This summer I had the opportunity to work at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health. I spent eight weeks learning about the tools and techniques used to conduct molecular biology research. My specific project involved investigating with an approach called quantitative PCR (polymerase chain reaction). In all organisms, the molecule DNA encodes for proteins, which then determine the organism's traits. I compared cDNA samples (synthesized through the process of reverse transcription from mRNA) from the brain tissue of cocaine abusers and control subjects to see if there were any differences in gene expression at the mRNA level. If differences exist between the mRNA levels of drug abusers compared to control subjects, we might better understand how biochemical actions in the brain produce the cellular, physical, and behavioral conditions associated with drug abuse.

After some initial struggles with contamination and a period of adjustment to microscale research, I enjoyed my experience in the molecular biology lab. My exposure to molecular tools and techniques including micropipetting, PCR, and gel electrophoresis will serve as a springboard for lessons in all of my biology classes. Weekly seminars on various topics related to drug abuse brought back memories of my college research experience, and I plan to include attending quarterly off-campus scientific lectures as a requirement for my AP Biology students. I also hope to capitalize on the contacts I made over the summer in order to show my students the skills and work ethic needed to be a successful research scientist.

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During the summer of 2002, we worked with Dr. Martin Roberge, a professor and researcher at Towson University. Dr. Roberge was interested in discovering how various crops appear on the MODIS satellite imagery. NOAH, NASA, and Raytheon funded this project. The findings will be processed and analyzed by the Center for Geographic Information Sciences (CGIS) at Towson University.

Under the guidance of Dr. Roberge, we collected data on the various crops grown in Maryland in order to compare our findings to the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrophotometer) satellite imagery. This would enable Dr. Roberge to create a key that could be utilized in directly identifying crops from the imagery rather than entirely from the time consuming method of ground truthing.

Overall, the project is loosely divided into four phases. Ground truthing, the first phase, is the process of identifying the size and location of crops on site. In order to do this, we used several instruments: a Global Positioning Unit (GPS), compass, and range finder. The GPS unit was used to obtain the longitude and latitude of our location. The compass was used to obtain the direction of the point that was taken. The range finder was used to determine the length and width of the field. After collecting over three hundred data points around the state of Maryland, including locations in Central and Western Maryland as well as along the Eastern Shore, we input the data into two programs, MapSource and ARCView. This allowed us to view our points on a map in order to check the accuracy of our data. {Due to the time limitations of the internship and the length of the project, we were only able to participate in the first phase. We will remain in contact with Dr. Roberge in order to follow the progress of the project.}

The second phase of the project will involve developing a key of the crops by comparing the data from ground truthing to existing satellite imagery. The third phase will involve utilizing the key to identify and map crops throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The final phase will involve utilizing the key when examining the satellite imagery to identify the effects of specific crops on erosion and water quality as well as to monitor the phenological cycle of various crops.

We are grateful for the opportunity to learn new software programs and the use of new scientific instruments as participants within a research based project. As a result of this valuable experience, we were able to develop lesson plans for middle school students that address the Maryland Learning Outcomes and Science Content Standards while meeting the indicators of the Baltimore County curriculum.

We would like to thank Dr. Martin Roberge for his guidance and support. We would also like to thank Sherry McCall Ross and Dr. Larry Wimmers for coordinating and facilitating the program. Finally, we would like to thank the National Science Foundation for funding the Maryland Educators’ Summer Research Program.

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I spent my summer interning at Aberdeen Proving Ground Army Research Laboratory in the Human Research and Engineering Directorate, working in the Cognitive Sciences Branch. This means that all of the research with which I was concerned pertained to mental workload and stress on performance.

During my time at ARL, I focused primarily on two projects: the Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT), and another project for NASA. I also did a few small research tasks, including performing an article search to use as references for a chapter in a book, and a small amount of programming on a computer for use with an experiment involving stress on soldiers. I began my summer with the first two projects, and then performed the other smaller ones while I was waiting for approval of my initial work.

The work that I did revolved around the use of the Army’s cognitive modeling tool, IMPRINT. It was designed at ARL, with the assistance of outside contractors. The tool provides the user with the ability to design a situation, called a “simulation,” and then add time delays and workload on the operator in order to make the simulation as realistic as possible. The focus of the models that I worked with and designed was to make sure that the operator performing the tasks was not overloaded or overly stressed.

