High school students as research partners: working with Nuffield Placement Students

 by Jane Bunting (@DrMJBunting) and Rebecca Williams (@Volcanologist)


Meanwhile, back in the lab...

This week, the blog is back indoors, where Jane and Rebecca are spending August helping some Sixth Form students get a taste of 'real science' in the summer before they apply for University.  Five students have placements with us in GEES through the Nuffield Foundation Research Placements Scheme, which will enable them to be assessed for a British Science Association CREST Gold Award.

Rebecca did a Nuffield Placement herself in the summer after her first year of A Levels.  Neither the Nuffield scheme or the CREST Awards had been done before at Rebecca’s school. An eager biology teacher, Dr Bridgeman, had heard of the scheme and so started it up that year with Rebecca and two of her school friends being the first students to go through it. They weren’t provided with placements, but rather had to find them for themselves. At the time, Rebecca knew she enjoyed Geography, Science and Maths. She was also a bit obsessed with Time Team and she has blogged before about how her journey into geology really started by wanting to be a geophysicist. The only company she could find locally which did geophysics was a consultancy company for the oil and gas company, TGS-Nopec (as they were then known). Rebecca wrote a letter (no email back then!) asking if they would take her on as a work experience student and was delighted when they did. It was a phenomenal experience. Rebecca worked on a project called ‘Hydrocarbon prospectivity along the eastern seaboard, offshore northwest Europe’. She doesn’t have a good memory, but the report is sat next to her as she types this – a testament to how important the experience was. Rebecca found that the geophysical interpretation of the seismic lines wasn’t what interested her. Rather, it was the geology – how is the oil formed, where does it come from, where is it stored, how is it trapped and where can it be found? When Rebecca then had to fill out her UCAS application a month or so later, it was geology degrees she applied to, and not the geophysics that she thought she was going to do, and the rest, as they say, is history. The Nuffield Scheme really did change Rebecca’s path in life. The results from that project were eventually presented by TGS-Nopec at the PETEX Conference – the premier oil and gas conference!

Students doing placements work with a supervisor for 4-6 weeks on a 'real' research project - one where the supervisor doesn't know what will happen or be found out.  The students are expected to read around their topics, contribute to discussions about the design of experiments or studies, plan their own time, learn to use different pieces of equipment, collect data and interpret it, and produce a report and a talk or poster at the end of the placement - of course there is lots of help available, from the supervisor, from technical staff, from other students and researchers in related fields, but it is still quite a challenge.  This year's students all seem to be making the most of it, and are filling their lab notebooks with lots of lovely data.

Tinashe weighing an ear of wheat

surface of a wheat leaf: the 'squashed donuts' are the stomata

Jordan, Leah, Charlotte and Tinashe from local sixth forms at Wyke and Sirius Academy are all working with Jane and Lindsey Atkinson (@LJA_1), who also blogs here, on a pilot study of the effects of small climate changes on spring wheat, which is linked to a bigger project being run by the Network Ecology Group called "The impacts of climate-warming on farmland food-webs and ecosystem services".  In this project, 24 plots are marked out in a field of spring wheat.  Half of these are warmed by 2 ^oC, the sort of change in summer temperature which we are likely to see in our region within the next century according to predictive models.  Since the warming will dry out the soil, half of the warmed plots and half of the non-warmed plots are also given some extra water, so some plots are warmer and drier, and some are just warmer.  We're studying wheat plants collected from the different plots in the field experiment, and also growing our own in the controlled environment rooms in the GEES building, where special lights on timers mimic day and night cycles, the room temperature is controlled, and neither rabbits nor aphids can snack on the growing leaves - the indoors experiment should therefore help us understand how the plants respond to the climate changes without the rest of the food web complicating the picture.  Jordan is studying how biomass allocation varies (essentially 'plant budgeting', looking at how plant resources are divided between light capture, water capture and reproduction).  Charlotte is looking at the effects of the climate changes on the grain yield of the wheat plants.  Leah and Tinashe are looking in more detail at whether the plants can adapt to grow in different conditions by varying the number of stomatal cells in their leaves (an introduction to studying stomata aimed at students can be found here). 

