Appalachian Laboratory

Past Interns

Meet Our Former Interns: Cohort Model Program

Front row (left to right): Mick Lynch, Aley Sary, Miranda Teats; Back row (left to right): Andrew Held, Alex Donley, Stephen Osunkunle, and Max Summerfield; Not pictured: Logan Tokle
Summer 2023- 2nd Cohort 
Interns:
Alexander Donley (Frostburg State University)- Species Interactions During Bird Migration (Dr. Joely DeSimone and Dr. Emily Cohen) 
Andrew Held (Frostburg State University)- Molecular Ecology Research (Dr. Rodney Richardson) 
Mick Lynch (Frostburg State University)- Fire History Reconstruction (Jonathan Johnson, Ph.D. student and Dr. David Nelson) 
Stephen Osunkunle (Frostburg State University)- Environmental DNA (Dr. Bob Hilderbrand and Dr. Rodney Richardson) 
Aley Sary (Frostburg State University)- Molecular Ecology Research (Dr. Rodney Richardson) 
Max Summerfield (Frostburg State University)- Stable Isotope Analysis and Bird Migration Patterns (Sarah Endyke and Nicole Ibrahim, Ph.D. students and Dr. David Nelson)
Miranda Teats (Frostburg State University)- Spatial Analysis of Biodiversity (Dr. Matt Fitzgerald) 
Logan Tokle (Frostburg State University)- Watershed Hydrology (Grace O'Hara, Ph. D. student and Dr. Keith Eshleman) 
 
Front row: Atlee Wise and Chris Bailey; Back row: Jesudunsin Dawodu, A'laurenye' McBeth, Trevor Frissell and Cameron Garland
Summer 2022- 1st Cohort 
Interns:
Chris Bailey (Northern Arizona University- Veteran)- Dr. David Nelson 
Jesudunsin Dawodu (Frostburg State University)- Dr. Rodney Richardson   
Trevor Frissell  (Frostburg State University)- Dr. Keith Eshleman 
Cameron Garland (Frostburg State University)- Dr. Rodney Richardson 
A'laurenye' McBeth (Frostburg State University)- Dr. Emily Cohen
Atlee Wise (Garrett/Frostburg State University)- Dr. Emily Cohen 

Meet our Former Interns: Individual Internships

Abigail Reid prepares samples in laboratory during her internship with Dr. David Nelson.

Summer 2018: Abigail Reid 

Abigail completed her internship in summer 2018 in the laboratory of Dr. David Nelson.  During the internship, Abigail assisted Dr. Nelson in a project to determine if the singed feathers from birds killed at solar energy facilities were still viable in determining the geographic origin of the birds. Abigail is now a senior at Cornell University. 

Read more here. 

Kane Samuel and Dr. Mark Castro following Samuel's seminar presentation in May 2019.

Spring 2019: Kane Samuel 

Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Castro, Kane's internship project focused on improving understanding of mercury concentrations in locally grown feed corn.  His findings were presented at a special seminar at the Appalachian Laboratory in May 2019.  Kane was enrolled as a senior at Frostburg State University during his internship period. Following his graduation, Kane went on to complete two additional internships with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the Appalachian Laboratory's host university.  He currently works as an environmental protection specialist in the District of Columbia’s ambient air monitoring program

Read more about his Appalachian Laboratory internship and view his presentation slides here. 

Appalachian Laboratory Intern Scott McKinstry with internship supervisor Joel Bostic, UMCES Ph.D. student.
Summer 2019: Scott McKinstry
During summer 2019, Scott, a student from Frostburg State University, worked with UMCES Ph.D. student Joel Bostic at two watersheds in Baltimore County and in the laboratory, trying to identify the source of nitrate found at the sites following major storm events. For his project, Scott chose to examine if the size of a storm correlates with the concentration of both total nitrate and nitrate from the atmosphere in the samples.
 
Since completing his internship with the Appalachian Laboratory, Scott has graduated from Frostburg State University and currently works with a solar energy firm.  Read more about his internship and view slides from his August 2019 seminar presentation here. 
Richard Johnson examines charcoal samples under the microscope during his summer 2021 internship experience.
Summer 2021: Richard Johnson 
Garrett College student and U.S. Army veteran Richard Johnson worked with Dr. David Nelson and graduate student and fellow veteran (U.S. Air Force) Jonathan Johnson (no relation), in an ongoing project designed to learn more about how forests in the distant past changed in response to  long-term changes in climate and fire. As part of this project, Dr. Nelson and his colleagues extract and analyze fossil pollen found in core samples of sediment that accumulate in the bottom of lakes, identifying how the plant species that were present on the landscape during the past 12,000 years changed through time.
 
Richard is currently a student in the Natural Resource and Wildlife Technology program at Garrett College.  Read more about his internship experience here.