QUADRAT

As an Electrical and Electronics Engineering student entering my final year of my Meng of EEE with Robotics, I love problem solving.  And when I saw the advertisement for the project “From the dancefloor to dancing bots: understanding spatial organization of honeybee colonies using Kilobots” I knew it was the perfect summer project for me, solving a real-world problem with robotics.

From day one this project was amazing; I got the opportunity to be part of Robotics tours at the University of Aberdeen before I started which gave me the chance to learn about the Kilobots and other robots at the University. I also got the opportunity to join lab meetings with my Supervisor’s lab group, meeting students undertaking various research projects into insects. This increased exposure to the biological side of the issue increasing my understanding of the work I was undertaking.

This project also allowed me to be a part of the discussion to set direction of the project which moved from bees to ants as they were more easily modelled using the Kilobots.

I was able to get practical experience, both working with the CoppeliaSim Simulator and the real Kilobots in the lab. This has set me up well for my final year of study where I will get more experience with Robotics systems. Both in the simulator and with the real Kilobots. I wrote code to simulate the tandem running and random searching behaviour in ants and compared the two in varied areas.

Overall, I really enjoyed my project and felt incredibly supported by my supervisors and others as I worked on my project. I would highly recommend a NERC undergraduate Research Experience Placement to anyone looking for an enjoyable way to gain experience over the summer.

I was involved in the Internship “Uncovering the seismic signal of the environment in Eastern Scotland” which was supervised by Amy Gilligan, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen.

I am hugely grateful for the summer internship with such giving me an insight into working in an industry of great interest to me. I was able to visit seismometers of different types across Scotland, being able learn first-hand how they work. The data gathered at each site I was then able to process and investigate using coding softwares. It was ideal to have visited the sites as this meant I knew the environment the data was collected from, making analysis much more manageable. The opportunity to be part of so many stages of the process has given me a unique insight which I am very greatly for. Additionally, being able to aid in servicing the seismometers which are used by many was a rewarding experience. I really enjoyed the challenge this opportunity presented and strongly recommend pursuing a QUADRAT internship.

Interdisciplinary approaches and methods are essential keys for scientific research and investigations. So as a Marine Biology student at the University of Aberdeen entering my third year of University, I was very lucky to be able to participate in the NERC Research Placements and get an insight into Oceanography and Sedimentation processes through working on a project in the School of Geosciences, called “Microplastic distribution in the Gulf of Cadiz”.

During the eight weeks of placement, Rachel (my supervisor) and I worked on how different sedimentary processes and ocean currents and their velocity, influence the deposition of microplastics in the Gulf of Cadiz. We extracted the microplastic from sediment samples from different locations in the Gulf and counted up the particles in each sample. Then we mapped the quantities with ArcGIS to see where hotspots of microplastic deposition could be and how different oceanographic processes influence them.

Working on this project was a great way for me to get insight into a different area of research that could be relevant to my future career, while assisting with investigations that could contribute to the conservation of our oceans. It also helped me to develop new, and deepen my existing lab skills, as well as working with ArcGIS.

All in all, the placement was an insightful and inspiring experience and has strongly reinforced my wish to pursue a career in research.

Hi! I’m a psychology student studying at Queen’s University Belfast. The title of the project was: Timing the introduction of fallow deer fawns to the social group: the role of fawn sex, maternal age and experience.

My main role was to aid a PhD student with their data collection and we worked closely together during my time on the project. My day-to-day experience varied during my time with the project. At the beginning I was trained to use a spotting scope and shown how to vary the zoom and focus according to my needs. My initial task was to observe interactions of mothers and their fawns. I would then record the tags of the deer in question and record the behaviour they were exhibiting. My role then expanded into noting observations associated with mothers who had given birth, returning to group alone, calling, swollen udders etc. Then I was shown how to use a dictaphone to record 20 min observations of a mother-fawn pair.

I would travel to the park early in the morning, get my kit sorted and head out into the park. Often I was working in the park alongside the PhD students but other times I worked independently. Working with a PhD student was great fun and very interesting. It was able ask all the questions I wanted, and they were always met with informed answers. As I had only finished Level 1 Psychology, it was very cool to collect data that would go on to be used for real research. I really enjoyed my experience in Phoenix Park and I hope for more opportunities like this.

