Katherine H
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at Cornell University
Expertise
Biogeochemistry, geology, environmental science, microbiology, marine biology, ecology, plant ecology, ecosystems ecology
Bio
Hi, students! My name is Katherine (Katie), and I'm a PhD candidate at Cornell University in the field of Natural Resources. Prior to my time here, I went to the University of Maryland, where I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Geographical Sciences. My current research involves the interaction between sediment chemistry and seagrass meadow ecosystem health, particularly in eutrophic, human-altered ecosystems. I'm broadly interested in the interactions between organisms and their environments, as well as geologic history. I've published my research in top journals. When I'm not working on my research, I love to hike, paint, and write short stories. I'm an animal lover and frequently volunteer at the shelter up the street. Mentoring students always gets me thinking outside of the box, and the energy and excitement students bring to science is contagious!Project ideas
Hometown Hydrology
The USGS has hundreds of stream gauges set up across the United States, each gauge providing loads of daily and weekly data. In this project, you'll learn how to analyze and interpret these large datasets using R, and make inferences about environmental health in your neighborhood. You'll write a paper on the topic and submit to a high school journal.
Traveling through geologic time
How has your town, or another location of interest, changed through geologic time? What did it look like at the last glacial maximum, or back in the carboniferous period? In this project, you'll learn to read scientific literature and interpret maps to develop a greater understanding of earth history. You can get creative with the output for this one, designing a webpage or scientific poster on the topic.