The CCTT, a simulator where one simulation is concurrently run from many locations working together, is used to train anyone from a single soldier to an entire platoon. The models for the CCTT I worked with were concerned with the minimum number of operators the Army could use and successfully conduct a simulation.

For NASA, I developed models from given information to study the stress placed on a pilot while landing a commercial aircraft. The work I did for NASA was only concerned with workload, as there could be no reduction in operators. The goal was to make sure that the pilots were not overloaded during landing. Also, for the NASA models, I was able to create some of my own, unlike CCTT, where I just ran models already created by someone else.

Though I still have one more year of college ahead of me before become a teacher, I found the internship experience very beneficial. It is very difficult to synthesize scientific research with possibilities for classroom activities, but having this internship opportunity I feel has given me new depths for what I am able to potentially offer to the children in my charge.

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During the summer of 2002, I participated in the Maryland Summer Educator’s Research program at the Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB). COMB is located at the Christopher Columbus Center on Pier Six at the Inner Harbor.

Research has been ongoing at COMB with the use of biofilms for purposes such as studying the quality of the water. Recently, a company nearby contacted Adam Frederick (Head of Maryland Sea Grant Education) to test four-inch disks that contained an antimicrobial substance that was approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency. There were two different concentrations of antimicrobial substances, two percent and four percent. The disks were either embedded with the substance, or the substance was painted on the disk. The disks were placed on racks that were placed into the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Parameters that may affect the study were measured, such as salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, and weather. After the disks were in the water for five days, we began to pull disks from each group. Disks were pulled from the racks two times a week for three weeks. I used a numbered grid and a random number table to determine five sample areas on each disk. The sample areas were observed under the microscope to count the type and number of organisms that had attached to the disk. After analyzing each disk, the disk was scraped clean and biomass was measured. Once the data was collected from the disks, I used the Maryland Sea Grant Website to analyze the data.

The results of this study and further research has the possibility of finding a substance that will inhibit growth on the bottom of boats, thereby reducing drag, or with intake pipes or other objects that are in contact with bay water.

I would like to thank Adam Frederick and Kathleen Tunney (a teacher from Howard County completing a similar program at COMB) for a wonderful learning experience.

I plan to use my experience at COMB to teach about classification of organisms, population growth, succession, and to bring research into my classroom.

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Research site: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, Maryland

This summer, I had the pleasure to work at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. When I learned of my assignment, I thought, “I’ll get to look in telescopes!” I knew that the Center had more to explore besides telescopes and rockets. But, how much more? What much of the general public probably doesn’t know is that a great deal of Space and Earth Science research is conducted at Goddard. I wiped “the stars” out of my eyes and got ready to work!

During my eight-week internship, I worked with the Earth Observatory Team. This team is responsible for the Earth Observatory web site located at www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov. The purpose of this site is to provide a freely accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus of the site is on Earth’s climate and environmental change and is especially useful to the public media and educators. Under the guidance of David Herring, the chief editor of the site and a science writer, Wendy (another teacher intern from a different program) and I added to the Experiments section of the Earth Observatory web site.

When I first looked at the Experiments section on the web site, the existing items were good, and it seemed impossible to add anything of quality in eight weeks. It was decided that the new addition to the Experiments section would address aerosols.

Aerosols are particles of liquid or solid dispersed as a suspension in a gas. Cloud droplets attach to aerosols and combine to form larger droplets. Eventually, clouds form. Without aerosols, we would not have clouds. Without clouds, precipitation would not occur. Without precipitation, life on Earth would be very different.

We created a tutorial that would allow teachers and students to explore the world of aerosols. We started with the Background section, which contains enough information to pique the interest of the observer. There are several opportunities for the students to analyze actual satellite images and hypothesize about possible outcomes to problems. From the Background section, the tutorial branches off into two different sections, Weather and Climate. The Weather section explores the role of aerosols in our atmosphere and cloud formation. The climate section allows the students to explore the possible long-term affects of increased aerosols in the atmosphere. Satellite images and real-life examples are used throughout the tutorial.

Interning at NASA Goddard was an interesting experience. I had the opportunity to listen to lectures from scientists and sit in on team meetings. I also learned how important aerosols are to our atmosphere. I look forward to sharing my experience with my students.

