Rutgers student Charlene Guo hiked in Saxon Switzerland National Park near Dresden, Germany, in July. Photo:
Kelvin Zhou.

Charlene Guo, an Honors College senior and environmental science major attending the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), spent her summer in Germany conducting research on environmental contamination with heavy metals.

Guo was one of two Rutgers University-New Brunswick students to study in Germany over the summer as part of the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) Germany program overseen by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Taking her research overseas to an unfamiliar setting was an opportunity she couldn’t resist.

Rutgers student Charlene Guo adds uranine (a fluorescent dye) dissolved in water into a well to track groundwater flow in June. Photo: Lily Sherman.

“This is a complex issue that goes beyond borders and requires large-scale collaboration, so I wanted to establish international connections, learn to adapt to research in completely new settings and explore heavy metal contamination from mining, which is a source I hadn’t studied before in my research,” said Guo, 21, of Westbury, N.Y. “Mining leaves behind waste material that can leach metals into soil and water long after they’re extracted and is a major source of heavy metal contamination worldwide.”

At Rutgers, Guo researches human exposure to lead contamination from sources such as tap water and spices. In Germany, she shifted her focus to sediments and expanded her work to a broader range of heavy metals and metalloids such as arsenic, cadmium and iron.

As a research intern at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF for short, or the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology) in Saxony, Germany, Guo used complexing agents – chemical compounds that bond to metal ions to form stable structures – to remediate mining-contaminated sediment for reuse in the construction and agriculture industries.

“Because the metals are locked away in these structures, they can essentially be ‘washed away’ from the sediment, which could potentially allow it to be safely repurposed instead of being sent to waste,” she said.

Outside of her research, Guo attended classes at the technical university and went on field studies and field trips, including going underground into the school’s research mine and “analyzing groundwater flow through tracer testing.”

Challenges such as laboratory access constraints and redoing or adjusting her experiments because of “unexpected results” added to Guo’s learning experience.

“I had to stay flexible yet prioritize steps that would keep the integrity of my data while balancing that with the time constraints of the internship,” Guo said. “Troubleshooting is honestly just as much a part of research as the experiment itself, and being able to adapt quickly ended up being one of the more useful skills I walked away with.”

Rutgers student Charlene Guo poses in front of signs at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in Saxony, Germany, in August. Photo: Tara Kasayapanand.

Guo, who spent her weekends abroad traveling to the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary and various German cities, said the RISE Germany program proved “a great way to bridge my environmentally focused coursework to my research interests.”

A moment that captured the value of participating in the RISE Germany program “was realizing how much mining is a part of daily life in Freiberg,” Guo said.

“People still greet each other with ‘Glück auf,’ the old miners’ greeting, and there’s an annual folk festival called Bergstadtfest built around mining heritage, with the hammer-and-pick symbol everywhere you look,” she said. “Seeing my research as something embedded so deeply in a real place and a real community is the reason I want to keep doing this work.”

After graduating from Rutgers, Guo plans to pursue a doctoral degree and work as a research scientist in environmental contamination.

Guo’s story was extracted from a larger Rutgers Today story. 

L-R: Dr. Richard Moses SEBS’12; Dr. Jenice Sabb, Cook College’87, retired Director of EOF; Mr. Frager Foster, retired Director of Cook College EOF; and Dr. Jacqueline Moore, current Director of SEBS EOF.

Four decades after its first summer program, the SEBS Educational Opportunity Fund’s Solid GEMS program continues to prepare students to succeed in science while building a community that extends well beyond graduation

Summer 2026 marked a significant milestone for the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program as Solid GEMS General Education in Mathematics and Science celebrated 40 years of preparing students for success in the sciences.

The anniversary was commemorated on July 26 at the Livingston Student Center, bringing together 66 alumni, current students, faculty, staff, administrators and supporters to celebrate a program whose impact has extended across generations.

Among those in attendance were 34 Solid GEMS alumni whose participation in the program spanned from its earliest years in 1986 through 2026. It was the largest gathering of Solid GEMS alumni at a single event in the history of the SEBS EOF Program and offered a powerful visual representation of the program’s enduring legacy.

For four decades, Solid GEMS has been rooted in a simple but consequential idea: students with talent and potential can excel in rigorous science disciplines when they are provided with the academic preparation, mentorship, community and opportunity to do so.

Alumni panelists at the Solid GEMS 40th anniversary event.

From “Diamonds in the Rough” to Solid GEMS

The history of Solid GEMS dates to 1980, when research and development began on an instructional approach designed to strengthen the performance of EOF students in introductory mathematics and science courses. The first Solid GEMS summer pilot program launched in 1986 through the EOF Program at Cook College in partnership with the Rutgers University Department of Chemistry.

The program’s name reflected both its academic purpose and its philosophy. GEMS General Education in Mathematics and Science represented the program’s focus on building a strong academic foundation, while “Solid GEMS” reflected the belief that students were like “diamonds in the rough”: individuals with tremendous potential who could flourish when provided innovative instruction and comprehensive academic support.

