Degree Program: Aeronautical Science - Airline Track
Year: Junior (Sophomore Year, Junior Credits)
How has undergraduate research impacted your life?
Undergraduate research has provided me with opportunities that I would have never experienced in my college education if I had not applied to the Office of Undergraduate Research Spark grant when I was a freshmen. The civil engineering research that I started off doing allowed me to work with students and professors that I would not typically work with in the College of Engineering. I have been able to participate in multiple conferences which allowed me to network with other students, researchers, and colleges and share my research. I have also developed skills that have helped me become a better student and pilot.
What does research mean to you?
Research is an experience that you only receive once. It is current, ongoing, and exciting events that take place for the first time ever. Having the opportunity to research is such a gift for an undergraduate student because it takes your mind off of the academics and allows me to get involved in different areas and explore information no one knows the answer to. Embry Riddle provides a great way to get involved with research at any level and allows for students to investigate current issues that apply to their major or topics their interested in. For me, research allowed me to get involved with a current issue that was not related to my major which was beneficial in the sense it distracted me from my normal academic day.
Describe some of the projects you have worked on.
My initial research started in January 2017 after receiving the Spark Grant from the Office of Undergraduate research. The study was a civil engineering project that took place in the Lehman Building with Professor Merkle. We studied the growth of Moringa Oleifera under Mars simulated lighting conditions to see how this plant could sustain growth in reduced light intensity. The research lasted one year which successful results indicating that Moringa Oleifera could grow under Mars lighting conditions. Throughout this research I was able to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows program offered by the office of Undergraduate Research which helped me grow as a researcher and network with other undergraduate research students. Currently I am focusing on expanding the preliminary research I have done in efforts to start researching in a more practical, greenhouse environment and growing as a researcher myself.