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Research Site: Army Research Laboratory

Aberdeen Proving Grounds

Human Research & Engineering Directorate

Mentor: Richard McMahon, Acting Branch Chief

Dismounted Warrior Branch

“Measure twice and cut once” - such a simple concept, yet one that has often been overlooked in the design and implementation of military equipment and procedures. Through the human factors research being done at the Human Research and Engineering Directorate (HRED), consideration is being given to the “human element” in the development of all systems and procedures used to support the soldier of the future.

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Analysis of Near Surface Atmospheric Profiler Data

The military has continually been advancing its detection capabilities by using shorter wavelength (higher frequency) radars. Although these systems are more capable of locating objects and determining approach speeds, they are also more susceptible to smaller variations in atmospheric refractivity.

The purpose of the research project I was involved in at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is to help determine a modeling technique that best demonstrates how modified refractivity (M) fluctuates at the boundary layer of the ocean-atmosphere. It examines the time variance of M in approximately the first 1m and uses fixed heights of up to 30m above the wave height. This is a region that has had little focus paid to it but will continue to become more important as the radar frequencies continue to increase.

The Applied Physics Laboratory of The John Hopkins University operates near surface atmospheric profilers during sea tests. These profilers measure temperature, humidity and height above mean sea level, typically in support of radar propagation analyses. The data that this project analyzed was collected off the coast of Wallops Island Research center on three separate dates. These were 08 May 2000, 12 Aug2000, and 15 Aug 2000. Data was collected from1522-1931GMT (10:22A- 2:31P EST) on 8May00, from 2006-2207 GMT (3:06-5:07P EST) on 12Aug00, and from 1244-2006 GMT (7:44A-4:06P EST) on 15Aug00. This data is subject to continental influences as well as diurnal influences (especially solar heating).

The findings of this research leads the author to suggest that a vertical piston tube be constructed, so that the modified refractivity (M) of a stratified atmosphere be measured above water that is being oscillated at different wave frequencies. It could then be determined how the observed periodic fluctuations in M occur. These results will help match the correct modeling technique needed to describe the variations in M near a coastal environment. This is essential for the NAVY to be able to adjust the focusing of the phase array radar systems so prevalent on our fighting ships.

The entire experience this summer was an extremely rewarding one, and I would like to thank my mentor J. Ross Rottier for all his assistance in completing this project.

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This summer I participated in a research internship through Washington College’s Center for the Environment. The Center for the Environment uses the surrounding Chesapeake Bay region as an example of and natural laboratory for the study of issues such as land use, human influenced ecosystems, and conservation. I participated in a specific project mentored by Dr. Wayne Bell of the Center for the Environment called the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project. Additional participants in this research study included Stephanie Spencer, a high school teacher working as an intern through the Maryland Space Grant, and two undergraduate students, Meg Preston and Robin Bachellor.

This year marks the beginning of the second Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project. The first five-year project was completed in 1987, and has since been published as the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia (C.S. Robbins and E. A. T. Blom, 1996). The purpose of the project is to detail the distribution of all bird species that breed in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Because birds are very dependent upon their habitats during the breeding season, the presence or absence of breeding birds is an excellent indicator of the biodiversity and general quality of an ecosystem. Additionally, birds occupy a variety of habitats and are easy to see and hear, making them an excellent choice for environmental research.

My involvement with the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project included strictly fieldwork. We had landowner permission from several people in the Kent County Maryland area, and would travel periodically to each site to observe and record any and all birds that exhibited breeding behavior. Some examples of breeding behavior include observing a pair of birds, confirming the presence of young or a nest, and observing territorial behavior. On each occasion, data was collected while we were in the field. This raw data would then be submitted to the Maryland Ornithological Society, who are in charge of overseeing the second Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project.

Because I teach biology in Kent County Maryland, I will be able to share with my students information I gained from my research specific to the area in which they live. Additionally, I plan to arrange a field trip with my students to one of the sites we researched so they can have real experience with the collection of data for the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project.

I personally enjoyed my involvement with the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas Project and the MESRP internship very much. As a teacher of biology, I had previously never had the opportunity to experience biology. Now that I have gained experience with real and relevant scientific research, my teaching skills will be enhanced.

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