Built on research in student learning, the GEMS instructional model emphasized four stages New Problems, Exploration, Invention and Application designed to move students beyond memorization and toward critical thinking, problem-solving and scientific reasoning.

Solid GEMS was developed to improve achievement in introductory mathematics and science courses, increase retention, reduce attrition and encourage EOF students to persist in science-related majors. Historically, it served as the third component of an EOF student success model that began with a Pre-Freshman Summer Institute and continued with academic support during the first year.

Over time, the program evolved, but its central mission remained: prepare students not simply to pass challenging science courses, but to develop the skills and confidence to see themselves as capable scientists and STEM professionals.

A History Built on Being “Solid”

Mr. Frager Foster, retired Director of Cook College EOF, gave the keynote address at the 40th anniversary.

Frager Foster, who served as director of the SEBS EOF Program from 1981 to 2013, delivered the anniversary keynote address and took attendees back to the program’s beginnings. Foster connected the philosophy behind Solid GEMS to a much deeper cultural history.

“The connection between the Harlem Renaissance and the Solid GEMS Program is both meaningful and intentional,” Foster said. “Since the 1920s, the word solid has symbolized far more than strength. It represented trust, loyalty, reliability, and mutual responsibility.”

For Foster, the word captured what the program was designed to create among students, faculty and staff.

“To be solid meant being dependable, standing by one another, and producing results through consistency and integrity,” he said.

That philosophy became embedded in the culture of Solid GEMS. Students were challenged academically, but they were not expected to navigate those challenges alone. Faculty instruction, peer tutoring, collaborative learning, mentoring and community became integral parts of the experience.

The 40th anniversary celebration also honored the leadership that helped sustain that philosophy over four decades. Foster attended alongside Jenice Sabb-Dumas, who served as director from 2005 to 2021, and Jacqueline Moore, current assistant dean/director of the SEBS EOF Program and Solid GEMS director, who has served the program since 2006.

A presentation at the 40th anniversary event takes a look back at Solid GEMS.

Together with generations of faculty, staff, teaching fellows, tutors and supporters, their leadership represents the continuity that has allowed Solid GEMS to remain an important part of the SEBS EOF experience.

More Than a Chemistry Course

Today, Solid GEMS operates as a summer program, with intensive academic support designed to help students progress through foundational science coursework.

Its continued success was evident during the anniversary summer. In 2026, 12 residential Solid GEMS scholars participated in the 12-week Chemistry program, completing Chemistry Parts I and II. All 12 students successfully passed their courses a 100 percent success rate among the residential participants.

Yet the value of Solid GEMS cannot be measured by course grades alone.

The program combines rigorous coursework with collaborative learning, faculty engagement, peer tutoring and mentoring. Students develop study strategies, learn how to work through difficult scientific concepts and discover the importance of seeking academic support. Just as importantly, they build relationships with peers who are experiencing many of the same challenges.

That combination can change how students view themselves.

A difficult introductory science course can cause students to question whether they belong in a science major. Solid GEMS works to transform that uncertainty into confidence. Students leave the program having demonstrated to themselves that they can successfully complete demanding science coursework.

For many, completing chemistry through Solid GEMS does more than move them toward the next course in their academic sequence. It reinforces their belief that pursuing a science major is not only possible it is the right choice.

That sense of academic confidence and belonging is one of the program’s most important outcomes.

Forty Years of Alumni and Community

The 34 alumni who returned for the anniversary celebration demonstrated another important measure of Solid GEMS’ success: the community created during the program does not necessarily end when the summer ends or even when students graduate from Rutgers.

Over four decades, Solid GEMS alumni have gone on to careers and advanced study in medicine, research, science, healthcare, education and other professional fields. Some have returned to the program as mentors, tutors and supporters for the students coming behind them.

Solid GEMS alumni have developed into one of the SEBS EOF Program’s most established alumni communities, connected not simply by having participated in the same summer program but by a shared experience of perseverance, academic growth and mutual support.

That legacy can be seen in alumni such as Kevin Guerrero, SEBS’19, who previously credited Solid GEMS Biology House with providing his first laboratory experience. That opportunity helped spark his interest in research and contributed to a path that ultimately led him to medical school. Richard P. Moses, SEBS’12, similarly served as a teaching fellow for Solid GEMS Chemistry before going on to medical school and a career as a U.S. Navy anesthesiologist.

Solid GEMS alumni Dr. Esther Exantus ‘2015; Dr. Ashley Woolfork ‘2016; Dr. Jenice Sabb Cook College ‘1987; Mr. Frager Foster; Dr. Jacqueline Moore; and alumna Ms. Francia Noel ‘2015.

Their stories illustrate the long-term impact that an early academic opportunity can have on a student’s trajectory.

Protecting the Next 40 Years

As Solid GEMS celebrates its history, the anniversary also provides an opportunity to consider its future.

The program is now offered during the summer, when students can focus intensively on foundational science coursework and receive the academic support that has distinguished Solid GEMS for four decades. But providing that experience has become increasingly expensive.

