Biology RESEARCH生 Works on RESEARCH Projects with 教师 from Two ODU Colleges
布莱克斯坦纳 has done research with the biofuels lab in the 巴顿工程学院 and 技术, and has worked with researchers in the 理学院 on plant studies
RESEARCH的世界并不迷人.
献给布莱克·施泰纳, who will graduate May 6 from bet8体育娱乐入口 with a degree in biology, research means getting off an airplane from a conference after midnight and being at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens early that morning to record observations.
这意味着错过了社交机会, spending weekends analyzing data or writing up research findings - material that won't even help him pass any of his classes. It takes a particularly motivated student to dive into research as an undergraduate. 对布莱克·斯坦纳来说，激励并不是一个挑战.
"I LOVE this,施泰纳说, surrounded by pungent aromas and plant samples at ODU's Arthur & 菲利斯·卡普兰兰花学院. “我为我得到的机会感到非常幸运."
这些机会大多来自于忙碌. As a transfer student from Tidewater Community College who originally wanted to be an engineer, 斯坦纳查找了做他感兴趣的RESEARCH的教员. Then paid them visits, unsolicited, asking how he could join their projects.
“本科生不会这么做,塔季扬娜·洛博娃说, 生物科学高级讲师，施泰纳的导师之一. “他有足够的勇气去和不同的教员交谈."
两年后, Steiner is not only graduating with honors; he also has worked actively on research with faculty members in two academic colleges - Lobova and Sandeep Kumar, 土木与环境工程副教授.
斯坦纳在四个不同的活动上做了五次RESEARCH报告, winning best presentation at the recent Virginia Collegiate Honors Council Conference in 4月. Steiner was also the only undergraduate who presented two very different projects during Old Dominion's 本科 RESEARCH Symposium in February.
“我在TCC读的第一年是工程专业. 我认为这是找工作挣钱最快的方法,施泰纳说, 22, 谁是从切萨皮克来的. “但当我学习生物时，我真正找到了自己的激情所在. 我想做有助于保护环境的RESEARCH."
在老自治领, he works with Lobova on a phenology project that has been running at Norfolk Botanical Garden since 2009. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal life stages of plants and animals.
Lobova的RESEARCH, 最早在东海岸发射的卫星之一, 追踪自然标记，比如特定植物的第一次开花, then cross referencing the information with weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 政府 at the Norfolk 国际 Airport, 寻找植物行为被气候变化改变的证据. 她说，斯坦纳一直是一位积极进取的RESEARCH助理.
"We need students to learn to think as real scientists do," Lobova said. "It's hard to find undergraduate students who have Blake's very good analytical thinking skills."
斯坦纳也在库马尔领导的生物燃料实验室工作, leader of the energy cluster in the 巴顿工程学院 and 技术.
4月初，他在盐湖城发表了RESEARCH报告, studying the use of free ammonia to minimize the population of zooplankton in algae cultures. 如果不加以控制, 这些微小的有机体可以吃掉大量的藻类, reducing the yield that can be used to make environmentally friendly fuel.
Kumar has been impressed with Steiner's diligence as he has worked alongside Ph.D. 学生Caleb Talbot. "Blake is a self-motivated and passionate undergraduate researcher who is not afraid to take extra steps and learn new things to stay ahead,他说.
除了游离氨的RESEARCH, Steiner has assisted with Kumar's National Science Foundation CAREER research project "and excelled on the projects that he tackled,库马尔说。.
Steiner is looking for a research internship, and he is planning to apply to graduate school. He hopes to find more ways to marry his love of biology with other disciplines.
对很多参加这个项目的学生来说, 我的目标是进入医学界, 哪个是优秀的领域,施泰纳说. "I'm hoping to be more involved in environmental issues, to help save the earth."
