During UMW’s 25th annual Summer Science Institute, several students earned awards from the John C. and Jerri Barden Perkins ’61 College of Arts and Sciences Student Research Endowment, which will provide funding for them to continue their research during the academic year. From left: Boone Fleenor ’26 (second place, poster), Morgan Hicok ’25 (first place, oral presentation), Kate Green ’25 (first place, poster) and Joseph Gasink ’26 (second place, oral presentation). Photo by Karen Pearlman.
One of senior Kate Green’s favorite activities this summer was wading in the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Swimming in the cool, chin-deep waters, she collected specimens to study how parasites differently impact male and female freshwater snails.
“From biodiversity to human recreation, aquatic ecosystems play an important role in the lives of many different species,” said Green, a University of Mary Washington conservation biology major, who pursued a completely novel research topic this summer. “My studies will help us obtain a fuller picture of how healthy our beloved rivers are.”
Green was one of two students who took home the top prizes this year during UMW’s 25th annual Summer Science Institute (SSI), which engages undergraduate STEM students in a 10-week intensive research experience alongside their professors and peers. At a public symposium held July 24 in UMW’s Hurley Convergence Center, Green and her lab partner, biology major Morgan Hicok ’25, earned scholarship awards through the John C. and Jerri Barden Perkins ’61 College of Arts and Sciences Student Research Endowment. The funds will help them continue their research during the upcoming academic year. Read more.
