For the second year in a row, students from colleges and universities across the country are spending their summer at The University of Toledo for undergraduate research experience and mentoring.

Alex Weeden, a Wisconsin native with a passion for water quality, is preparing to enter her senior year at Hanover College in Indiana by working under the direction of a scientist in the UT Department of Environmental Sciences.

“I am researching the methods of toxin detection in the lake and trying to make that method more accurate,” Weeden said.

The National Science Foundation sponsors the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

“11 students are working on land-lake environmental problems, including water quality, harmful algal blooms, invasive species and climate change,” said Carol Stepien, director of the UT Lake Erie Center and Distinguished University Professor of Ecology who leads the nine-week program. “This is a wonderful opportunity to help build research skills both in the field and in the lab for the next generation of scientists.”

Media availability for students and scientists as they do fish sampling is from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, June 27 at the UT Lake Erie Center, 6200 Bayshore Road in Oregon.

315 students from 83 colleges and universities applied for less than a dozen slots in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

“Our program targets minority students, veterans, first-generation college students and those that lack undergraduate research opportunities on their home campuses,” Stepien said.

11 students, including one who is returning for a second year, are each paid a $5,000 stipend. The program also pays for the students to stay in residence halls on Main Campus and their travel to and from Toledo.

Song Qian, assistant professor of environmental science, is Weeden’s faculty mentor. Weeden is conducting experiments for Qian’s project to develop a new, more reliable method to measure the algal bloom toxin called microcystin in drinking water.

“The scientific work and bonding with new friends has been a lot of fun,” Weeden said. “It can be difficult at times because Qian is very technical and statistically-minded, but that is why I am here. This is a great opportunity to learn how to measure water quality and how that impacts the community.”

Participating undergraduate students attend the University of South Carolina at Columbia, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Bowling Green State University, Central State University, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Iowa State University, Pitzer College, Hanover College and UT.

Tags: College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics