Science & Outdoors
Brooke Johnson answered numerous inquiries about her study during the College of Letters and Science Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Symposium fills halls with cluster of info, students and educators
The Pointer
jspra793@uwsp.edu
Students lined the hallways of the science building on Friday, April 24 to demonstrate their knowledge on topics studied throughout the school year at the tenth annual College of Letters and Science Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Standing in front of their display posters, these University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point undergrads answered questions from passersby.
Questions were asked on a vast array of subjects pertaining to biology and geography, among others.
A study on herpetology in the Amazon basin of Peru allowed Brooke Johnson to discover hands- on the richness and abundance of six species of frogs. Herpetology consists of biological studies of reptiles and amphibians.
“I’ve kind of decided I want to live down there,” Johnson said of her Peru adventures. “My passion has always been frogs.”
Johnson and three other students presented their biological findings from Peru at the symposium. Their research mentor, biology professor Erik Wild, led the students on their studies abroad.
Johnson hopes to set up some local studies to compare urban and rural habitats.
“I’m excited to make a career out of it,” she said.
Another poster displayed the geography of the Mississippi Delta in relation to the impact it’s had on blues musicians. The Delta, which has been known as the origin of the blues, has planted its cultural roots in this music scene along with the cotton plantations that first began in this region over a hundred years ago.
“It’s their biggest source of pride,” said presenter Joseph Richards on the impact blues music has had on the Delta society.
Students Tony Piazza and Richards did their research on this project while enrolled in a geography course titled “The land where the blues began.” They traveled to Mississippi over spring break, led by Lisa Theo, with approximately 18 students from UW-SP and others from UW-Eau Claire.
“It was a huge culture shock,” said Piazza. “The poverty level in the Delta region is unbelievable.”
Their studies were able to illustrate how this region initiated a growth of blues music across the rest of the country through interpreting the chronological and location of musicians’ birthplaces like Muddy Waters.