The costs associated with summer tuition, housing, instructional support, tutoring, programming, food and other student needs continue to rise. Without sufficient resources, the number of students who can participate and the level of comprehensive support the program can provide can be limited.

Continued institutional, state, alumni and philanthropic support will therefore be essential to sustaining and strengthening Solid GEMS for future generations.

The SEBS EOF Program is grateful to the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the EOF administration for its continued support of Solid GEMS and its role in sustaining a program that has made a meaningful difference in students’ lives for four decades.

The need that inspired Solid GEMS in 1986 remains relevant today. Students arrive at Rutgers with ability, ambition and dreams of careers in science, healthcare, research and other STEM fields. What can make the difference is access to the preparation, mentorship and community that allow those abilities to develop.

In closing the 40th anniversary celebration, Moore reflected on the principle that has sustained Solid GEMS throughout its history: talent exists in every community, but opportunity can change the trajectory of a life.

Solid GEMS provides more than academic instruction. It gives students an environment in which they can struggle with challenging material, learn from those struggles, support one another and ultimately experience success. Through that process, students develop confidence, resilience, belonging and the academic skills needed to continue progressing in the sciences.

Forty years after the first summer pilot program, the meaning behind the name remains remarkably fitting.

The students are the gems. The academic preparation helps them shine. And the community surrounding them remains solid.

Kelly Shanklin, SEBS Class of 2030. Photo: Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University

Kelly Shanklin’s road to Rutgers–New Brunswick has been measured in miles and defined by persistence.

The 17-year-old from Clinton Township enters Rutgers–New Brunswick as an Honors College student studying biology on the pre-med track and as a member of the Scarlet Knights women’s cross country and track and field teams.

Shanklin’s curiosity about medicine began during her freshman biology class at North Hunterdon High School.

“I just kind of fell in love with the subject,” she said. “I had a really great teacher who got me very interested in it.”

That same year Shanklin discovered another passion. After playing volleyball in middle school she decided to give cross country a try instead. She quickly emerged as one of New Jersey’s top distance runners.

One of her most memorable early races came on Holmdel Park’s notoriously challenging cross-country course where Shanklin lost a shoe but finished the 5K anyway.

“I got flat tired,” she said. “It was my first time running a cross country 5K, so it was definitely interesting.”

Her resilience would be tested more seriously two years later. Shanklin broke her foot near the end of her junior year cross-country season and underwent surgery the following February. 

“There were definitely times when I doubted if I would be able to get back into the shape I once was,” she said. “But I just continued working hard.”

By the end of her senior track season that work paid off. Shanklin surpassed her previous personal best in the mile, a feat that taught her lessons she will carry to Rutgers and hopefully into a career in medicine.

“Cross country and track and field have definitely taught me a lot about grit and persistence,” Shanklin said. “It also showed me how important it is to keep putting in the work even when you’re not seeing the results that you want.”

Rutgers carries a family connection. Her mother is a Rutgers alumna and current doctoral student. 

“I’m very excited about this new chapter in my life,” she said. “I get to meet new people, try new things. It’s just an exciting new experience.”

This article first appeared in the full Rutgers Today feature, Rutgers Class of 2030 Is Ready to Change the World.

Incoming Rutgers students Priya Soundar and William Bertch tour the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health building on Cook Campus as part of their New Student Orientation session. Soundar and Bertch will join the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences this fall. Photo: Nick Romanenko

New Student Orientation helps thousands of incoming students find community, confidence and their place on campus

In a matter of days, a small city’s worth of new first-year and transfer students will converge on Rutgers University–New Brunswick from across New Jersey, America and the world.

Nearly 7,000 of those incoming students have taken a simple step for a head start on their college transition: Over the summer, they attended two-day New Student Orientation sessions offered by Student Orientation and Transition Programs within the Division of Student Affairs.

According to post-orientation surveys, four of five attendees said the orientation helped them feel more confident about starting at Rutgers; make new friends they’ll meet up with during the first days of the new semester; and feel prouder than ever about joining one of the nation’s top-ranked public universities.

For Priya Soundar, an incoming pre-med student from small-town in New Hampshire, New Student Orientation was about making this vast, faraway institution feel smaller, friendlier and more like home.

“I chose Rutgers because it offers so many research opportunities that can help my path to a medical career, but I was afraid of making friends and fitting in,” said Soundar, who will attend the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “So many Rutgers students are from New Jersey. As someone from out of state, I wanted to make sure I could become part of the community.”

By the end of orientation, those worries faded.

“It wasn’t just the tours that helped us feel comfortable on campus, or learning about the resources that help students,” Soundar said. “We made so many friends within our orientation group. I made friends in the suite I stayed in overnight. All of us ended up meeting so many new people and having so many conversations we might not otherwise have had.”

Student Affairs held more than 20 New Student Orientation sessions between June and August, hosting more than 300 incoming students per session for walking and bus tours, small group icebreakers and games, and personalized information sessions. 

Attendees learn to fill out course schedules, keep track of their academic progress, and manage financial aid information. 

