The Geological Society of America has awarded student research grants for work in the Galapagos to UNC Ph.D. students Sarah Schmitt and Madelyn Percy.
Schmitt, a first-year graduate student in Geography, will conduct research on “Understanding Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Water Cycling in the Galapagos Islands,” a project which has garnered her the additional award of an Outstanding Mention from the Geological Society of America. Schmitt was chosen as one of ten from an applicant pool of 784. She will be presented with a certificate for her exceptional merit in conception and presentation at the GSA Annual Meeting in Baltimore in November.
Percy, a first-year graduate student in Geological Sciences, will conduct her research on “Pedogenesis in the Tropics: The Galapagos as a natural laboratory.” Her pioneering work on San Cristobal will markedly expand integral critical zone research.
Both Percy and Schmitt will be in residence at UNC’s Galapagos Science Center this summer conducting fieldwork for their dissertations.