With the field of research changing every day as new discoveries are made, the 21st century has seen universities opening up to development of student-run research projects. Junior GU Honors student Sarah Till was able to conduct two such projects in the STEM field, dealing with bats with whitenose syndrome and the green roof on Nash Library.

 

Sarah is a biology major from Erie, PA. As a kid, she would spend time camping and hiking and was fascinated with environmental education, which led her into picking her research here at Gannon. She explained that both projects she has worked on have given her insight and hands-on experience with animals and plants, giving her the “best of both worlds.”

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Sarah has been working with Dr. Ropski to monitor bats with the fungal infection whitenose syndrome, around campus. They have identified 65-70 spots that normally contain bat populations and marked them with non-washable paint in order to track bat populations. Furthermore, Sarah has worked on the green-roof project which monitors plant and insect populations on the green roof which can be accessed from the third floor of Nash Library. The future goals of this project are to expand to tracking bird and mammal populations.

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When asked about conflicts that can arise with a student-conducted research project, Sarah talked about the work balance that is needed. She mentioned the large commitment in finding adequate time to balance research with the number of credits a student might be taking. Additionally, there is a confidence angle, being that one needs to be knowledgeable about what they are researching and be confident enough to present on it.

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All in all, working on a research study has allowed Sarah to delve into a topic that she finds interesting and learn more about it. We can thank research for being the sole reason for scientists learning new things every day and without research, the STEM field would not be as revolutionary as it is currently. 

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