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Almost every day for more than a year, Brian Schubert ’04 (Richmond, Va.) has faithfully checked the weather forecast for predictions of rain or snow — or any other kind of precipitation. Each time meteorologists predict precipitation, he heads for two different sites along Bushkill Creek to program computerized water samplers. Then, after the precipitation has ended, he collects water-filled bottles from the three-foot-high samplers.
For Schubert, a geology major and varsity tennis player, the seemingly endless cycle of sampling is helping him determine the rate at which fine-grained sediment, such as silt and clay, travels through the creek and is deposited in the creek bed. He presented the results of his research Saturday at a joint regional meeting of the Northeastern and Southeastern sections of the Geological Society of America in Tyson’s Corner, Va., near Washington, D.C.
“For me, the most interesting part is when I bring back the data to the lab and analyze it and see what the samples are telling me,” says Schubert, who began the research as part of an independent study course during the spring 2003 semester. He continued his research during the summer as an EXCEL Scholar, then began work on a senior honors thesis during the fall semester.
On many of his trips to Bushkill Creek, he collects rocks and brings them back to the geology laboratory. He uses a nine-meter-long flume to test the rate of fine-grained sediment transport over rocks covered with algae versus the rate over bare rocks.
“We think the algae makes it more difficult for the flow of water to re-suspend, or re-entrain, suspended sediment,” says Schubert’s research mentor, Dru Germanoski, professor and head of geology.
Before the conference, Germanoski noted that Schubert’s research, which includes a study of the local watershed, “has been tremendous. When he presents it, people will think he did a master’s thesis. It’s nice, integrated work.”
Germanoski has received 20 research grants from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, and other agencies, many of which have funded collaborations with Lafayette students. He often mentors students in yearlong honors research projects and regularly shares his research in academic publications.
Schubert, who plans to study oceanography in graduate school, says Germanoski and Lafayette’s other geology professors all have offered him a great deal of support and encouragement.
“I wouldn’t get this opportunity at a large university,” he says. “At Lafayette, the department is small and all the professors are very helpful, always. If I’ve needed new equipment, they’ve gotten it for me.”
In addition to his research, Schubert spent three weeks during the January interim session studying volcanic rock formations for a unique course taught byGermanoski on site in Hawaii.
A graduate of Mills E. Godwin High School, Schubert is president of Geology Club and a member of the campus chapter of Geological Society of America. He also participates in monitoring the Bushkill Creek through the civil and environmental engineering department.