Students Share Independent Scientific Research at Annual Research Symposium

Millbrook’s annual Student Research Symposium was held on May 4th in the Frederic C. Hamilton Math & Science Center.

Presentations from seven students focused on topics including:
  • Ena Cheng '18: The Effect of Recovery Methods on the Deactivation of the Sympathetic Nervous Response
  • Corley DeTuro '18: The Health of Aquatic Ecosystems Based on the Biodiversity of Macro-Invertebrates as Bio-indicators in Millbrook, NY
  • Tiffany Hatfield '18: The Effects of Snow Leopard Stimulants on Red Panda Corticosterone Levels at the Trevor Zoo
  • Jacob Maren '18: The Effect of Lyrical and Instrumental Music on a Memory Recall Test of Millbrook School Students
  • Cindy He '18: Enrichment Tools and Testing of Concentration Time on Lemurs at the Trevor Zoo
  • Corey Rundquist '18: Comparing the Reliability of Fluorometric Methods for Measuring Cyanobacteria Concentration in the Hudson River Estuary
  • Cici Wang '18: The Effect of Red, Purple, and White Light on the Growth of Mint in Indoor Vertical Gardens

For the students who chose to participate in Millbrook’s rigorous Independent Research course, the symposium offered the opportunity to share their findings and answer questions about the work they pursued through the course of the academic year.

"The goal of this class is for students to conduct real and meaningful scientific research in a similar style as an undergraduate or graduate student," said Science Department Chair and Independent Research course instructor Ava Goodale '01. "The students in the class have taken our general and advanced science classes and are now able to apply those skills to their own research project."
 
Students began working on their research in September and used a variety of our campus resources to collect their data. Tiffany Hatfield '18, for example, turned the Trevor Zoo into her own personal laboratory in order to study corticosterone levels of red pandas. 

"Understanding captive species and their response to predatory stress are critically important to zoo management," said Hatfield '18, "especially since it may create longterm effects such as infertility and decreased breeding success."

"The student research projects are an expression of our science curriculum and the skills students develop through our courses. The Science Symposium is the grand finale of that experience, where students are able to present as real authorities on their research. It is a proud moment for our students and for the faculty who have been a part of their process," said Goodale '01.

Congratulations to our students on the completion and presentation of their research! 

Learn more about our Independent Research course on our website. You can also view photos in our online photo gallery.
 
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