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St. Olaf College student to do research at Shoals Marine Laboratory this summer

30
June 12, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Betsy Sargent of Brookfield, Wis., has been selected for a prestigious National Science Foundation internship this summer at Shoals Marine Laboratory. Sargent is a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

Sargent, a biology major at St. Olaf, is one of nine students nationwide who were chosen for Research Experiences for Undergraduates internships. She was selected from approximately 100 internship applicants.

Sargent will conduct an independent research project at the marine laboratory under the direction of Dr. Jim Morin, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University?s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The goal of the project is to discover new information about the world?s oceans and publish it in scientific journals. Sargent also expects to enhance her research skills and her post-graduate options.

Last summer Sargent was one of 45 St. Olaf science students who conducted research with professors. Sargent and Professor of Biology Ted Johnson studied bacteria resistance to chlorine, collecting samples of drinking water and surface water from Bemidji, Minn., to St. Louis, Mo. They screened each sample to determine whether bacteria in the water ? particularly coliform bacteria, which come from fecal matter ? have become resistant to the chlorine that is used to purify local water supplies.

Shoals Marine Laboratory is a seasonal field station on Appledore Island, six miles offshore from the Maine-New Hampshire border. The self-sufficient, 95-acre island houses 60-80 students, faculty and staff.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.