Jordan and Leah cutting up wheat plants

These data, along with other aspects of the plants being measured by Jane and Lindsey, will form the basis for an initial paper on the response of this important crop plant to anticipated climate changes (which of course will get blogged about here) and for a grant application to extend the work; we need to show that our experiments will produce interesting results before we can ask for funding, so these projects are playing an important role in helping us develop this research area.

Jodie uses a digital camera to photograph her thin sections

Jodie joins us from Hessle High School and Sixth Form College. Jodie is interested in geology and chemistry so we’re convincing her that volcanology is an excellent subject! Jodie is doing a research project on the Green Tuff Ignimbrite from Pantelleria with Rebecca. In particular she is looking at thin sections of the ignimbrite to look for features that she can use to interpret how the ignimbrite was formed. This project is a continuation of a long-running project that started with Rebecca’s PhD in 2006. It’s a small, but important part of a much bigger research jigsaw, and the results look promising! We’ll be blogging more about the project next week. If the results look good, Jodie and Rebecca will be presenting the research at the UK’s volcanology conference which this year is hosted in Norwich; Jodie is getting real experience of working on a research project at the cutting-edge of Rebecca’s science.

The Nuffield Schemes offer a wonderful opportunity for students to try out real science; it's very different from school!  For us, it's an excellent way to communicate with the next generation of scientists and consumers of scientific findings, and gives the students involved a taste of scientific work, a boost for their university or job applications and helps them make better course and career choices.  If you're a student reading this, ask your teachers about the scheme or go to this link.  If you're a scientist, we urge you to consider taking on placement students through the scheme - it might even help you get that crucial bit of data to progress your research next summer.

Environmental Microbiology and Me!

Researcher profile: Karen Scott (@DrKarenScott)

As an environmental microbiologist with a biological background I didn't think I would end up working in a geography department. In fact thinking back to my childhood I never thought I would end up in academia, or geography come to that - to be honest my only memories of geography from my school days involved writing a news article on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and drawing a cross section of the Earth! Having always been fascinated by animals, I grew up wanting to work with them in some way or another (once my dad had burst my bubble about a career in bricklaying not being like an episode of ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Pet’!).

I got a place on a BSc Animal Behaviour and Science course at Bishop Burton College in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I found studying animals less engaging than I expected and instead was drawn towards modules assessing the impact of the environment on them. Developing my skills in this environmental sector made me re-evaluate the direction of my career.

Anaerobic workout in the lab

Once I’d completed my degree I got a job working in a microbiology laboratory testing a wide variety of samples ranging from fresh food to environmental water samples. It was a demanding job with long hours but it had its perks, such as free turkeys for the family at Christmas! After a year of working there I’d managed to save up enough money to cover the fees for a Masters degree. I joined the University of Hull Biological Sciences Department and spent a year assessing the effect of contaminated water on shore crab behaviour.

Thoroughly enjoying my year researching and writing I decided the research route was for me, and that’s when I started looking for PhDs. I picked up another microbiology role, similar to the previous one, while I hunted for a PhD and after a few months of looking I found one back at Hull based in Geography. The project investigated the ability of organic matter to decompose within the drainage system in the City of Hull, in particular studying the microbial community, and assessing if it could be increased in some way (outlined in my earlier blog post). Although the project was out of my area, it was cross disciplinary with biology so with a bit of extra background reading before starting, I was able to hit the ground running.

Nice day for fieldwork at Winscar 

After I completed my PhD, I commenced a six month research position in the department where I was split between two environmental projects. I'm now based in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds for the next 13 months working in moorland management and hydrology. The project enables me to expand my skill set within the environmental area, while allowing me the opportunity to get my teeth into some research within the department, which remains a great passion of mine. While I'm not sure if after this project’s completion I will take my career into industry or remain within the academic sector, I am excited by the opportunities for both that come my way.

Work experience of a different kind - research interns in the Dept of GEES

This week, we have a guest blog written by Jessica Keeble and Richard Caley who joined us this summer to gain some experience in what its like to do academic research and the highs and lows of lab work.

