From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 4, October 2021.
Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE) was a Research Experience for Undergraduates site at the National Museum of Natural History sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Each summer (2010-2021) NHRE welcomed approximately15-18 exceptional undergraduate students from around the United States to the museum for a 10-week-long research project guided by an NMNH scientist. NMNH curators Liz Cottrell (Mineral Sciences) and Gene Hunt (Paleobiology) co-Directed NHRE.
This year, NHRE intern Isabella Schrader worked with Rebecca Dikow, Mike Trizna, and Alex White (Smithsonian’s Office of the Chief Information Officer), Paul Frandsen and Ashlyn Powell (Brigham Young University), as well as Botany’s Eric Schuettpelz, on a project called, “Using machine learning tools to quantify mercuric chloride staining across digitized herbarium specimens.” The goal of the project was to update a machine learning model that identifies mercuric chloride staining on digitized herbarium sheets and apply it to all digitized species housed at the U.S. National Herbarium.
Schrader presented her results at a NHRE virtual research symposium held for Smithsonian staff on August 5, 2021. All 14 NHRE interns presented their e-posters using the Gather.Town app, a platform that allows participants to move and interact freely within a virtual space using an avatar. The symposium was well-attended by NMNH staff, associates, and volunteers.
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