Hi! I’m a BSc Chemistry student at the University of Aberdeen now entering my fourth (and final!) year. I spent the summer working on a project called, “Macroalgal detritus and food-web subsidies in a temperature Scottish fjord”. When I saw the placement advertised I was drawn to it because, as a Chemistry student, I had absolutely no prior knowledge about marine biology. It was fun to have my eyes opened to a whole new branch of science! This was enhanced by working with a Ph.D. student who was both enthusiastic about marine biology and also committed to teaching me all sorts of interesting things. I had completed a course in my third year on Environmental Chemistry (comprised of water, soil, and atmospheric chemistry) so it was interesting to compare the similarities and differences of the approaches to environmental challenges from the respective disciplines. During my placement, I worked with samples from Loch Creran: sorting through them and picking out marine macrofauna, such as polychaetes, crustaceans, bivalves, gastropods, and echinoderms. These were then photographed, identified, and stored. The latter half of my placement was spent prepping the macrofauna for stable isotope analysis. The placement helped me to appreciate how a research team functions and gave me valuable insight into options for further study or future careers. It also boosted my confidence in the lab, which I was extremely grateful for when I began my fourth-year Chemistry project.

I’m a BSc Physics student at the University of Aberdeen, entering third year this term. I had the opportunity over the Summer 2022 to participate in a research project “Using machine learning to reduce localization error in auto-telemetry systems” as an intern.

I have a huge interest in machine learning and even though I am a Physics undergraduate I always had a fascination towards Biology. Hence, this project was close to my heart, since I was able to utilize my machine learning skills and learn new things about an area that I am not that familiar with.

During the project I worked with another student at the University of Aberdeen on possible ways of reducing the localization error in auto-telemetry systems. We explored more than 5 machine learning approaches and we achieved significant results that may be relevant enough to be turned into a research paper. We used Python programming language along with many python frameworks to tackle the task of reducing the localization errors that these systems produce.

I have found this opportunity to be extremely rewarding. I was able to delve deeper into machine learning and learnt new things about how this problem could be solved. Furthermore, the experience of being in a research group was an even more valuable experience. The research group supervisors were really helpful, and they really made this placement as good as it could be. They also opened my eyes up to how a papers are established and how they are published, which are going to be cherished skills that I will surely be using in the future.

Hi! I am currently a student on the MSci Microbiology with Professional Studies degree pathway at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). The summer following the second year of my degree, I was extremely fortunate to land a summer research experience placement with QUADRAT, the title of which was: “Morphological analysis of volcanic glass as a method of reconstructing eruption processes”. This was facilitated by the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology at QUB, where my project supervisor was Dr. Gill Plunkett.

This project centred around examining slides from the QUB tephra collection to record the morphology (colour, shape, vesicular qualities, size) of the volcanic glass to try to establish a potential correlation between the morphology of tephra shards and the processes of the eruptions from which they originated. The eruptions that I was focusing on were mainly Icelandic and Alaskan. I used the light microscope to examine each slide and, through imaging software which allowed shard sizes to be recorded, built up a library of tephra micrographs.

My placement was such an amazing experience from start to finish, comprising both lots of microscopy work, as well as research and reading literature on past volcanic eruptions and their dynamics. In building up a portfolio of tephra images, the hopes of this project were to construct a sort of ‘image bank’ for which future students, academics, and other curious individuals can benefit from by allowing others to better learn how to identify tephra under the microscope. Hopefully, the results of this project may also demonstrate potential to infer eruption processes through examining the morphology of tephra shards.

Project: “Which plants were burnt? Exploring the charcoal morphologies of peat forming plants in Finland,” supervised by Dr Dmitri Mauquoy in the School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen.

This NERC internship was a great opportunity to launch a career in research. Nothing else can really compare with the true experience of being out in the field collecting real data, later to be manipulated and applied to hypotheses. Having experienced this, I would recommend it to anyone wavering to apply for research opportunities.

“Hi! I’m a Psychology student going into my final year at Queens University Belfast. Seeing this placement advertised on the Queens University career’s website immediately sparked my interest. The title of the summer project I worked on was ‘To examine growth rates in fallow fawns’.

