CATHERINE RAINE ESPARZA NCUR 2022 Spotlight

Catherine Raine Esparza

Honors Junior, Sustainable Agriculture, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering majors

Research Mentor: Dr. Elisa D'Angelo

I enjoy research because.... "I have always been interested in human effects on the environment, and being able to quantifiably see those effects in the lab is fascinating to me."

How did you first get interested in undergraduate research at UK?

"Friends of mine had participated in undergraduate research in the past, so they recommended that I do the same."

How long have you been engaged in undergraduate research?

"I started doing undergraduate research in the summer between my sophomore and junior years."

What has been the most exciting aspect of your research so far?

"So far, the most exciting aspect has been going out into the field to take water samples and place new samplers, since changing water levels made it difficult to retrieve some of them."

What advice would you give to other UK students thinking about doing research?

"I would say that any UK student who enjoys scientific topics and has the time for undergraduate research should definitely try to participate in it at least once before they graduate because it is not something they would regret."