She's a Scientist: Jessica Corman

Curt Bright Author

05/14/2021 Added

232 Plays

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A University of Nebraska–Lincoln professor uses the state’s river system as a living laboratory to teach her students about water quality.

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[00:00:00.303](bright piano music)
[00:00:03.327](water gurgles)
[00:00:04.827]UNL environmetal studies major,
[00:00:07.120]Kayla Vondracek, collects algae samples
[00:00:09.960]from the Niobrara River.
[00:00:11.480]We're picking out 17 sites
[00:00:13.790]ranging from low human activity and impact,
[00:00:16.740]to moderate, to heavy human impact.
[00:00:19.850](container taps)
[00:00:20.683]Kayla's mentor on the project
[00:00:22.380]is assistant professor Jessica Corman.
[00:00:24.920]We're interested in the Niobrara River
[00:00:26.410]because, for one, it's a wild and scenic river
[00:00:29.570]which is pretty unique in the US.
[00:00:31.890]It has fairly good water quality,
[00:00:34.400]but there's a lot of tourism that happens in the river,
[00:00:37.310](group cheers)
[00:00:38.720]there's still a lot of cattle ranching
[00:00:41.358]that happens around it,
[00:00:42.191]and so we're here to see how the water quality actually is,
[00:00:45.210]and how it changes with different land use types.
[00:00:48.038](water gurgles)
[00:00:49.850]The hardest part has actually been
[00:00:51.210]just fighting the current.
[00:00:52.620]So a lot times with collecting samples,
[00:00:54.593]I've gotta hold things steady,
[00:00:56.360]I gotta find proper footing,
[00:00:58.050]and it's hard to not kinda get pushed back
[00:01:00.860]by the current constantly,
[00:01:02.290]so I'm definitely getting a workout
[00:01:03.960]while I'm out here collecting samples.
[00:01:05.982](bright piano music)
[00:01:08.470]I get to the fun thing of taking those back to the lab.
[00:01:11.520]I get to analyze 'em for chlorophyll content,
[00:01:15.030]and then, my favorite part,
[00:01:16.170]I get to look at 'em under the microscope.
[00:01:18.190]Just kinda understand the biodiversity out here.
[00:01:21.090]Corman includes students
[00:01:22.670]in her research projects
[00:01:24.090]because of her own experiences as an undergraduate.
[00:01:27.540]During a research project in Tanzania,
[00:01:30.150]Corman saw firsthand the importance of water
[00:01:33.330]on people's lives.
[00:01:34.970]And like Tanganyika,
[00:01:35.940]people were bathing in the water,
[00:01:37.830]they're washing their clothes,
[00:01:38.900]they were catching their food,
[00:01:40.690]so people had a super intimate connection with the river.
[00:01:43.890]And same here, in the Niobrara,
[00:01:45.670]thousands of people come
[00:01:46.901]and float down this river every year.
[00:01:49.520]They appreciate it, they love this river,
[00:01:51.520]so it's important that we keep managing it,
[00:01:53.620]so it can be a sustainable resources
[00:01:55.930]for many futures down the line.

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She's a Scientist: Jessica Corman

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