Undergraduate Research Spotlight
- Erin, Class of 2021, Biology
- Keara, Class of 2021, Environmental Studies
- Georgina, Class of 2021, Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Betsy Bancroft
Research Title: "Urban Wildlife Monitoring"
Peer Perspective: "Georgina, Erin, and Keara’s work exemplifies the ability for undergraduate students to do research that has real life implications at Gonzaga. By setting up and motoring the game cameras in the Little Spokane Watershed area, they were about to discover data that exposes valuable information regarding the biodiversity of Spokane." -Georgia (Class of 2022)
Students:
- Erin, Class of 2021, Biology Major
- Keara, Class of 2021, Environmental Studies
- Georgina, Class of 2021, Environmental Studies
Research Title: "Urban Wildlife Monitoring"
Abstract: It is important to quantify the biodiversity of an ecosystem because biodiversity is often an important factor when deciding whether or not to conserve an area. Our project will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity by collecting data on species present in the Little Spokane Watershed. The data are collected from six game cameras that are distributed throughout the Little Spokane Watershed. The animals collected from the photographs will be classified by species, age, gender, camera location, and date collected. The information we gather about species presence and abundance will be given to the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy to aid in biodiversity conservation. The data we will collect are crucial because only some of the land Little Spokane Watershed is protected, or owned by the INLC. The remaining land is threatened by urbanization, and if more urbanization were to occur in this area it would most likely cause a decrease in biodiversity.
You can support students like Erin, Keara and Georgina.
Welcome to CURCI
The College of Arts & Sciences launched the Center for Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry (CURCI) in 2016 in order to promote, publicize, facilitate, and celebrate the transformative educational experiences that occur through student-faculty collaborations.
CURCI’s mission aims to animate Ignatian inquiry and student transformation in the context of undergraduate scholarly and creative works. We accomplish this by funding projects and presentations, which create student experiences that amplify their self-awareness today so that they may be Ignatian leaders tomorrow. Specifically, CURCI administers funds as well as supports fundraising for projects and presentations, while also capturing the student impact from those projects and presentations. Support for undergraduate scholarly and creative works comes in the form of Morris Undergraduate Research Fellowships, the Killen Scholars Program, Jesuit Mission Fellowships, CURCI Fellowships or Research Assistantships, as well as long-standing programs within the Natural Sciences – notably the Gonzaga Science Research Program. Opportunities for the presentation of undergraduate scholarly and creative works can be found through the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference, CAS Undergraduate Research Showcase, Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series, and CAS Conference Awards.
For details about opportunities and eligibility, see myGU.
