Lynn Montgomery spent 19 days camping on the Greenland ice sheet, where she used various techniques to study the hydrologic structure of the ice sheet and the aquifer of melted water that forms within it. Meir Friedenberg studied theoretical computer science and data compression algorithms at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. Sutton Chiorini spent 6 weeks in Japan studying how seasonal changes affect seismic wave circulation to better understand earthquake hazards. Maya Amouzegar assisted with upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider detector at CERN in Switzerland to contribute to particle physics research.

1. RESEARCH ROUNDUP RESEARCH ROUNDUP
Photos courtesy of Meir Friedenberg and Lynn Montgomery Map by Freevectormaps.com / Photos courtesy of Maya Amouzegar and Sutton Chiorini
STUDENT RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD
- 18 days camping on the ice - Avg. daily temp. near 0°C (32°F)
- 1 dehydrated meal per person/per day
- 30L of water melted from snow per day for cooking/drinking
- 1 hair wash per person in 18 days, using 0°C aquifer water!
LYNN MONTGOMERY
KULUSUK, GREENLAND
From the tiny town of Kulusk, Greenland (population: 300), atmospheric
and oceanic science major Lynn Montgomery flew into the field and
camped 19 days on the southeastern portion of the Greenland ice
sheet to explore its hydrologic structure. “When water on the sur-
face of the ice sheet melts during the summer due to
warmer temperatures, the water can percolate down
through the firn, which is porous compacted snow and
ice,” Montgomery explained.This melted water creates
an aquifer within the ice. Along with Lora Koenig of the
National Snow & Ice Data Center and UMD Assistant
Professor of Geology Nicholas Schmerr, Montgomery
used seismic, radar, magnetic resonance and hydrologi-
cal techniques to measure the amount of water in the
aquifer and determine how the water travels and is stored
within the ice sheet. “If we understand the processes of
Greenland’s hydrologic structure, even a small part such as
this aquifer, we can develop solutions to slow sea level rise
and understand how climate change is affecting our planet,”
Montgomery said. She plans to get her Ph.D. and become
a professor who studies the polar regions of Greenland,
Canada, Alaska or Antarctica. “Field work provides many
challenges physically and mentally, but is a priceless learning
experience,” she said.
MEIR FRIEDENBERG
REHOVOT, ISRAEL
Meir Friedenberg, a computer science major, studied theoretical
computer science at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, with
Weizmann faculty member Robert Krauthgamer. Friedenberg studied
the math behind certain types of data compression, which involve
using mathematical algorithms to reduce the storage size of a piece
of data. Friedenberg brainstormed and analyzed new algorithms
daily.The research Friedenberg worked on, while theoretical at this
stage, has the potential to allow large quantities of information to be
stored using less memory. “A company doing a statistical analysis
on interactions within a community would be able to examine a
larger community and gain higher-quality information than previously
possible,” said Friedenberg.
“I highly recommended taking a summer to travel
out of the country for research, or even to a different
university to see their approach to work and school.”
Students in the Kupcinet-Getz International
Summer Science School visiting the Bahá’í
Gardens in Acre, Israel. (Meir is 4th from the
right in the front row.)
Would you believe this was
SUMMER?
Undergraduate students become better thinkers, innovators and problem solvers by engaging in research.These
experiences cultivate a depth of understanding needed to make a positive difference in the world. While some of
our students conduct undergraduate research on campus or at nearby federal laboratories, others travel the world
to use science to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. ■ –rachael romano
SUTTON CHIORINI
TOKYO, JAPAN
Seismology and hazard mitigation researchers have been keenly inter-
ested in Japan since the country’s 2011 earthquake inTohoku. GGeol-
ogy and physics double major Sutton Chiorini spent six weeks in Japan
studying the relationship between seismic data and seasonal changes
like storms and ocean currents as part of the University ofTokyo
Research Internship Program. Chiorini, along with University ofTokyo
Department of Disaster Mitigation Science Professor Kazuki Koketsu
and graduate student Loïc Viens, investigated how seasonal changes af-
fected the circulation of seismic waves in the area. “Studying seasonal
variations in vibrations caused by natural sources contributes to our un-
derstanding of the ambient seismic field in Japan and can be applied to
other areas,” said Chiorini. Now back in Maryland, Chiorini is working in
UMD Assistant Professor of Geology Vedran Lekic’s laboratory to better
understand where and why seismic swarms—surges of earthquakes
with no one shock being much larger than the rest—occur.
-
Sutton in Japan
—>
MAYA AMOUZEGAR
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
After spending a year and a half conducting high-energy experimental
physic research in College Park, astronomy and physics double
major Maya Amouzegar traveled to the CERN laboratory near
Geneva, Switzerland, to assist in upgrading the Compact Muon
Solenoid detector of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).The world’s
most powerful particle accelerator, the LHC was responsible for
the Higgs boson discovery in
2012. Under the supervision of
UMD Physics Professor Sarah
Eno and Assistant Professor
Alberto Belloni, Amouzegar
helped to install scintillator
tiles in the test-beam facility.
“What I did is part of a bigger
project aimed at creating a
candidate design for a particle
detector,” said Amouzegar.
“It is very rewarding to
contribute something, no
matter how big or small, to
this extremely large and
collaborative research
effort.” Amouzegar credits
being an undergraduate
researcher with opening
her mind to creative
problem solving.
“It is very rewarding to contribute something,no matter how big or small.”
Maya at CERN
16 ODYSSEY Spring 2016 Spring 2016 ODYSSEY 17