Undergraduates Under the Trees

Dr. Lowman was here to talk about why research experience is good for students and good for educators. She also addressed how students can get research experience and what kind of research experiences she looks for in potential employees.

Dr. Margaret Lowman is a world-renowned tropical canopy ecologist.  Her dedication to giving scientific experiences to students reaches beyond her roles as a professor at North Carolina State University and Director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.  Her upcoming presentation will focus on her initiatives to get students of all ages and all abilities involved in field research.  By using simple replicable methods, with easily accessible materials, Dr. Lowman promotes cutting-edge research by students in developed and developing countries.  Her namesake camp, The Meg Lowman Treetops Camp, gives science education to at-risk teenage girls.  This coming summer, Dr. Lowman will be a mentor for a new NSF funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program which will give students in wheelchairs the opportunity to study forest canopies.  Recently, Dr. Lowman has been sampling the insects of small indigenous forests in Ethiopia in collaboration with Colby College Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Dr. Travis Reynolds and Colby College Environmental Studies majors.  Wherever Dr. Lowman has worked, a part of her approach has been to educate local children and have them collect data with her.  Across the board, Dr. Lowman shows that field research can be done by anyone.

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