FYRES Research Projects in 2011-2012
FYRES students and Research Mentors worked on 4 research projects in the September 2011-May 2012 academic year. The projects included topics of scientific interest as well as applied research questions.
- Blowout and Trails study: A FYRES research team investigated the characteristics of trails and blowouts (and the relationships between them) in part of Hoffmaster State Park.
- Castle Park Dune study: A FYRES research team investigated the relationship between an invasive species and a dune on property owned by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan.
- North Beach Dune study: A FYRES research team investigated the effects of management actions on the activity of a large dune in an Ottawa County park.
- Sand Transport study: A FYRES Research Mentor worked with physics students to test whether an equation predicting sand transport was useful at a dune site in Hoffmaster State Park.
FYRES itself is a research project to investigate whether/how participation in research helps students learn about science. A research team of two faculty (Deanna van Dijk, Crystal Bruxvoort) and a science-education student (Merideth Beukelman) are working on this project. Some of their early results are included under Conference Presentations.