During the ten-week project I learned a variety of skills that will be of huge benefit to me for the rest of my career. I learned how to use expensive camera equipment in order to take the correct shots of the ever-fleeting fawns! I recorded the distance of the fawns using a range finder, the tags of the fawn I photographed and the part of the fawn I captured (the rump or the flank), each time I took a photograph. Working in Phoenix park over the summer months learning about the fawns behaviour patterns, the mother-fawn relationships and human-deer relationship was something that was truly fascinating in an amazing learning environment.

Getting to work alongside two highly experienced PhD students really enhanced my knowledge. They knew so much about the deer as they had studied them throughout the past year, along with having an extensive knowledge about zoology and biology with both sharing their incredible experiences working with animals in South Africa and Australia among others! Along with sharing their experiences they really helped me get settled into the project and were there each week to assist me with anything I needed. I really enjoyed working with these students and they have really inspired me with their dedication and real passion for their projects.

This placement has really inspired me to pursue work in environmental and behavioural research after I complete my degree. It was a really amazing summer placement and I enjoyed every minute of it!”

“I’m a BSc Conservation Biology student at the University of Aberdeen, entering into my second year of study. I had the opportunity over the summer of 2021 to participate in the project “Investigating the relationship between climatological variables and the timing of lake and river ice phenology”.

I have a big interest in the environment and the challenges it faces whilst also having some previous experience in geography. I was therefore intrigued by the project and how it seemed to give me an opportunity to combine my interest in the environment whilst further exploring geography and ice phenology.

During the project I got to compose data of freeze-up and breakup dates of ice on lakes and rivers in the northern hemisphere. I then calculated the correlations between that data and temperature data from the surrounding locations. These correlations will be used to see how different climatic variables affect lake and river ice across the northern hemisphere.

I have found this opportunity to be a fun challenge and a valuable experience for my continued studies. By learning more about what conducting a research project entails and by giving me a broader understanding of the environmental challenges we face, it has encouraged me to follow down the research path.”

“Hi! As a Geography and International Relations student at the University of Aberdeen, I am interested in the relationships between people and the environment. Interdisciplinary approaches are key when addressing these relationships. Because of this, I was very excited about the opportunity to work with researchers from the School of Biological Sciences on the project called: “Addressing food security through data and innovation: analysing the effectiveness of a novel fruit fly trap for small farmers in a developing country”.

During this placement, I analysed the field trial dataset provided by the industry partner to assess the performance of the new trap (that captures both male and female fruit flies) compared to the standard traps (that attract only male flies). To do this, we conducted statistical tests – such as mixed effects modelling – using the programming language R. We also developed predictive models to understand the influence of the fruit fly trap on future fly populations. We have been working on presenting these findings in a peer-review publication that will be submitted later in this year.

The project gave me the chance to strengthen my quantitative skills while contributing to research that would help small-scale farmers understand the potential economic benefits of this new trap. I can confidently say that this experience has been immensely invaluable and has encouraged me to explore a career in research.”

“As I am going into my second year of my BSc Architecture degree at the Queen’s University Belfast, I wanted to further explore the environmental side within the built environment. By getting actively involved in the project called “ARCZero – Accelerating Ruminant Carbon towards Net Zero Carbon Farming” – I was able to do so.

Throughout the course of the project, I had the opportunity to experience fieldwork to take soil samples which I would then process in the laboratories. With that being done, I was closely working together with other researchers, industrial partners, and project leaders, with whom I attended various meetings. After a few weeks, the first results from the carbon analysis from a laboratory in England came in and I was able to build up a master spreadsheet featuring the variety of soil properties between the different samples.

Besides, there has been a strong interdisciplinary aspect in terms of initiating a conversation between the two departments of Architecture and Biological Sciences. It was my pleasure to set up meetings with Architecture staff at Queen’s to discuss potentials of linking the project with the built environment to properly inform design solutions. Ultimately, this has certainly been one of the most enriching experiences I have had so far, and I am especially looking forward to how this project will be progressing and when it will be presented at the COP26 in Glasgow!”

Read more about Charlotte’s project on the QUADRAT blog.

“I’m an MSci Mathematics student at Queen’s University, Belfast, entering into my third year of study. This placement was an invaluable opportunity for me to gain experience in research by working alongside an expert in the field in my project titled “Climate change and the future viability of Europe’s longest Ice Road”.

