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Inspiring Students, Driving Discoveries

Alex Nikulin ’05 and Timothy de Smet

Detecting dangerous, plastic landmines using drones equipped with thermal infrared technology is all in a day’s work for Timothy de Smet and Alex Nikulin ’05.

De Smet is a research assistant professor with the First-year Research Immersion environmental visualization stream and director of the Geophysics and Remote Sensing Laboratory. Nikulin is an assistant professor of geological sciences and environmental studies. 

Donor funding in 2019 was a game-changer for their project, first conceptualized in 2017, Nikulin said. “We were able to act on our idea faster than anybody else. It was like giving fertilizer to a young tree.”

From there, he said they completed seven peer-reviewed articles, generated three graduate fellowships, received three international awards and earned a National Science Foundation grant, among other achievements.

Their work also creates a high-impact learning environment, de Smet said. “We are actively engaging students and making original discoveries, and that makes all the difference. Also, guess what? If you fly drones with your students, you keep them engaged. They have a really fun time. It’s a good thing.”

Lindsey Swierk

Lindsey Swierk is an assistant research professor of biological sciences and the inaugural recipient of the Harter Family Mentoring Prize for Harpur College Faculty. Her research focuses on the behavioral ecology of lizards and frogs, in particular animal communication and reproductive behaviors.

"There is a real bond here between the students and the faculty, which is very special and uncommon for a research university of Binghamton’s size and caliber.

“Donor support to enhance faculty teaching, research and mentoring provides such recognition for our efforts as faculty members. It sends a message that the University community highly values dedication to engaging students in teaching and research, and creating an atmosphere in which we can all thrive.

“I clearly remember the excellent mentorship that I received as a student. I know it makes a lifetime of difference in helping students find the right career path.

Elizabeth Mozer

What is it like to live high in a tree, endure the elements, face possible arrest and put your body on the line to prevent deforestation? What compels someone to do this?

Elizabeth Mozer, associate professor of theatre, found out by meeting and interviewing people on the West and East coasts who did just that. Her research, made possible by generous donors, provided the creative sources and fuel for her third play, Natural Causes. 

“It’s about activists who are participating in embodied acts of civil disobedience to save the plants, trees and animals that are so essential to our life, health and our very existence,” she said. “Theater has a part to play in all of this. I look forward to playing my part.”