Eastern Student Bryce Mase of Northford Performs Fieldwork Related to Undergraduate Research Project

2017 Sep 6

Eastern Environmental Earth Science (EES) students recently participated in hands-on fieldwork related to their respective undergraduate research projects. Bryce Mase '19 of Northford was one of the students who performed fieldwork with an EES professor-mentor as part of research that will continue into the fall and spring semesters.

Mase is developing models that quantify coastal change by examining the natural bluffs and an eroding dump on Block Island. This data set will help define the current geometry and position of the shoreline, which can be compared with previous, though less-detailed measures of the coastline. The project is one on which both EES Professors Drew Hyatt and Bryan Oakley are collaborating. Mase's mentor is Professor Hyatt.

"My summer research took place on Block Island, RI. While I was there I studied two sites; the first was an old dump that is starting to become exposed due to the eroding coastline. One side of the dump lies only meters from the water line and has started to erode and open up, exposing the years of garbage, mainly metal, that was dumped in the 70's. The goal is to create a 3-D computer model of the site and attempt to predict the volume of the dump site to determine how much waste is truly there," said Mase.

"The other site is a beach with large, eroding bluffs. I set up targets across the bluff, shot overlapping images moving across the bluff, and then used the images later in the lab to upload into software in order to create a 3-D model. The hope is that by making the model we can predict which parts of the bluff will collapse and erode next. If the opportunity were to arise for me to return to the site next summer and perform the same tasks, I could make a second computer-generated model and compare the two in order to see how much the bluff has changed and eroded over a year's time."

Mase will continue to work on his research findings in preparation for presenting it at Eastern's annual CREATE conference held during the spring 2018 semester.

"Undergraduate research is extremely beneficial for students because it exposes them to what they will be doing in their near future, whether it be graduate school or the career field. But while completing this research during one's undergraduate schooling they have the benefit of working directly with a professor to professionally assist them with their studies. I believe this research will help me in the future as it has exposed me to the tools and technology that I will be using in the career field I am pursuing. I feel as though I now have an advantage over other prospective employees who did not complete undergraduate research and as though my research will 'stick out' on an application," said Mase.

Mase is enrolled in Eastern's dual-degree program, which means he will graduate with over 150 credits and earn two baccalaureate degrees, one in EES and one in Mathematics.

"My favorite thing about Eastern is the 'small classroom' aspect. Professors know my name -- I can talk to them and receive attention I would not be able to necessarily receive in a larger classroom setting. The opportunity to do research with a professor is a perfect example of this," Mase added.

He is interested in pursuing a career in environmental analysis or geographic information systems (GIS) and possibly attending graduate school. He hopes to procure an internship in the field in order to gain hands-on experience before graduation.