Meredith Shapiro ’28 Studies Climate Signals Through Clam Shells tmfonda@colgate.edu Tue, 07/29/2025 - 08:39 Meredith Shapiro ’28 intends to major in environmental geology, so she’s getting a jump-start on fieldwork experience this summer, completing a research project with Professor of Earth and Environmental Geosciences Paul Harnik and Professor of Physics Rebecca Metzler. As part of a team of student researchers, Shapiro is examining how climate change and algal blooms impact marine life in coastal regions — through the eyes of a specific mollusc species. Within the collaborative project, Shapiro belongs to the Nucula team, examining the Atlantic nut clam (Nucula proxima). Other teams, such as the barnacle team and the bryozoa team, research separate organisms with a similar objective: to discern how climate change impacts trait variation. By considering one species, Shapiro has garnered a detailed understanding of the Atlantic nut clam’s structure. “The clams themselves,” she explains, “are composed of three layers: nacre [also known as mother of pearl], a prismatic layer, and a thin skin-like external layer.” Shapiro’s primary research focus is the nacreous layer, made up of tablets that are each only microns in size. “The size of these tablets has been found to correlate with environmental factors such as pH and temperature in the regions where these shells were formed,” Shapiro says. Such regions, including the Gulf of Mexico and coastal areas along Maine, are monitored by state and federal agencies to support ecosystem health. In the sixth week of her project, Shapiro and her peers met with one of these groups — the Maine Department of Marine Resources — for an immersive research excursion. “We had two days of active fieldwork there, touring nearby labs and collecting samples on a boat,” says Shapiro. On the water, “we dropped a big scientific claw machine down to the bottom of the sea floor to grab sediment, sieving it to remove any excess.” While many of the specimens they gathered were left for the benefit of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, they brought home samples to analyze and compare to materials gathered by Colgate students in past years, sourced primarily from the Gulf of Mexico. From here, Shapiro and peers will continue to analyze samples from coastal Maine and Mexico to draw greater observations about the Atlantic nut clam species and assess their hypothesis: whether the nacreous layer becomes thicker as coastal waters get warmer. “I am proud to be doing this research,” says Shapiro. “We hope that, from it, we can better understand the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.”    Academics Natural Sciences and Mathematics Research News and Updates Student Department of Earth & Environmental Geosciences Meredith Shapiro ’28

TIA Venture Introduces Model to Automate Vanilla Farming Contributing Writer Tue, 07/15/2025 - 11:32 “Vanilla is everywhere,” says Jahanvi Chamria ’28. “It’s there in chocolate, perfumes, and almost every dessert in some quantity.” So when she and Diya Badola ’25 launched a TIA venture focused on hydroponic farming — a method of growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution without soil — they chose to center their efforts on vanilla: a valued, notoriously delicate crop. Their venture, Shneer Agritech, introduces a fully automated hydroponic system designed to to halve production time and significantly reduce labor costs. Based in Jaipur, India, Shneer Agritech operates on a small plot of land where Chamria and Badola are testing their technologies. A computer science and physics major, Chamria credits “Colgate’s focus on a well-rounded education” for strengthening her ability to “conduct research and grasp new scientific concepts.” For the venture, she has programmed a system of sensors and alarms to water and deliver nutrients to the crop, eliminating the need for human oversight. “With this system, no person has to physically check if everything’s okay,” she explains. “The system just takes care of itself, and it fully automates labor costs.” When pH and carbon dioxide levels fall below a certain threshold, the sensors activate, triggering the delivery of water or nutrients through a network of tubes. Though the crop grows without soil, it is supported by a porous aggregate — in this instance, lava rocks — which allow for proper drainage. The method, Chamria and Badola report, uses “roughly 80% less water than traditional vanilla farming.” “Vanilla is one of the world’s most valuable spices, yet traditional farming is inefficient, costly, and environmentally unstable,” adds Chamria. “Our smart irrigation system ensures precisely timed nutrient dosing, while a built-in filtration unit preserves water purity and reduces waste.” Chamria and Badola’s first batch, harvested this year, consisted of about 16 plants grown in 1.5 years — half the time needed for traditional cultivation. Their larger mission further addresses volatility and exploitation in the global vanilla trade, particularly in Madagascar, where the bulk of the world’s vanilla is produced. “With rising global demand and increasing preference for ethically sourced, premium ingredients, we’re aiming to provide food manufacturers, importers, and fragrance companies with a reliable, high-quality vanilla supply,” says Chamria. In the coming months, the venture will continue to take shape as the team participates in the TIA Summer Accelerator, an eight-week program designed to help students and recent alumni build their ideas into businesses. “We were able to grow one batch, and it turned out pretty well. Now, through TIA, we’re looking at a larger setup,” says Chamria. “Of course, we have a robust, working idea — I’m confident that our TIA mentors will continue to help us transform it into a sustainable business.”   Entrepreneurship News and Updates Student tia

In honor of Colgate’s Bicentennial year, the Picker Art Gallery is hosting a special traveling exhibition, Koolanga Boodja Neh Nidjuuk (Children Looking and Listening on Country), through June 30. The post Repatriation and Reconciliation: The Carrolup Artworks Return to Colgate first appeared on Colgate University News.

Grafters X Change: Branches and Networks brought together Colgate and local community members, eco-artists, and activists to foster creative community resiliency. The post Grafters X Change Builds Community Resiliency first appeared on Colgate University News.