They discover student success resources that will help them stay on track amid the ups and downs of campus life—from Academic Advising and the Learning Centers, to Student Health and counseling services; from the One Stop Student Services Center to the Offices of the Dean of Students–Advocacy, Outreach, and Support; from Career Exploration and Success to the Student Basic Needs Center.

They learn the intricacies of Rutgers’ busing and parking systems, what to bring for living on campus, how to make the most of life as a commuter student, and how to make the most of their meal plans.

Read more in the original news article published on the Division of Student Affairs.

Rosahirene “Rosy” Andrade Cordova tending marigolds at the Student Farm at Healthy Harvest. “A scent that feels like a warm hug from my family in Mexico.”

For Rosahirene “Rosy” Andrade Cordova, gardening began very simply as a hobby in her yard. But as she watched plants grow and discovered the satisfaction of caring for them, she began to recognize something deeper.

“I realized that I had a very strong connection to the process of growing different kinds of plants,” she said. “It was always something that brought me joy growing up.”

Today, that early connection has grown into an academic interest and professional career trajectory. A sophomore majoring in plant science within the horticulture and agriculture track at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), Rosy is gaining practical skills and applied knowledge through an experiential learning opportunity at Healthy Harvest, the SEBS food access and urban agriculture hub on Jones Avenue in New Brunswick.

Her garden-focused project, which began in July and extends into the fall semester, has given her the opportunity to apply concepts from her coursework to an actual urban growing environment while contributing to a community she knows well.

“I grew up in New Brunswick and doing my experiential learning at Healthy Harvest meant I could give back to the place I once grew up in,” she said.

Rosy’s experiential learning project focuses on crop planning for the upcoming growing seasons, building upon her current engagement on site in the urban gardens. Her responsibilities include tracking crop rotation, identifying spacing requirements, determining the number of plants needed for each section of the garden, and preparing a garden layout and design.

Rosahirene “Rosy” Andrade Cordova on one of many days spent learning, growing, and working on the farm.

The work is part of a broader effort to help the urban Student Farm at Healthy Harvest plan effectively for future crop production, which includes growing fresh vegetables that will support food insecure students and community residents.

“Rosy helped create a crop rotation plan for the urban Student Farm at Healthy Harvest this summer,” said Meagan Terry, assistant director of Sustainable Agriculture & Urban Farms at Rutgers Gardens. “It is important to understand which crops can grow appropriately within each season of the year to maximize efficiency in crop production and time, and to minimize pest and disease pressure via crop rotation.”

For Rosy, that means looking at the garden not simply as a collection of individual plants, but as an interconnected system. She researched crop rotation and intercropping—the practice of growing different crops together—and is helping prepare beds for the crop rotation planned for the fall.

One of her learning goals is to understand best practices for sustainable urban food production through hands-on garden preparation, planting and care.

The project also exposes her to the practical considerations that shape what can be grown in an urban community garden, from the amount of available space to appropriate spacing between plants and the timing of different crops.

The urban Student Farm and community garden at Healthy Harvest appeal to Rosy because the growing spaces connect her academic interests with the community where she grew up.

Anahi Nicolas Gaspar, urban farm coordinator and a mentor to Rosy, focuses on growing cultural crops that are commonly enjoyed by New Brunswick residents. For Rosy, that community focus makes the opportunity particularly meaningful.

She is also drawn to the flowers planned for the fall harvest.

“Many of our in-ground beds are for marigolds and celosias, important flowers that will be sold ahead of Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at the end of October,” Terry said.

For Rosy, the flowers carry a significance that extends well beyond the garden.

“I was inspired primarily because of how most of the harvests that I will do in the fall will be celosias and marigolds which are two flowers that are deeply rooted in my culture for Dia de los Muertos,” she said.

One of the marigold beds at the farm grown and tended by Rosy.

The experience has allowed her to see the connection between sustainable agriculture, community needs, and cultural traditions.

“I am Mexican and seeing and smelling so many marigolds fills my heart with a lot of joy because it reminds me of my family back in Mexico,” Rosy said.

Like any hands-on experience, the project came with challenges. For Rosy, one of the first was understanding measurements and spacing.

“When I was doing the model of how I wanted the rotation to look, I kept messing up the spacing of the beds and the aisles and I had to keep redoing it,” she said.

But the repeated adjustments became part of the learning process. Rather than simply being given the correct measurements, Rosy had to work through the problem and develop a plan that would function in the available space.

That kind of practical decision-making is central to experiential learning.

Rosy also developed hands-on skills in planting different crops, working with drip irrigation, and caring for a community garden. Along the way, she has strengthened her communication and teamwork skills.

“I used to always be nervous about speaking up about my ideas but with this project I was able to fully share my thoughts and ideas,” she said.

The experience has helped Rosy see how concepts learned in her plant science courses translate into real-world agricultural decisions.

“This opportunity helped me connect what I have learned in the classroom to real-world situations by allowing me to apply concepts like crop spacing, crop rotation, soil health, irrigation, and plant care into an actual community garden,” she said.

The difference, she explained, was having to make decisions in an environment where there was no single answer provided by an assignment or lecture.

