Summer Research at University of Sussex

For Michelle Knabb, a senior chemistry major at Penn State, going abroad was always part of the plan.

She knew though, for most undergraduate science students, with many obligations and commitments, there was usually just not enough time to “fit it in.” When Susan Knell from the Eberly College of Science presented her with the idea of going to Sussex University as part of Sussex International Summer School (ISS) in England to work in a chemistry lab, she knew it was her chance.

The beauty of the opportunity was that she could go abroad and be a part of a legitimate research project.

“A lot of upperclassmen have to worry about getting research experience,” she thought: “Why not do it in another country?”

With two summers spent at the Stroud Water Research Center and two years in a lab at Penn State, Michelle is no stranger to the lab. Her interest in biogeochemistry landed her in Dr. John Zhou’s lab which conducts research at Sussex in the Department of Biology and Environmental Science.

For eight weeks Michelle and her lab worked to develop a better method for analyzing pharmaceuticals in stream sediments.

Although she could not completely finish her project, because an important instrument broke down part was through the experience, the “free time” allowed her to start drafting a paper on the results they had already collected. It was the first time she had taken on the challenge of writing a scientific paper for publication and she

relished the challenge. Although there is still some work to be done on it, she said the opportunity to work on a technical paper worthy of publication was valuable experience.

And what else does a summer abroad have to offer? The ISS program set up many organized trips for the summer students, which Michelle took full advantage of. Most weekends there were “outings” all over the place. All told, she went to Stonehenge, Bath, and even Paris.

Asking her about her favorite part of the experience, she reminisced about her trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.

“Some of my friends and I took a trip without the whole ISS group and I really felt like I learned a lot about the culture on that trip.”

These realizations about the culture and herself were quite common during her stay.

“I was born in Pennsylvania, I went to school at Penn State, and I had never been abroad before, so the prospect of doing research internationally was scary at first.”

Although going was out of her comfort zone she thinks the whole experience has made her more independent, and definitely more self-confident. Besides wrestling with new scientific methods, and instruments, there were many things she had to do that summer that she had never had to do before. Although she’s never been good with directions there were many times where she needed to be; she found even little things like that encouraged personal growth.

How does she think the whole experience has helped her professionally? Well, she thinks that having gone abroad to do her research will certainly give her an edge.

“People who look at resumes will want to see that you have a certain amount of research experience, someone who looks at my resume might see that I

worked in a lab abroad and might say ‘hey that’s different.’”

So what is next for Michelle, after she graduates this year? She wants to volunteer for a year. She is thinking about AmeriCorps, working somewhere in South America. After that she wants to go to graduate school for Environmental Toxicology.

by Dustin Grinnell

When Paul Chiarulli went to England, to a chemistry lab at Sussex University he didn’t expect to have to chase down wild voles in the countryside, but that is exactly what was asked of him.

As a senior chemistry major at The Pennsylvania State University there were many times Paul was out of his comfort zone. In fact the whole eight weeks was an exercise in variety.

Paul’s desire to do research internationally as part of the Sussex International Summer School (ISS) was both professional and personal. “I ended up going because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after school and I wanted to try science from another perspective. The work I was going to be doing with my advisor was something I had never done before; it gave me an opportunity to try something new. Also, I wanted to be more well-rounded.” This study abroad experience gave him that chance.

For eight weeks Paul worked with Professor Sue Hartley studying the interaction between voles and grasses. Working with two post docs and six PhD students he measured silica uptake in plants and studied how different concentrations altered the feeding behavior of voles that fed on them. This is how Paul found himself chasing down those furry little creatures in the wild.

In all, Paul was trained in a range of techniques, both in the field and in chemical analysis of plant material in the lab. Day-to-day activities involved the use of light microscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, flash combustion and gas chromatographic separation; techniques he will undoubtedly use in the future.

He had to work with animals, which he had never done before. The experience was interesting to him, he found himself intrigued by the voles behavior. In the end his experience with animals and ecology reminded him of his passion for chemistry. This trend of self-discovery was common throughout the summer.

But lab work isn’t the whole story. Even though he had to be in the lab everyday there was plenty of time for fun and adventure. In fact his advice to other students thinking about going to do research internationally is to balance your time.

Taking his own advice, he traveled all through England and even to Prague. In the summer he was away from home he ventured to cities like Bath, historical sites like Stonehenge, and even new and interesting countries like Czechoslovakia.

For Paul the experience was both personally and professionally rewarding; he feels like he is a better person and a better scientist.

“Overall I felt like the experience broadened my horizons as a scientist.”

So what’s Paul up to now? He is thinking about graduate school, most likely in chemistry, maybe even engineering, or bioengineering.

Even though there probably won’t be any voles in his future Paul is happy to have experienced research in a new lab, and a new country, to have learned more about who he is and where he wants to go.

When asked if he’d do it all over again he responded quickly and confidently: “Definitely.”

For more information about the Sussex International Summer School (ISS) and more of Penn State’s international research experiences contact Susan Knell, Director of Science

Career & International Education at sek104@science.psu.edu

by Dustin Grinnell