MBL Undergrads Cap Off Successful Semester in Environmental Science
For the last 27 years, the MBL has welcomed undergraduate students to Woods Hole for the fall Semester in Environmental Science (SES) — an intensive field and laboratory-based program on ecosystem science and global change.
The SES program has always emphasized learning by doing and this year was no exception. The 15 students in the 2024 cohort spent more than 20 hours each week in the lab and field investigating the forests, ponds, and estuaries on Cape Cod.
The SES faculty, led by SES Director Mirta Teichberg, includes some of MBL’s world-class scientists. The students learn from and work side by side with full-time research scientists. From exploring Little Sippewissett estuary to create Winogradsky columns for research to capturing surface soil samples in Lynn, MA, after brush fires ravaged the area, it was a semester to remember.
“One of the most impactful aspects of the program is the direct hands-on experience students gain by directly measuring and comparing ecosystem function in systems undergoing environmental change,” said Teichberg. “Students actually observe these changes, making what they read and learn about in class more real. It also gives them a chance to experience what it means to be an ecosystem scientist”
SES Students on the Gemma. Credit: Mirta Teichberg
The semester culminated with the annual Student Independent Research Symposium in the Cornelia Clapp Auditorium. This day-long symposium gave students the opportunity to present the hard work of their independent research projects, which they worked on for the last five weeks of their semester alongside their MBL mentors.
This year’s projects included fascinating topics from the microbial biofilms covering macroplastic pollution to heat and bleaching experiments on the local Woods Hole coral species. Click here for a full list of the 2024 symposium presentations.
Interested in the 2025 Semester in Environmental Science? SES has rolling admissions for our 2025 program. The next round of applications will be reviewed on January 17, 2025. Apply early to secure a spot. mbl.edu/ses
