Lisa's WINS Experience

My first year at NYU was a memorable experience. The bustling and dynamic atmosphere was a welcome change from home in the quiet suburbs. Of course, I had my initial jitters but they soon passed as I familiarized myself with the campus and students. WINS played a major role in relieving my anxieties about college and introduced me to a fantastic cohort of motivated and remarkable women as well as intelligent and incredibly helpful advisors. Through WINS, I received a lot of knowledge about the resources available to us as students, such as the FAST and DURF grants which immediately put you on the fast track to research. Being a chemistry major, I plan to do research in chemistry, specifically organic or biochemistry. Being in WINS helped me be involved in the NYU community because we planned lectures, information sessions and other events that were open to the entire university. On a social level, I was exposed to different students who have interests in various sciences and I also received guidance from the older WINS scholars. Participating in outings such seeing Equus on Broadway or touring the horse exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History was enjoyable. My favorite event was cleaning up Brooklyn’s Canarsie Park for Hands on New York Day because I felt I was helping out the greater New York City community. WINS at NYU is in invaluable program that helped in a variety of ways during my first year at NYU.

Summer Activities: Angelica

Since the beginning of June, I have been working with a landscape ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno on a project studying riparian forest establishment along three rivers in Nevada, the Truckee, Carson and Walker Rivers. The research is funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grant and supported by the Great Basin Institute at UNR.
The research consists of lots of field time in sunny Nevada and just as much lab time analyzing collected samples. I am learning about dendrochronology, tree species and the river systems in Nevada's desert and getting a taste of what a graduate research project could look like. My project is a three river comparison and hopes to provide management recommendations for interested agencies.

Summer Activities: Emma

Since the end of the school year in May I've been working with a professor in the physics department--who also happens to be my WINS mentor--on a project in astrophysics. We're using Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) to probe the Galactic Magnetic field (GMF) of the Milky Way and determine its basic structure. UHECRs, which are very energetic charged particles coming from extra-galactic sources in space, get deflected by the GMF when they enter the galaxy; this deflection can be measured and in turn can be used to determine the structure of the GMF.
So far it's been going well. The project is mostly simulational, meaning it's computer-based. I'm learning, slowly but steadily, how to program, which is an invaluable tool in physics. The GMF has been fairly well-studied, but the current models, based on data other than cosmic rays, tend to disagree with observations. Using UHECRs is a new approach, and will hopefully yield working models of the GMF soon. So far I'm really enjoying my project.

Livia's WINS Experience

My freshman year at NYU was a transformative experience – one that was in large part due to my involvement in the Women in Science program. Before I even came to NYU or was accepted into the Women in Science program, I was invested in dedicating myself to a career in science. It is my goal to be both an explorer and research scientist who works to change public policy so that wildlife is better understood and preserved. I am very interested in species conservation because I am aware of the increasingly endangered wildlife whose natural habitats are being destroyed by increasing deforestation, mining, oil drilling, and exploitation of natural resources. It was my love for wildlife and the obvious vacuum in leadership to preserve wildlife that led me to aspire to become a zoo director. Dr. Lynne Kiorpes, the director of WINS, played an important role in helping me to further my career aspirations. During the course of the year, Dr. Kiorpes and Dr. Kimberly Torres, the advisor to WINS, would check-in regularly with us to make sure that you were doing well and understood the course materials in your classes. I was taking both biology and chemistry and the amount of work and studying the two courses required was immense, however it was reassuring to know that there was a support system at NYU. In addition, the monthly meetings with the rest of the WINS scholars were yet another opportunity to meet fellow aspiring women scientists and to learn of their career goals and interests. I also had the priceless experience to work in Dr. Lynne Kiorpes' laboratory. I was having difficulty finding a laboratory to work in because I had little experience, excluding the labs that were required for Chemistry and Biology. I wanted to gain basic experience to learn the dynamics of a laboratory and it was due to my involvement with WINS that I was given the opportunity to do. I am gaining valuable experience working with macaque monkey, and a lab certification. And it was also due to the Women in Science program and my time at NYU that I was able to get a summer internship at the Wilderness Society in Washington, DC.