“I had to make decisions based on the available space rather than just learning information off of an assignment or lecture,” Rosy said.

Terry’s description of the project underscores that distinction. Crop planning requires students to consider the timing of production, available space, crop compatibility and strategies for managing pests and disease—not simply understand those concepts in theory.

For Rosy, being trusted with those decisions became an important part of her development.

“This project has influenced my confidence in expressing my thoughts and making decisions for myself,” she said. “I was given the freedom to make choices of crop planning and instead of relying on someone I was able to trust my knowledge and speak up about my ideas.”

The experience also changed how she thinks about mistakes.

“This experience taught me that it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them and now I feel more comfortable taking initiative and trusting myself with larger projects,” she said.

Rosy’s interest in plants began as a childhood hobby. At Rutgers, it has developed into a potential career path.

Rosahirene “Rosy” Andrade Cordova pictured with a successful harvest of fresh chard, gathered straight from the field.

She began volunteering at Rutgers Gardens during her first month of college. Wanting to gain more than volunteer experience, she went on to complete an agricultural internship and now works as a Rutgers Gardens Student Farmer while pursuing a field she is passionate about. Her work has direct impact on the community, as much of the produce grown by the Student Farm at Rutgers Gardens and Healthy Harvest benefits individuals and families at risk for, or experiencing, food insecurity. One way this is taking shape is through a new expansion of the Rutgers Community Farmers Market. Funded through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED NJ) initiative, a new mobile farmers market van will take the market on the road, bringing fresh produce to communities throughout New Brunswick. Rosy’s garden plans, and much of the hands-on work she’s completed this summer, lay the groundwork for this exciting endeavor.

As she continues her plant science studies, Rosy is looking toward obtaining her pesticide applicator’s license and further developing her expertise in horticulture and agriculture. Helping to bring her project to fruition is philanthropic support for student scholarships and experiential learning opportunities at SEBS through the Experiential Connections & Engaged Learning (ExCEL) Lab, including private donations and the New Jersey Committee of the Garden Club of America’s Millicent Mercer Johnsen Scholarship, of which Rosy is a 2026 recipient for her project. Her experience at Healthy Harvest has given her more than technical knowledge. It has helped her connect classroom learning with hands-on practice, contribute to a community that is part of her own story, and gain confidence in her ability to make decisions.

At the community garden, Rosy is not only learning how to grow plants. She is also learning how to grow into her future as an agricultural professional.

Faculty and staff from Rutgers Department of Animal Sciences and Rutgers Gardens gathered with undergraduate and graduate student mentors and incoming cohort of students from LAGCC, OLLU, Texas State, Bergen County College and UPR for USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program on June 22 at Cook Campus Center MPR.

New Sustainable Urban Agriculture track, expanded student cohort and growing institutional partnerships highlight the USDA-funded initiative preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

The USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) concluded its third summer on July 10 with a closing ceremony at the Douglass Student Center, Trayes Hall, on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus. The intensive residential experience served 36 students across three experiential learning tracks while bringing together faculty, mentors and leaders from partner institutions across the country, underscoring the program’s growing national reach.

Animal Science Discovery Program students with horse from the RU Teaching Herd.

Now in the third year of its five-year, $4.5 million USDA NIFA NEXTGEN award, ANSCId is a joint initiative between LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC)—a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution within the City University of New York system—and Rutgers University. Through immersive experiential learning, research, and mentoring, the program prepares a highly skilled workforce for careers in agriculture, food systems, veterinary medicine, and related sciences. It creates an educational pathway from New York City high schools to LAGCC and ultimately Rutgers, providing under-resourced students opportunities to pursue careers in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH) workforce.

“Each year we see students arrive unsure whether there is a place for them in this field, and leave knowing that there is,” said Aparna Zama, ANSCId Project Director and teaching professor and director of the undergraduate program in animal sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). “Watching that transformation happen for a third cohort—and now across three different tracks—tells us that this model works.”

Preethi Radhakrishnan, ANSCId PI/Project Director at LAGCC noted that “this pipeline model has led to the first ever animal science major being established in NYC. Over 200 students are now enrolled in the environmental science major-animal science track at LAGCC.” Ten students have transferred from LAGCC to Rutgers University on ANSCId scholarships with one student graduating in January 2026, three more expected to graduate in Spring 2027, and six others by Spring 2028.

Students participating in cell and tissue culture labs in Foran 104.

ANSCId was launched in 2024 with two tracks—the Summer Experiential Learning Program (SELP) and the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). This year it added a third, Sustainable Urban Agriculture (SUA), expanding its focus to include community gardens, urban food production and food security.

“I’m so glad Rutgers Gardens was able to host the urban agriculture pilot program,” said Lauren Errickson, director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship. “Connecting students and community members around food and gardening is at the core of our work at Healthy Harvest, and it was wonderful to have the LAGCC students make meaningful contributions alongside our team while gaining hands-on learning experience.”

