Studies and Public Policy Economics; Advisor: Professor Meredith Hastings
13
of
27
Sadie Allspaw: "During this project, I study pressure-temperature distributions among simulated impact crater ejecta on the Moon. I am developing a strategy to determine likely source craters for samples collected during the Apollo missions based on the peak pressure and temperature conditions they sustained during the impact event. The work I do during this internship will be applicable to any future sample collection on the Moon." | Studying Mathematics; Advisor: Postdoc Andrea Rajšić
14
of
27
Sierra Khan: "I am mapping freshly formed simple craters on the Moon to estimate regolith thickness in the lunar highlands and maria, as well as the candidate Artemis III landing regions." | Studying Earth and Planetary Science; Advisor: Postdoc Andrea Rajšić
15
of
27
Sierra Khan and Sadie Allspaw
16
of
27
Josephine Harrison: "I am analyzing samples of Rhode Island river water to better understand the effects of urbanization on carbon speciation and transport." | Studying Biology; Advisor: Assistant Professor Dan Ibarra
17
of
27
Josephine Harrison with Assistant Professor Dan Ibarra
18
of
27
Liza Marcus: "I am collecting ozone and nitrogen dioxide samples to better understand their isotopic composition, photochemical evolution, and oxidation chemistry." | Studying Chemistry and Africana Studies; Advisor: Professor Meredith Hastings
19
of
27
Liza Marcus: "I am collecting ozone and nitrogen dioxide samples to better understand their isotopic composition, photochemical evolution, and oxidation chemistry." | Studying Chemistry and Africana Studies; Advisor: Professor Meredith Hastings
20
of
27
Gregorio Posada Pardo: "I am conducting hot pressing experiments using a Paterson-type apparatus to determine the impact of porosity in the rheology of plagioclase." | Advisors: Professors Chris Huber and Greg Hirth
21
of
27
Elizabeth Brummit (Studying Earth and Planetary Science and Mathematics) and Morgan Rafferty (Studying Earth, Climate, and Biology) | Advisor: Professor Yongsong Huang
22
of
27
Elizabeth Brummit and Morgan Rafferty: "We are developing a chronology of volcanic tephra glasses in a sediment core from Imuruk Lake and linking some of these glasses to known eruptions through sampling, tephra concentration estimates, and geochemical analysis."
23
of
27
Evan Li: "Using the General Lake Model, which simulates 1D water columns of bodies of water, I am researching how the mixing dynamics of the Salton Sea and thus the release of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic chemical which threatens the health of surrounding communities, will change as the Salton Sea shrinks." | Studying Applied Math and Environmental Science; Advisor: Assistant Professor Mara Freilich
24
of
27
Evan Li: "Using the General Lake Model, which simulates 1D water columns of bodies of water, I am researching how the mixing dynamics of the Salton Sea and thus the release of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic chemical which threatens the health of surrounding communities, will change as the Salton Sea shrinks." | Studying Applied Math and Environmental Science; Advisor: Assistant Professor Mara Freilich
25
of
27
Remy Dufresne: "Using a biogeochemical model, I am researching how temperature and oxygen levels drive hydrogen sulfide production in the Salton Sea's bottom waters to offer scientific support for environmental justice efforts helping local affected communities." | Studying Applied Math - Biology; Advisor: Assistant Professor Mara Freilich
26
of
27
Eden Lewis: "For this project, I am developing a local and temporal multi-criteria evaluation model to help improve decision-making with regards to land conservation and other place-based environmental issues." | Studying Environmental Science and Data Fluency; Advisor: Assistant Professor Seda Şalap-Ayça
27
of
27
Eden Lewis: "For this project, I am developing a local and temporal multi-criteria evaluation model to help improve decision-making with regards to land conservation and other place-based environmental issues." | Studying Environmental Science and Data Fluency; Advisor: Assistant Professor Seda Şalap-Ayça