What are you up to now?

Jennifer Popham
REU '09

Mentor: Ed Faison
Project: Seedling & Sapling Composition Influences Browse Intensity of Ungulates in Massachusetts

Hometown: Gardner, MA
College and major: University of Massachusetts-Amherst, class of 2010, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation

What you miss most about the REU program:
Being surrounded by people who are passionate about the environment and ecology.

What you miss least about the REU program:
Rainy days in the field when it rained so hard, for so long, that even the Write-In-The-Rain paper gave up.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The memories of spending every day out in the Quabbin Reservior Watershed. It was such a peaceful place to be five days a week.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?
Yes! There are a group of us who chat often and update each other on our lives. We hope to get together for a reunion someday.

Did your REU experience support or change your school/career plans?
My REU experience actually made me realize that I do not want to do research for a career. It was too much of a long and tedious process for me and I'm glad that I realized that during the program and not after I went to grad school to do research.

What are you up to now?
I graduated from UMass in May 2010. I want to be a National Park Ranger, so I've been applying for positions all over the country.

Harvard Forest Get-Together at the ESA Annual Meeting

This year, Harvard Forest organized a social event at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Pittsburgh, PA. The goals of the social were to bring together past and current folks who have worked at the Forest to catch up with each other and to provide an occasion for any undergraduates attending the ESA Meeting to come learn about opportunities at the Forest.

On August 3, 17 people attended the social at Olive or Twist, a martini bar close to the Convention Center in Pittsburgh. 7 past REU students, 5 past researchers, 4 current researchers, and 1 potential future REU student were able to connect with each other, chat about current projects at the Forest, and learn about how Harvard Forest has influenced their lives and career paths. It was great to learn that several REU alumni have attended or are now enrolled in graduate ecology programs around the country!

Thanks to everyone who attended this event – we’ll hope to see more Harvard Forest alumni in the future!



[Morgan Tingley (REU '00 & '01), Sarah Butler (current researcher and mentor for REU program), and Jen Johnson (past research assistant) chatted about current projects at the Forest]



[Marit Wilkerson and Jens Stevens, both REU Alumni from '05, caught up with each other while discussing the benefits of the Harvard Forest program with Ava Hoffman, an undergraduate at the University of Virginia.]



[Naomi Clark and Matt Lau, both REU alumni from '03, were excited to re-connect at this event]

What are you up to now?

Brian Warshay
REU '05
Mentor: Jacque Mohan
Project: Physiological Girdling of Forest Trees: Developments of a New Method to Understand Soil Respiration

Hometown: Eastchester, NY

College and major: Cornell University, Natural Resources & Environmental Engineering Technology (double major)

What you miss most about the REU program:The people and friends met there and the good times we had after our work days were complete.

What you miss least about the REU program:
The mosquitoes and humidity.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
My appreciation for the dedication and efforts that ecologists devote to their research and the sciences that support it, despite the long hours, backwards politics, and modest pay.


Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?

Yes. I still catch up with Jens Stevens fairly regularly and have recently been reacquainted with Katherine Lenoir.

Did your REU experience support or change your school/career plans?
Definitely. I actually learned that I did not want to pursue pure research as a career. I admire those who do but realized that I didn't have the intrinsic motivation for the meticulous field work and effort necessary to do research full time. It was an invaluable experience. I've never enjoyed something that I didn't want to do so much.

What are you up to now?
After working for three years as an environmental consultant I quit my job and am now attending the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, UAE studying for a masters degree in Engineering Systems and Management with a focus on renewable energy, sustainability, and biofuel life cycle assessments. I anticipate graduating in May 2011 and getting a job in sustainability consulting or another related field.

(Brian maintains a blog about his life in Abu Dhabi. Check it out!)

What are you up to now?

