Faces of SRAP: Caleb Adeyemi

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog. Stay tuned! 

A senior from Houston, Texas, Caleb looked forward to being on his own this summer and have the chance to learn about himself.

“I’m enjoying the opportunity to experience college life before I actually attend,” he says. “I like seeing how I adapt to new situations and learn more about myself.”

Dr. Pikal (left) and Caleb Adeyemi (right)

Caleb studied in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department with Dr. Jon Pikal during his SRAP experience.

“I’m currently studying the characteristics of optoelectronic materials and devices,” Caleb explains. “We are investigating the use of quantum dots in a light absorbing function for optical to electrical energy conversion in advanced solar cell structure. The basic idea is to take advantage of the unique properties of these different nanomaterials to optimize the conversion of solar energy to electrical power.”

While working in the lab this summer, Caleb looked forward to learning about his research and about himself.

“I really enjoy learning new concepts from Dr. Pikal that most students aren't exposed to in high school.” he says.

Dr. Pikal hoped to give Caleb a look into university research during SRAP.

“I’d like him to see what it’s like in a university research lab, because that’s a world that most undergraduates don’t even see,” Dr. Pikal says. “I think the experience of seeing how a lab works, what we do and how we do it is probably one of the more beneficial parts.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener

Faces of SRAP: Blandon Su, Emily Oaxaca, and Kim Barrios

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog! Stay tuned!

Blandon Su, Emily Oaxaca and Kim Barrios have spent their time at SRAP studying in the Ecosystem Science and Management department with professors Ginger Paige and Scott Miller.

“They got an introduction into a whole bunch of field hydrology and geophysics the first week,” said Dr. Paige. “They were in the field a lot.”

Emily (left), Blandon (middle), and Kimberly Barrios (right)
conduct field research

After their time in the field, Blandon, Emily and Kim each came up with a different research project to complete.

Blandon, a junior from Chicago, Illinois chose to study a stream, saying “My project is investigating a stream at Blair-Wallis. It’s funny, because one day, there’s a lot of water in the stream, and the day after, it’s starting to lose water, so my project is really open-ended.”

Understanding how water gets to the stream, and where it goes when it leaves the stream is a question that has long puzzled scientists.

“The great part about Blandon’s project is that it’s one of those hydrologic conundrums where we have to look at multiple avenues of investigation to figure out what’s going on,” Dr. Paige explained. “One approach doesn’t necessarily give you the right answer, you have to do this multiple times and figure out the complexities of what’s going on within the system.”

Emily, a junior from Denver, Colorado is working on a project that includes her fellow SRAP participants.

“I’m going to interview my fellow SRAP students about their thoughts and opinions on climate change,” she says. “I want to learn if it depends on gender, or age, or other factors.”

Emily hopes to become a better researcher in her time at SRAP, and wants to understand how different factors can influence people’s perceptions.

“I want to learn how to ask the right questions,” she says. “I hope to learn how to get better at talking to people.”

Kim, a recent high school graduate from Rawlins, Wyoming chose to examine rainfall and soil moisture.

“I’m measuring soil moisture and rainfall,” she says. “I’m also comparing different types of rain gauges and moisture sensors, to see which ones are more appropriate for different uses.”

Kim’s research will help WyCEHG scientists better understand the capabilities and limitations of the equipment they use.

Kim has decided to attend the University of Wyoming in the fall to pursue a degree in Architectural Engineering. Both Blandon and Emily plan to attend college after they graduate from high school, although neither has decided what they would like to study.

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. For more information about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen
Photo courtesy of Dr. Ginger Paige

Faces of SRAP: Alex and Heather

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog. Stay tuned! 

Alex Mackiel and Heather Peters both enjoy science and getting their hands dirty while they conduct research.

“One of my favorite parts about my project is being in the lab,” says Alex, a senior from Minnesota. “I like doing things on the computer as well as being in the lab. I like being surrounded by science.”

Heather, a junior from Cheyenne, Wyoming echoes his thoughts, saying, “I like working with people, the hands-on activities and learning new stuff.”

Alex Mackiel (left), Dr. Gomelsky (middle)
and Heather Peters (right)

Alex and Heather applied their love of science this summer while working in the Molecular Biology Department under Dr. Mark Gomelsky.

In technical terms, Alex explains their research. “For our project, we are using near-infrared light to active a protein called guanylate cyclase,” he says. “We have to engineer a protein that can respond to light and produce the second messenger molecule. This messenger is able to do different things in the body.”