Assistant director, Meagan Terry, added “The LAGCC urban agriculture students jumped right in with our teams on both the Rutgers Gardens Student Farm as well as our Healthy Harvest urban agriculture expansion of both the community garden and in-ground food production. Through rain, extreme heat, and everything-in-between they displayed positivity, tenacity, and grit alongside our crew seven hours each day. We are grateful for their contributions to expand our growing areas with Healthy Harvest, and for participating in all farm activities during their three weeks.  We hope to continue learning from each other and stay connected as they progress in their urban agriculture journey”. 

This summer’s cohort included 29 students in SELP, four in SURE and three in the inaugural SUA track. Participants explored veterinary and human health careers through anatomy laboratories, animal handling and husbandry, cell culture, laboratory and field research, sustainable urban agriculture, community gardens and farmers market operations. All three tracks incorporated USDA workforce development activities, including résumé writing, interview preparation and career exploration.

From left to right, Ed Sanchez (BCC), Aparna Zama (Rutgers), Douglas Morrish (Texas State University), and Chuck Keeton (Vice Provost of Experiential Learning, Rutgers-New Brunswick).

A hallmark of the program’s growth this year was the participation of students and faculty from Our Lady of the Lake University, Texas State University, the University of Puerto Rico, and Bergen Community College. Speakers at the closing ceremony included Doug Morrish, associate dean for Student Success in the College of Science and Engineering at Texas State University and project director of the Texas State RAISE NEXTGEN grant, and Edward Sanchez, project director of the Bergen NEXTGEN Program for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Their participation reflected ANSCId’s growing role within a national network of institutions preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

Morrish said, “We were honored to participate in the USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program offered by Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. This program provided six Texas State University Department of Agricultural Sciences students with an exceptional experiential learning opportunity. Through hands-on exposure to animal science research, industry innovation, and career development, these students gained valuable skills and professional networks that will help prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in agriculture. This investment by USDA NIFA strengthens our commitment to developing a highly skilled agricultural workforce capable of addressing the evolving challenges and opportunities facing animal agriculture.”

“Animals are special creatures who need special people to understand and care for them,” said Sanchez. “The Rutgers Animal Science Discovery Program successfully united a cohort of students with the compassion to provide that care. They are the next leaders in animal stewardship.”

Morrish and Sanchez were joined by Rutgers leaders Laura Lawson, Executive Dean of SEBS; Ann Gould, Dean of Academic Programs at SEBS; Chuck Keeton, Vice Provost of Experiential Learning at Rutgers–New Brunswick; and Carolyn Moehling, Senior Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

“The students had incredible experiences and learned so much about animal science as a field and a career,” said Keeton. “They worked really hard and flourished thanks to support and encouragement from many Rutgers faculty, staff and students. All in all, this program is a model of immersive, hands-on learning.”

Christopher Nytch, project director of the IINSTAR-AS NEXTGEN Project at the University of Puerto Rico, said, “We are thrilled and appreciative that two undergraduate fellows from the IINSTAR-AS project at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus could participate in the Summer 2026 Animal Science Discovery Program at Rutgers University. The experience provided unmatched practical training in animal sciences, offering a unique perspective that enriches our students’ academic journeys in environmental sciences and directly aligns with the goals of the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN program.”

With three established learning tracks, expanding institutional partnerships and a growing network of NEXTGEN collaborators, ANSCId enters the second half of its USDA NIFA award positioned to deepen its impact. The initiative reflects Rutgers’ commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and preparing a workforce equipped to address the future challenges of FANH careers.

“This is bigger than any one campus,” Zama said. “It takes faculty, staff, undergraduate peer mentors, graduate student mentors, community college partners, and now sister programs in other states all pulling together in the same direction. We are grateful for the continued funding from USDA NIFA, which supports American farmers, ranchers and producers while strengthening veterinary education and biomedical research.”

Students holding piglets in front of the farrowing house at the Rutgers Farm.

ABOUT ANSCId
The Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) is a five-year, $4.5 million initiative funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under its “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals” (NEXTGEN) program. A partnership between LaGuardia Community College and Rutgers University–New Brunswick, ANSCId provides paid experiential learning, transfer scholarships, peer mentoring, and career development to build a  pipeline of professionals in animal science and related fields. ANSCId is one of 33 programs funded under the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN initiative, a $262.5 million investment supporting training for more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders nationwide. At Rutgers, the program builds on an articulation agreement that allows LAGCC students who earn an associate’s degree in environmental science with an animal science focus to seamlessly transfer and complete an undergraduate degree in animal sciences. The program also supports its participants through ANSCId scholarships for LAGCC students, reinforcing the transfer-and-completion pipeline at the heart of the initiative.

From left: Shea Cinquemani, Emory Barrett and Esha Nauman.

Three Rutgers undergraduates achieved first-author status in peer-reviewed journals, transforming their marine science class projects into published research before graduation.

The work grew out of a course taught by Richard Lutz, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a renowned oceanographer known for his research on hydrothermal vents. These sunless, deep-sea ecosystems, fueled by geochemical energy, offer insights into Earth’s origins and guide the search for extraterrestrial life.