Alison Grantham
REU '08

Mentor: Steve Wofsy
Project: Aboveground Woody Detrital Biomass Decreases and Respiration Increases in the 5 Years Following Selective Harvest

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
College and Major: Harvard College, Biological Sciences / Environmental Studies, '08

What you miss most about the REU program:
The setting and atmosphere was so nice for focusing on science and making great friends. I loved going for evening runs in the woods and taking weekend hikes and trips with other REUs.

What you miss least about the REU program:
The mosquitoes.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The project I worked on has guided my subsequent career moves, so I guess C and N dynamics and climate implications stuck.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?
Yup! I'm engaged to fellow HF REU alum, Alex Ireland, and have stayed good friends with Megan Woltz and kept in touch with a few others.

What you're up to now:
I'm currently the Research Manager at the Rodale Institute, an organic agriculture nonprofit and exploring options for graduate school.

Read a great interview published about Alison in summer 2010 by the Huffington Post.

What are you up to now?

Charlotte Chang

REU '08

Mentor: Mike Kaspari

Project: Soil salinity in a temperate forest ecosystem impacts ant foraging behavior (abstract)

Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA 
College and major: Pomona College, Biology, class of 2010

What you miss most about the REU program:
I miss Tim's cooking, the house full of REU love, and the woods.

What you miss least about the REU program:
Being far from home was about it.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The research skills I gained, the friendships I made, bike rides (soars?) down the steep hill to the left of Harvard Forest, and the cows.

Have you stayed in touch with other REUers?:
Absolutely!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Participating in the REU program has made it much easier for me to continue doing ecological research, and anything related to environmental science. I gained skills that helped me conserve my school's own field station (the Bernard Field Station, home to a critically endangered coastal sagebrush habitat). The literature I read and conversations I heard/had at Harvard Forest helped me pick up techniques to address this issue.

What you're up to now:
In summer '09, I studied grassland birds in Montana, some of which are endangered because of poor land management practices. I’m still working toward getting my school to not destroy our field station.

What are you up to now?

Jessica (Scott) Pascoe
REU '00

Mentor: Rebecca Field

Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
College and major: Swarthmore College, Biology and Environmental Studies, class of 2000

What you miss most about the REU program:
Being surrounded by amazing scientific researchers, and daily bird counts.

What you miss least about the REU program:
55 mosquito bites on one hand, waking up at 4:30am every day for bird counts.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
I met one of my best friends at Harvard Forest and we both maintain Harvard Forest was one of the best summers of our lives.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
I really loved the field experience. I wanted to be a Field Ornithologist but learned through my summer at Harvard Forest that I am horribly allergic to mosquitoes. Instead of doing field work, I decided to go into education to translate scientific principles to the general public.

What you're up to now:
I currently serve as the Director of Education for the Colorado Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Previously I was the Director of Sustainability for Lewis and Clark Community College. I also worked at the St. Louis Science Center as the Ecology and Environment Gallery Leader, and served as the Director of Education for the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

What are you up to now?

Amanda (Park) Miller
REU '03

Mentor: Dave Orwig 
Project: Vegetation and Nitrogen Dynamics Following Selective Hemlock Logging

Hometown: Wolcott, NY 
College and major: SUNY College of Env. Science and Forestry, Syracuse U.; Environmental and Forest Biology, class of 2003

What you miss most about the REU program:
It was an incredible experience for many reasons. The people you meet are fantastic, interesting, and intellectual, resulting in friendships that have persisted over time. The facilities at Harvard Forest were wonderful, from the labs down the housing! And of course, the research projects were a great experience too. My mentor was just about the best mentor in the world!

What you miss least about the REU program:
Nothing really. It's like summer camp for curious, scientifically minded people.


What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The friendships and the research. Both are peerless.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
It affected my plans for a while at least. Then life caught up with me and I went with the flow.

What you're up to now:
I worked for the USDA doing microbiology research, went to grad school at Northern Arizona University, then dropped out to open a restaurant. I am now a Development Director/ grant writer/ fundraiser/ chief communications officer for a Community Health Center in North Idaho! Of course, I miss science dearly, but have found another calling in the non-profit sector.