As two Geology with Geophysics students in between our second and third years at the University of Leicester, we found ourselves with a rather long summer break which needed to be filled. After spending 4 weeks in the field carrying out coursework we came to the Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at the University of Hull to try and be helpful and learn one or two things! We were very lucky to spend 5 weeks in the department and although there were times where we could have cried (lab equipment can really try your patience sometimes!), we had an absolutely fantastic time with lots of great photo opportunities so we thought we would share our experiences (and funny pictures) with you.

Rich feeling very smart in his lab coat whilst filtering water samples

In the first two weeks of our work experience we learnt two things: 1) there is a LOT of paperwork and introductions to be made before you can even start being helpful; 2) sometimes being helpful means filtering a lot of water… Yes, in the first couple of weeks we did filter a lot of water. This was for Dr Karen Scott who is helping out on a project associated with The Deep (@TotEnvSimulator), which is looking at the effects of sediment concentrations on sedimentation and erosion in fluvial environments. Filtering the samples received from The Deep was quite a lengthy process, however, we did feel pretty cool getting to wear lab coats and doing actual work (not just making cups of tea/carrying out a lot of photocopying!). Filtering the water produced small disks of sediment trapped on filter paper, which when collected together looked more akin to a Dulux colour chart than a scientific experiment. Nonetheless, it wasn’t just sample preparation we were involved with. No, we were then introduced to the delights of the QICPIC machine.  The QICPIC measures the size and sphericity of the sediment grains and when it works, is a really neat piece of kit. However, working with the QICPIC machine was one of those times were we could have cried – it was very temperamental and there was a lot of stopping/starting and cleaning equipment involved (we really sympathise with anyone who has to use one of these machines for labwork/project work!).

"All hope is lost" - Jess contesting with the latest tantrum the QICPIC is throwing

In between filtering water samples and testing our patience with the QICPIC, we catalogued the extensive geological map collection the department owns (and when we say extensive, we are talking about >2000 maps), and organised a section of the sample collection which had been locked away for twenty-odd years. Admittedly, cataloguing the maps wasn’t the most exciting job in the world but we did subject the department to some interesting music (along with Jess’s rather out-of-tune renditions) so luckily the job didn’t take too long! On the other hand, organising the sample collection was really enjoyable and we unearthed some absolutely brilliant samples which gave rise to the unfortunate picture of Jess below.

 "Maybe Palaeo isn't so boring after all!" - Jess with one of her favourite samples from the collection

The main project we were involved in during our time in the department was testing out a handheld-XRF machine to determine its suitability for use in the field.  This involved getting up at an ungodly hour to collect the equipment and receive an induction at the Scarborough campus first, followed by many days of testing samples. Firstly we tested manufacturer's standards to determine the accuracy of the equipment, followed by testing our own standards and then some of Dr Williams and Dr Rogerson’s rock samples. Experiments included: rough vs. smooth surfaces to determine whether the XRF could be used on weathered rocks in the field; carrying out multiple tests on the same sample point to determine accuracy and reliability of the XRF; and carrying out tests on multiple sites on the same sample to determine how well the XRF deals with heterogeneity. Once we had completed the experimental work, we then began the rather extensive task of writing up our results (and to this day we are continuing to finish up the report we started to create – don’t worry Becky, we’ll have it with you very soon!)

The Handheld XRF kit - yes it does look just like a supermarket scanner, but it can't check the prices of your groceries for you

We were incredibly lucky to have such an active role in the work the department carries out and feel really privileged that, despite being only Second years, we were trusted to carry out experimental work and our opinions are truly taken into consideration! Despite the, at times hilarious, low points (running a whole test cycle on the XRF when we had forgotten to even add a rock sample; the QICPIC failing us for what felt like the hundredth time, and dealing with rush hour traffic on a bus) we had an absolutely brilliant time in the Department and gained a real insight to the life of an academic.

I'd like to add a huge thank you to Jess and Rich for their invaluable help in a number of research projects this summer.

Work experience in an academic department is an excellent way to add to a CV, gain skills outside of your degree programme and to trial what research is like if you're thinking of doing a PhD. If you would like some research work experience, get in touch!