In his “Hydrothermal Vents” course, Lutz assigns each student a scientific paper to expand into a comprehensive review. The exercise requires students to engage deeply with the research and think and write as scientists, synthesizing findings across the field.

“Normally, I spend four to five hours grading each paper, and there’s a lot of red ink,” said Lutz, who has taught the course for nearly three decades.

Most papers stop at the final grade – but three continued beyond the classroom.

Esha Nauman, a cell biology and neuroscience major with a minor in marine science, examined hydrothermal vents to better understand the biological limits of life and the increasing threats from deep-sea activity, including fracking. Her paper was published in Oceans in January 2026.

Nauman, who graduated in 2025 and is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey is now working as a medical scribe at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital while awaiting decisions on her medical school applications.

The publication process, Nauman said, changed how she approaches feedback and revision.

“Reviewers go line by line, and you have to justify everything,” she said. “Dr. Lutz guided me throughout the process and gave me direction, especially when I wasn’t sure where to go.”

Learning to accept criticism was part of that process.

“It taught me to be open-minded, especially when it comes to constructive criticism,” she said. “As a doctor, you’re going to get feedback from residents, attendings, even patients. It’s important to be receptive and not take it personally. It made me a stronger writer.”

Shea Cinquemani’s project pushed her into unfamiliar territory. Her paper, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering March 2026, examined how asteroid impacts on early Earth may have created “hydrothermal cradles” capable of supporting the emergence of life. 

The work drew on data from sites such as the Chicxulub crater, showing how impact-generated heat sustained freshwater vent systems that provided the chemicals and energy for early life. 

“My assignment was to investigate whether hydrothermal vents on Mars could have sparked life,” she said. “At first, I knew nothing about the topic and wasn’t certain how to even begin.”

She expanded the class assignment into a paper that went through months of peer review, extending beyond her graduation in May 2025, with the final version published the following year. The research was later published in the science section of Popular Mechanics.

Cinquemani, a native of Frenchtown, New Jersey, is working in aquaculture and continuing to build on her interests in marine science.

Emory Barrett, who will earn his bachelor’s degree in May from the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences in biological oceanography, explored the potential for life in extreme environments beyond Earth. His paper, published in October in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science, focused on the possibility of chemoautotrophy on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, examining how microbes might generate energy by oxidizing inorganic compounds in the absence of sunlight.

All three papers listed the students as lead authors, with Lutz as the corresponding author.

For Barrett, the experience offered a foundation for what comes next. Barrett, of Milford, New Jersey, is preparing to begin a doctoral degree program in oceanography at Rutgers, where he will conduct pilot studies this summer at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, a Rutgers field station in South Jersey. The laboratory focuses on the sustainable management and cultivation of shellfish, supporting coastal ecosystems and aquaculture development across the region.

Publishing as an undergraduate can shape the next phase of a career.

“It showed I could do this kind of work before even starting a Ph.D.,” Barrett said. “It’s an added layer of confidence, knowing I’ve already been through the process before.”

The publication process required persistence. In Cinquemani’s case, the work underwent extensive scrutiny before acceptance.

“It took about a year to get the paper into publishable shape,” Lutz said. “One of the reviewers was a leading expert in the field, and there were roughly 15 pages of comments across five rounds of review.”

Lutz, who has conducted more than 85 deep-sea dives and authored nearly 200 papers, said the experience reflects both the rigor of the course and the level of work the students were able to achieve.

At this stage in his career, Lutz said his focus is on mentoring the next generation of scientists.

“I’ve received many awards over the years, but none of that compares to seeing students succeed like this,” he said. “Toward the end of the course, one of the students gave me a leather-bound journal with a note that brought me to tears. On the cover, it said, ‘Great leaders inspire greatness in others.’ That means more to me than anything else.”

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

Site sketches.

What if a walk across campus could be as restorative as it is educational?

That question is inspiring a new vision for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), where faculty, students, and campus leaders are exploring how the grounds of the George H. Cook Campus might evolve into a Health and Wellness Arboretum—a living landscape that supports learning, research, environmental stewardship, and human well-being.

For generations, college campuses have served as shared spaces where students, faculty, and staff live, work, study, and connect. At SEBS, the campus already offers a rich mosaic of forests, farms, gardens, open spaces, and historic landscapes. The emerging Health and Wellness Arboretum concept asks a simple but transformative question: How might these landscapes be intentionally connected and enhanced to support the health of both people and the environment?

This spring, students in the Planting Design course taught by Holly Grace Nelson, professor of practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture, took on that challenge. Through a semester-long design exploration, students imagined the campus as more than a collection of labeled trees. Instead, they envisioned a network of themed “tree gardens” and health and wellness landscapes linked by an arboretum loop that would connect existing forests, trails, agricultural lands, gardens, and other campus features.

Their vision builds upon the traditional role of an arboretum as a living museum dedicated to the cultivation, study, and conservation of trees and woody plants. While arboreta have long served as centers for scientific research, education, biodiversity conservation, and recreation, the Health and Wellness Arboretum expands that mission by intentionally integrating human wellness into the landscape experience.

