Alma College summer research

NAYONIKAA SINGHAAL
PHOTOGRAPHER

JACK JONES
STAFF WRITER

9/8/2025

This summer, Alma College was once again home to research efforts by faculty and students, working to expand scholarly understanding of a variety of scientific fields and providing opportunities for Alma students to get hands-on experience both in labs and in the field. 

The research being done on campus during the summer months is the work of the college’s science faculty, each one doing research into their own fields, such as biology, chemistry, or psychology. This research is assisted by Alma students who, on scholarship, assist the professors with their research.

This work is important to the Alma campus community not only because of the opportunity it provides students but also because of the assistance it provides our professors, allowing them to further work on expanding their fields.

Students participate in a nine-week program that culminates in a student symposium in which students share their summer work through posters with fellow students, professors, and other attendees. 

Professor Rowe, a professor in biology, was one of the Alma faculty conducting research this summer.

His focus was on a specific snake species called the ribbon snake. The goal of the research was to study the snakes’ habitat selection and see if the snakes were selecting their environment based on prey abundance or other factors. 

The two students who assisted Rowe also had their own specializations on the project that allowed them to get a good idea of graduate-level research and get an even better grasp on the research process. 

“Being able to experience the designing aspect of research while also testing it out in a field setting definitely helped me build an understanding of what to expect for graduate-level study,” said Mike Fox (‘27), one of the aforementioned students. 

This program also asked the participating students to put in labor finding and counting specimens, tracking their growth, and even using X-ray imaging to better understand the snake’s physiological composition. Neil Evans (26) was the other student researcher under Dr Rowe and was responsible for many of these things.

On his own goals and experience, Evans said, “My goals became clear during and after research at the bog: find the biggest water snake, catch more ribbon snakes than anyone else, and build rapport with my fellow researchers.” 

Dr Rowe and his students’ work was not the only research done over the summer; many other faculty members continued to strive to grow the scholarship of their fields. In doing so, they also provided science students with opportunities to grow their own experience and knowledge in the field.

Students become involved in summer research in various ways, including connecting with professors and working on previous projects. But if you are interested in such a program, keep an eye out for posters in the Dow building, which will advertise upcoming opportunities beginning in the winter semester. 

Students doing summer research are on scholarships provided by grants such as the dow research grant and federal grants through the National Science Foundation.

The department’s own endowment also provides a significant contribution to funding the research endeavors available on campus to Alma students and the science faculty.