Students showcase work at River Research Symposium

In an effort to engage University of South Dakota students in research, the Missouri River Institute Research Symposium gave students the opportunity to present their findings on the Missouri River April 10 at the Al Neuharth Media Center.

“For a lot of students, this is the first time they’ve stood up and presented their work to an audience and to their peers,” adviser for the symposium Tim Cowman said. “What the symposium does is prepare students to go on to more formal and larger conferences.”

Researchers, federal, state and local organizations, along with USD researchers covered new research discovered by faculty and students from USD and Virginia Tech University at the symposium. The National Park Service, USGS EROS Center and Vermillion Public Schools also presented information.

Seniors Karen Herrig and Ruthie Wetzel presented a joint project at the symposium which featured research on the dust emission potential of the Missouri River Sand Bars. Although they had each started their own individual research projects in the summer of 2012, Herrig said they each realized they needed information the other was researching.

Herrig said her project started with Mike Sweeny, Earth Science professor, and that Cowman then helped her navigate the river for her research.

“(Cowman) got us to the different bars on the river, but he’s also been really supportive with other things like giving us information,” she said. “It started off as a student-professor project for our own benefit, and then turned into a senior project with further presentations,” Herrig said.

Wetzel’s presentation is also being used for her honor’s thesis.

“We presented last year in the fall on our separate areas at the Geological Society in Denver at their national conference, but it was cool to do a collaborative project and bring them together,” Wetzel said.

We like to see their fellow students to show up to see what they’ve been doing.

Cowman said the university takes advantage of having a large river in its backyard by utilizing field trips and research opportunities.

“We have a great opportunity, and we hope students become more interested because of that,” he said. “Some of them will go on to careers involved with work on the Missouri River or rivers like the Missouri River.”

The river, Cowman said, is an important natural resource for not only the state of South Dakota but also the country. He said it is important to be aware of benefits and the issues related the river.

“We want people to be aware of the river as a natural resource, be able to experience it, enjoy it, learn from it, but we also want them to be aware of the issues that threaten the Missouri River ecosystem,” he said. “That’s what we do at the symposium — present not only the great values of the river, but what some of the issues that threaten the river.
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