The research that Heather and Alex conducted could help to revolutionize the medical field.

“The near-infrared light penetrates deep into mammalian tissues and is completely harmless,” says Dr. Gomelsky. “If we implant light-activated proteins into engineered cells that are designed to cure medical conditions, we can control these cells inside an animal.”

After high school, Heather hopes to join the Air Force ROTC program and become a psychologist for the Air Force. Alex hopes to go to medical school to become a surgeon.

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener

Faces of SRAP: Bradley Branson

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog! Stay tuned! 

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Bradley Branson, a recent high school graduate from Riverton, Wyoming enjoyed Environmental Science the most out of all of his classes.

Bradley (left) and his mentor, Dr. Tom Minckley

“I found it very enjoyable,” he says. “All of the teachers made it a fun and enjoyable learning experience.”

Now that he’s graduated, Bradley will be attending Black Hills State University to study secondary science education and administration. Before he starts school though, Bradley was able to get six weeks of research experience under his belt.

“I am looking at core samples from Lily Lake in the north corner of Yellowstone,” he says. “Then I’m reconstructing past fires so that we can look at past patterns and be able to better predict fires in the future.”

Bradley worked with Dr. Tom Minckley in the Geography department, looking at samples of sediment from the bottom of Lily Lake.

“My favorite part is the fact that these samples I’m looking at go so far back in time,” he says. “I think that’s pretty cool.”

According to Dr. Minckley, these samples go back at least 15,000 years.

“So when he’s talking about history, we’re talking from the beginning of vegetation in this region, post glaciation.”

During his time at the University of Wyoming, Bradley hoped to learn more about Geography.

“It’s something that I’ve never studied,” he says. “I thought it sounded fun and interesting, so I’m glad I got placed in the department.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search "SRAP" in the archives. 

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener

Faces of SRAP: John Lopez

The Summer Research Apprentice Program has officially come to a close, but we will still be featuring a few SRAP participants on our blog! Stay tuned! 

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Dr. Brant Schumaker, left, and John Lopez, right

John Lopez, a senior from Colorado hopes to gain a more clear idea of what he wants to do after high school from participating in SRAP.

“I want to learn whether or not the science field is something that I would like to pursue,” he says. “So far, I’m enjoying it.”

During his time at the University of Wyoming, John studied brucellosis in Dr. Brant Schumaker’s lab, at the Wyoming State VeterinaryLaboratory.

“We’re working on finding a good diagnostic kit for a disease that is in the greater Yellowstone area," John says.

Dr. Schumaker adds, “John will be evaluating different extraction kits for DNA, trying to detect the organism in tissues of infected animals.”

John’s favorite part of his project, he says, is working in the lab.

“I like that it involves a lot of hands-on work in the lab. I like learning all of this new information.”

Dr. Schumaker is glad that John got experience conducting research at the University of Wyoming.

“I hope he gets a real sense for what we do in research, in the biological sciences,” Dr. Schumaker says. “He can use that as a way to jumpstart his career, whatever that might be.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives. 

By Robin Rasmussen
Photo by Robert Waggener

Faces of SRAP: Jason Edman

Jason Edman

When Jason Edman begins his classes this fall at the University of Wyoming, he will have an edge up on many of his peers.

 Over the last six weeks, Jason has taken part in intensive research in Dr. Grant Bowman’s lab in the Molecular Biology department, learning about the cell cycle and the specific function of a novel bacterial protein.

Dr. Bowman explains, “Jason’s goal is to discover the function of a novel protein. So far, it doesn’t look like anything that is in the published literature.” In order to accomplish this, “His job is to take the knockout strain, which means that it doesn’t produce any of this protein, and ask if it is defective in cell division or different in any way compared to normal cells.”

Jason is learning how cells grow and behave under different conditions, and how these characteristics are related to underlying cell structure. Jason and Dr. Bowman’s research is new and significant, and will provide new insights for the molecular biology field.

“We’re trying to break new ground here,” Dr. Bowman says. “Discovering new information about how bacteria grow and adapt to new environments has important implications for a wide number of scientific and medical fields.”

Jason has enjoyed his summer of research, and has learned a lot in Dr. Bowman’s lab.

“I like doing lab work a lot,” he says. “It’s been fun learning new things and meeting new people.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search “SRAP” in the archives.

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener