Work-Study Research Assistant Program

Faculty Name: Haiying Tao

Faculty Department: Plant Science and Landscape Architecture

General Research Focus:

We are studying phosphorus cycling between soils and waters in agricultural field systems, especially how such cycling relates to nutrient leaching loss in agricultural fields in Connecticut. We are also benchmarking the routine soil tests method typically used by soil testing lab to establish the critical soil test levels at which significant nutrient leaching occurs.

Brief Position Description:

The student will work with Dr. Tao and a graduate student for soil and water sample preparation, including weighing soils, loading soils onto a mechanical shaker, and pipetting. The student will shadow a graduate student in learning how to use and maintain laboratory equipment commonly found in soil, nutrient, and water testing laboratories. The student will be introduced to common laboratory practices and safety, such as washing dishes, waste glass handling, chemical handling etc. The student will be introduced to analyzing and organizing data using Excel and other programs relevant to soil science, such as SAS and R. 

In addition to guided literature review, the student will learn how to perform sorption and desorption studies on select soil series used for agriculture in Connecticut, and will do this by analyzing soil extracts for phosphorus using a discrete analyzer. The student will compare data from these lab experiments to field data collected by the graduate student (i.e. the student will not be leaving campus) to verify in-lab experiments. Through this experience, the student will learn how to think about approaching research questions, designing and running robust laboratory experiments which appropriately answer those research questions, analyzing data and evaluating its quality, and presenting data in the form of a poster or lab report. The student will be encouraged to present at the UConn Frontiers Undergraduate Research Symposium in the spring to both share their findings with the UConn community and to gain experience communicating scientific results to individuals outside of soil science.

Job Description:

A Student Laboratory & Field Analysis Assistant - 203 will assist faculty in research efforts within a laboratory or other research-specific environment. A student in this position may:

• Take soil, plant, and water samples
• Pocess samples
• Maintain and clean lab environment
• Take measurements using basic lab equipment
• Code/plot and analyze data within guidelines
• Keep detailed records
• Organize, analyze, and communicate data