Slide Show: Student Researchers Present their Work at the Summer Symposium

More than 145 students presented summer research and creative work conducted with faculty mentors at the Summer Research Symposium on July 30 in the Great Hall of McCardell Bicentennial Hall.

The poster sessions represented 27 departments and programs covering a diverse range of research topics in the sciences, humanities, social sciences, and the arts. Among them, Ellie Dripps ’27 shared findings from her project, “Interannual Variability of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Vermont Urban Streams” which examines how road salt runoff and other impacts of urbanization affect Vermont streams by measuring chloride levels and studying aquatic macroinvertebrates—key indicators of water quality. 

“Working in labs, especially this one, has been one of the most fulfilling experiences that I have had at Middlebury. It definitely helped narrow my goals and what I’m looking to do in grad school, and what it’s like to work on a research team,” said Dripps. “I honestly didn’t even know that these research opportunities existed or what it was like to work in a lab when I first got here. I took an intro to biology course and we did some lab work so I talked to my current advisor Eric Moody (associate professor of biology) and switched my major, which really changed my trajectory.” 

Jeremy Ward, Albert D. Mead Professor of Biology and Vice President of Academic Affairs who is currently serving as interim executive vice president and provost, says the opportunities for undergraduate research at Middlebury are invaluable for both students and faculty members.

“My longest lasting relationships with students are with the ones who were in my research lab,” said Ward. “You’ve got a shared purpose and goals and that’s incredibly meaningful. I owe my career to this type of collaborative research activity. I didn’t clone the genes in my lab. I may have taught them how to do it but they actually did the work. When you get a research group together, the sum is greater than the parts, and just like the students and faculty members at this symposium, it creates an awesome experience.”