The University of Rhode Island recently highlighted the summer research work of senior Hannah Madison, an ocean engineering major who conducted algae surveys at the Napatree Point lagoon and Greenwich Bay under URI professor Carol Thornber.
“It’s an extremely interesting experience,” Madison said. “I learned so many different things that I never would have known
without it. And it was definitely fun working at the beach every week. We never
did the same thing twice, so it was never boring.”
Madison, who also worked with postdoctoral
researcher Lindsay Green, primarily weighed and measured algae and counted the
marine invertebrates living among it, as well as collecting water data like
temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen. She also assisted in experiments to
determine the best conditions for algae and to compare the growth of native and
invasive species. She collected data.
“I definitely learned from the fellowship
that I don’t want to be stuck in a cubicle,” Madison said. “I want to be out
there in the field seeing what needs to be done and doing it. That was the best
part of the project. We were never just sitting.”
Madison was able to take part in the
research fellowship through funding provided by the Experimental Program to
Stimulate Competitive Research.
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