During this project, I was able to work with large sets of data and perform various forms of regression analysis to model how the thickness of the ice roads in seven different locations vary with the temperature. I then compared a number of different models which predicted how the temperature patterns will change over the next 100 years and corrected them for bias. With the models and the future temperature data, I was able to produce predicted values for the thickness of the ice roads in the future for three different climate change scenarios – a temperature increase of 1.5°C, 2°C and 4°C globally.

I was finding it difficult to decide which area of maths I wanted to specialise in, but my work in this project opened my eyes to how much I enjoyed performing statistical analysis, and how rewarding it feels to come to the end of a research project and see what your work has achieved. I have been inspired to change my degree pathway to Mathematics with Statistics and Operational Research, and once I have finished my masters, I now hope to go on to complete a PhD in statistics and enter into the world of academia and research.”

Read more about Emily’s project on the QUADRAT blog.

“Hi! I am a Mathematics & Computing Science student at the University of Aberdeen. I am finishing my BSc this academic year, and my plan is to jump straight into a masters’ degree in Artificial Intelligence after that. I am already between two departments with this degree, but I was super excited to collaborate with researchers from School of Biological Sciences, further strengthening the bond between departments. My project in the NERC-QUADRAT scheme was called: “Implementing a Machine Learning Approach for the understanding of social learning in honeybee foragers”, which is quite a mouthful.

During the 10 weeks of this project, I worked closely with the researchers to identify the genes that play a key role in the waggle dance. We have used several machine learning algorithms, such as Support Vector Machines, in the programming language R. The pragmatic mindset of a programmer was a major benefit here as it allowed me to see the dataset unbiased. At the end of the project we have successfully compiled a list of possible genes that play a great role during the waggle dance of honeybee foragers. To summarise, this has easily been the most interesting project I have contributed to in my career so far.”

Read more about Marcell’s project on the QUADRAT blog.

“I am an Electrical and Electronics Engineering Student at the University of Aberdeen. A big reason why I decided to study engineering was the wide range of applications, so I was excited when I heard about the opportunity to put my skills to practice in the field of climate change research. I worked on a project called: “Modelling historical ice phenology data and implications for future environmental change”.

During my 10-week placement I processed numerous raw datasets from over 1500 sites capturing environmental data over ~500 years using Python. My background in programming allowed me to use algorithms to automate the statistical analysis, observing key trends in the data to gain a better insight into the changes in ice seasons of lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere. I found it highly motivating, knowing that my work was going to contribute to future research. The placement not only strengthened my confidence in my own capabilities but also encouraged me in my decision to pursue a Data Science masters.”

“Hi, my name is Scott Angus and I am a Physics student at the University of Aberdeen and have just started my third year of studying. My summer research project was titled “Geostatistical analysis of spatiotemporal trends of COVID-19 spread in UK”. I saw this placement advertised in an email from the NCS School office and it looked like something that would really interest me as it involved a very current and world-changing topic as well providing an opportunity to work with a new approach to statistical analysis using Geospatial data.

During this project I worked with my two supervisors to gather the daily data regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and compile this into various datasets before working with this in both ArcGIS and R Studio. We analysed the spatiotemporal trends in the spread of the disease and created statistical models to evaluate the effectiveness of various non-pharmaceutical interventions put in place by the Government.

I found it really exciting and rewarding to work on such a topical and rapidly developing area of research, the results of which could help combat future pandemics more effectively and save lives. It also inspired me to do further research in this area for my final year project and beyond.”

Read more about Scott’s project on the QUADRAT blog.

“My name is Milena Zagulak and I’m a 4th-year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Aberdeen and I was fortunate enough to work on a very exciting project this summer called “Assessing the long-term impact of climatic variables on coastal changes in Scotland using geospatial tools”.  Before starting the project I already had some background in working within the coastal science environment, however, I wanted to experience the real, cutting-edge research. 

During my placement, I composed a library of Landsat images of Scotland between 1970s-2010s, which were used to map out the changes in the Scottish coast in that period and quantify them using ArcGIS Software. Later on, I performed statistical analysis of the meteorological data from various stations around Scotland and how climatic variables such as precipitation and temperature might be linked to the changes within the coast.

I found it very exciting to contribute to such an important project as such a detailed assessment of the whole Scottish Coast has not been done before. The placement helped me to understand what real research entails and encouraged me to further pursue environmental science, hopefully in a form of a PhD or research work.”