Trinity Lavenhouse

Trinity is from Virginia and goes to Northern Virginia Community College. Pre-covid, she went to the University of Maryland, College Park.  She is majoring in physics and plans to double-major in atmospheric science and astrophysics at George Mason University.

In the REU program, Trinity is working with Dr. Sylvia Dee to research the effect of climate change on flooding and drought in the Mississippi River. In her free time Trinity enjoys playing video games, crocheting clothes, and watching Netflix tv shows.

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Mann

Elizabeth is from Sugar Land, Texas and is double majoring in Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University in College Station. During the summer REU she will be working in Dr. Raj Dasgupta’s lab studying magma generation and volatile cycling in subduction zones within the Earth. In her spare time she enjoys drawing and painting in both traditional and digital mediums, testing out coffee from all of Houston’s local coffee joints, and reading as many books as she can get her hands on.

 

 

 

Christian Pryor

Chris is a student at Texas A&M University-Galveston pursuing a B.S. in Marine Sciences with a minor in Chemistry. He has personal interests in science communication, environmental advocacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in STEM. During the REU, he will be working with Dr. Jeanine Ash to construct an elemental analysis of clumped isotopes in Antarctic sediments from the Plio-Pleistocene epoch. Christian plans to attend graduate school and hopes to have a career that combines his passion for oceanographic research with leadership in higher education.

 

 

Neel Rathod

Neel is a student at San Jacinto College and is transferring to University of Houston Clear Lake in the Fall of 2021, pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Science in Mechanical engineering. He will be participating in the REU program during the summer of 2021 at Rice University, where he will be gathering acoustic data to study the pattern of local and migrating bird population. He will be experimenting with different microphone set ups to test the sensitivity, frequency responses, as well as compare weather data to the acoustic surveys conducted in the spring of 2021 with Dr. Cin-Ty Lee. Hobbies include playing video game, watching movies, reading non-fictional books, and gardening.

 

 

 

 

Kayla Russo

Kayla is from Camden County, Georgia and currently attends the College of Coastal Georgia. She is a rising senior who plans to get a bachelors in Environmental Science with concentrations in Geology, Chemistry, and Marine Science. She is excited to be working in Dr. Mark Torres’s lab for this summer’s REU program. Her personal interests include rock collecting, traveling, and video gaming.

 

 

 

 

 

Zachary Scott

Zach is from small-town Southern Indiana and is a student at Berea College in Kentucky. He loves anything to do with the earth and environmental sciences and is excited to work with Dr. Melodie French during the Rice REU this summer researching talc growth in subduction zones. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, identifying plants, and playing intramural soccer. After graduating, he plans on continuing into graduate school with the ultimate goal  of teaching in the earth sciences.

 

 

 

Janae Washington

Janae is from Katy, Texas and is a rising Senior at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.  She is majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Biology.  During the summer REU program, she will be working in Dr. Carrie Masiello’s lab. In her free time, she enjoys to binge watch shows on Netflix, hang out with friends, and spend time outdoors.