10月26日星期三，研究员们 阀杆在文科(阀杆LA)计划 showcased their work at a display and 数字展示 unveiling in Park Atrium.
阀杆LA began its second year this summer and welcomed 18 new students into their 2022 cohort. For the 2022 theme of human and environmental impacts of energy, fellows took Geology of Energy and Extraction with Associate Professor of Geology 塞尔比炉, and Oil, Coal, Nuclear: Narrative Afterlives with Assistant Professor of Russian 何塞•范盖拉.
揭幕仪式, 研究员们把照片放在一个实物陈列柜里, 地质标本, 3 d打印的物品, and diagrams related to the courses and field trips they took that summer, 还有一个 数字展示 他们创造的. The physical display also included paintings students made using iron oxides collected from their trip to an acid mine remediation site.
在活动中, Grace Trembath, Esenia Banuelos, Rezwana肉红玉髓, 和罗文·基利纳分享了他们的夏季经历, 他们学到了什么, 以及这个项目对他们的影响.
与会者包括来自所有队列的研究员, 阀杆LA教师导师, 任何参与项目建设的人, and others interested in getting involved with 阀杆LA in the future.
阀杆LA是一个免费的, interdisciplinary college-transition and 指导 program designed for limited income undergraduate students with a stated interest in 阀杆. The 阀杆LA program aims to support students in their development of 阀杆 identity, 归属感, 通过沉浸式暑期项目进行职业探索, 指导, 参与研究和会议.
阀杆LA’s leadership team is composed of faculty director Jennifer Skirkanich and coordinator Kelsey Obringer. Skirkanich, who also serves as senior biology lecturer and 阀杆 director for Posse, wanted to create a program that would offer students comprehensive 阀杆 support throughout their time at Bryn Mawr. 她于2019年冬天开始建立这个项目, 在申请了一年的资助之后, 阀杆LA于2021年夏天正式启动. 除了大学的支持, 阀杆LA is funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the National Science Foundation.
The first stage of 阀杆LA is a residential program where the fellows spend four weeks during the summer before their first year at Bryn Mawr receiving in-depth 阀杆 courses and participating in field trips. 研究员在夏季可获得津贴, 该计划还包括他们所有的旅行费用, 食物, 和住房.
“The summer program allows students to find their own path in science and to establish a community for themselves of people they are personally connected to that have a vested interest in their success in science at Bryn Mawr,斯科卡尼奇说.
Students take a total of three courses over the summer; one quantitative reasoning course, 还有两门与今年主题相关的课程. Quantitative Reasoning in 阀杆 was co-taught by 访问ing Instructor of Mathematics Daisy Sudparid and Senior Lecturer in Chemistry 丽莎·沃特金斯.
塞尔比·赫茨的课程考察的是煤, 石油, 还有核能, 以及这些物质是如何形成的, 他们的地球化学, 以及开采的环境后果. 学生们还做了一些实验, 实践地质活动, 数据分析, and a field sampling project at an abandoned coal mine in the Pennsylvania Appalachians.
“Each student brought such unique perspectives and experiences—this is one of the things I love best about teaching at a small liberal arts college! 他们都没有地质学背景, but they all brought their excitement for biochemistry or botany or physics, 并将其应用到我们正在研究的想法中,灶台说.
穆 Vergara’s course focused on the human side of energy and extraction by examining how writers and artists around the world have responded to and portrayed the effects of coal, 石油, 还有核能 on communities whose stories are often neglected.
“从美国的煤矿.S. 从中国到阿萨巴斯卡, the fellows brought both a critical eye and great empathy to our discussions. 教这门课真是令人激动. 学生们的热情给我留下了深刻的印象, 他们与塞尔比课程的创造性联系, 以及他们在期末项目中表现出的创造力. Collaborating with this 阀杆LA cohort and my colleagues in these ways was, 对我来说, an ideal example of interdisciplinary liberal arts education. I’m really looking forward to seeing what these students accomplish in the next four years—and beyond,维加拉说.
除了他们的课程, 阀杆LA研究员参加了实地考察, 元认知训练, 以及与布林茅尔理工学院阀杆教员的会面. Students this year visited an acid mine remediation site in New Philadelphia, Pa., where they measured water pH levels and refined some of the polluted material to make their own paint.
研究员们还参观了宾夕法尼亚州科尔代尔的一个煤矿., to learn about the lived experience of coal miners during the 20th century and the intergenerational practice of coal mining.
当不上课或参加实地考察时, 阀杆LA fellows received visits from University of Pennsylvania graduate students to learn about the many different paths to a 阀杆 career.
师友关系是阀杆LA项目的一个重要特点, and students take the summer to build relationships with different faculty members. The 阀杆LA faculty mentor program was carefully crafted to provide students with a faculty mentor they can work with throughout their Bryn Mawr undergraduate studies. Professors in the program go through training to learn about inclusive advising, meet with each other at least once a semester to discuss mentoring in the sciences, 并分享作为导师成长的最佳实践. In their senior years, fellows will become mentors themselves to younger students in the program.
The 阀杆LA program is designed to guide students well beyond their summer before entering Bryn Mawr. 这个秋季学期, 研究员们正在学习科学思维, a half-credit course designed to cover aspects that will help them be successful in introductory 阀杆 courses. Fellows also receive funded opportunities for lab assistant positions, 出席会议, GRE考试准备, 以及在布林莫尔的研究项目.
To learn more about 阀杆LA and eligibility to become a fellow, visit 他们的网页.