Ashland Science students intern at OARDC

Three Ashland University Science majors spent their summer interning in research laboratories at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the agricultural research campus for Ohio State University. Here is some news from one of those students, Biology/Toxicology/Environmental Science major Shelby Reutter.  Shelby is also one of our Choose Ohio First scholars.

"Over this summer I was an entomology intern at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, specifically the Horticultural Insects Research Laboratory working under USDA Research Entomologist Christopher Ranger and alongside his technician Jenny Barnett and another undergraduate student. The main focus of study in the lab is ambrosia beetles, which are a non native invasive species that attacks ornamental trees and other types of stressed trees. I assisted in a few different field experiments throughout the summer."

Shelby describes examining how the ambrosia beetles infect trees that are flood damaged or exposed to frost.  She also gained experience using analytical chemistry tools like High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to measure levels of chemicals in soil, and learned how to tell the difference between multiple species of beetles that farm fungi on local trees.

Check back for news on the other two students who did research at the OARDC this summer.