Michelle Johnston, a Westminster College senior biology major, completed a summer research fellowship in oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

Johnston was one of nine undergraduates selected from nearly 300 applicants. Selections were made based on academics, extracurricular activities, and interest in oceanography. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography.

"I worked in a geology lab where I studied the effects of low oxygen levels on the organisms that live on the sea floor in Greenwich Bay," Johnston said. "I also participated in several other studies the lab was conducting, including surveys of the bay floor using sonar and a 20-year, bay-wide sediment profile image survey, for which we visited many sites in Narragansett Bay to take pictures of sediment cross-sections. I attended lectures and seminars on a variety of topics in oceanography and toured the oceanic research vessel, R/V Endeavor. I was introduced to the four fields of oceanography-biological, chemical, geological, and physical-and experienced both field work and lab work."

"Michelle is an outstanding biology Honors senior who was chosen for a highly competitive undergraduate research program this summer at the University of Rhode Island," said Dr. Shahroukh Mistry, Westminster associate professor of biology and Johnston's faculty adviser. "Her Honors research project examines the impact of herbicides on the development of amphibians." 

Johnston is a daughter of Ray and Kimberly Johnston of Beaver Falls and a graduate of Blackhawk High School. 

Contact Mistry at (724) 946-7210 or e-mail mistrys@westminster.edu for more information. 

Michelle Johnston