On April 26, 16 graduate students showcased their research at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno during the annual poster presentation session. The event, organized by Dr. Kathleen Rodrigues, aimed to provide DRI-affiliated graduate students with networking opportunities and a platform to improve their presentation skills while highlighting their research.
The students’ projects covered various topics, including microplastics in the Truckee River and the effects of wildfire smoke on climate change. Among them, three students were recognized for their outstanding science communication skills.
Salix Bair, a second-year master’s student in Atmospheric Science under Dr. Xiaoliang Wang’s supervision, focused on designing an aerodynamic focusing lens for aerosol mass spectrometers. “My project aims to design and test an inlet for an aerosol mass spectrometer that allows for real-time analysis of the entire size range of aerosols important to human health and atmospheric processes,” Bair explained.
Bjoern Bingham is another Atmospheric Science master’s student advised by Dr. Xiaoliang Wang. His research involved numerical analysis of smoke transport in reduced gravity as part of his thesis work with the Nevada NASA Space Grant Fellowship. He stated: “We are trying to identify key gas species and particle size distributions emitted from common spacecraft materials to gain a better understanding of how we could more quickly detect fires on spacecrafts.”
Ian McDowell, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Hydrology at UNR under Dr. Kaitlin Keegan’s guidance, studied firn structure and meltwater feedbacks across Greenland’s Ice Sheet. McDowell said: “The ‘big picture’ question that motivates my research is how fast will increased surface melting across the Greenland Ice Sheet raise future sea levels?”
For those interested in conducting graduate research at DRI while pursuing degrees through UNR or UNLV, further information can be found at https://www.dri.edu/education-workforce-development/graduate-programs/.