The project began with listening.

Students organized a design charrette that brought together faculty, staff, and students from across the campus community to discuss what makes outdoor spaces meaningful, welcoming, and restorative. The conversations generated ideas about accessibility, environmental education, quiet reflection, social connection, and opportunities for physical activity.

Jason Grabosky, professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, and director of the Rutgers Urban Forestry Program, shared his work documenting and geolocating significant campus trees. His insights highlighted the extraordinary diversity of the campus landscape and the ecological stories already embedded within its forests and tree collections.

Patty Oehmke, director of wellness at SEBS and professor of practice in the Department of Family and Community Health Sciences, encouraged students to think beyond traditional notions of health. Drawing on the eight dimensions of wellness, she challenged participants to consider how landscapes might support emotional, social, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, occupational, environmental, and physical well-being.

The resulting ideas ranged from contemplative garden spaces and outdoor classrooms to sensory plantings, wellness walking routes, interpretive signage, gathering spaces, and immersive nature experiences designed to encourage reflection, movement, and connection.

The initiative aligns closely with Rutgers’ broader commitment to sustainability and environmental leadership. Increasingly, colleges and universities are recognizing that campus landscapes can serve multiple purposes simultaneously—as classrooms, research sites, biodiversity refuges, community gathering spaces, and places that contribute to mental and physical health.

A Health and Wellness Arboretum also reflects the growing understanding that human health is deeply connected to environmental health. Exposure to nature has been associated with reduced stress, improved mood, enhanced cognitive function, and increased opportunities for physical activity. By weaving these principles into the design and management of campus landscapes, institutions can create environments that actively support learning and well-being.

The concept continues to gain momentum this summer as landscape architecture junior Saanvi Bhattarai further develops some of the most promising ideas through the Public Design Internship Program in Landscape Architecture, funded through a grant secured by Nelson. Based in Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations, Bhattarai is working with Brian Clemson, University Landscape Architect, to explore how student-generated concepts might inform future campus planning efforts. Co-directed by Clemson and Nelson, the internship provides an opportunity to advance the Health and Wellness Arboretum vision beyond the classroom, connecting academic design exploration with real-world campus planning and landscape stewardship.

For Nelson, the initiative represents an opportunity to connect the strengths of SEBS—its expertise in environmental science, agriculture, ecology, design, and human well-being—into a unified vision for the future.

“A Health and Wellness Arboretum ties together our campus grounds with our campus mission for a healthy and sustainable future,” Nelson said. “It invites us to think about how every landscape can support learning, stewardship, community, and wellness while reinforcing our responsibility to balance the wellbeing of all living organisms with the health of the earth.”

As the concept evolves, the Health and Wellness Arboretum offers a compelling vision for what a modern land-grant campus can be: a living laboratory, a place of discovery, and a landscape designed not only to educate, but also to nurture.

Assistant Professor Fiorella Prada, the 2026 AZ Teacher of the Year at SEBS Convocation.

Fiorella Prada, assistant professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, was named the 2026 Alpha Zeta Professor of the Year at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). Prada was first recognized at the school’s Baccalaureate where she was presented with a certificate by Alpha Zeta.

Fiorella Prada at SEBS Baccalaureate with her certificate for 2026 AZ Teacher of the Year.

Prada joined Rutgers in November 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and was promoted to assistant professor in September 2023.

Her passion for ocean science began early while growing up in Mozambique, where she moved with her parents at the age of three, and where the Indian Ocean served as both her backyard and her first “natural laboratory.” Fascinated by the coral fragments and marine life she encountered, she developed the curiosity that would eventually shape her career in marine science and oceanography. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science and a master’s degree in Ecology from the University of Parma (Italy). This was followed by a Ph.D. in Biodiversity and Evolution in 2014 from the University of Bologna (Italy).

Today, her research broadly focuses on the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on marine environments. Her teaching inspires students to actively engage with scientific discovery as she describes below.

“I aim to bring students into the practice of science rather than simply teaching them about it. I see teaching and research as inseparable: my research strengthens my teaching, while my students continuously challenge and refine how I think and communicate science,” said Prada.

“I strive to create an environment where curiosity, enthusiasm, and hands-on experience make ocean science both accessible and engaging, and where students feel part of the scientific process rather than observers of it,” she added.

Prada’s passion for teaching and mentorship has left a lasting impression on her students, many of whom describe her as both an inspiring educator and a compassionate mentor:

Dr. Prada truly deserves all of the recognition she receives as such a thoughtful and enthusiastic professor whom I’ve had the pleasure of being taught by! She’s made me feel eager to learn and consistently encourages her students to succeed in their pursuits. – Victoria Samuel

Dr. Prada is the first person to support students academically, personally, and professionally with unrelenting enthusiasm. Dr. Prada is the coolest role model who gives the best advice and truly inspires all to work hard and enjoy the work they do. – Amaya Baez and Natalie Dinerman

Dr. Prada is incredibly passionate about the work she does, and this passion makes being taught by her truly a wonderful experience. She is a professor who cares deeply about her students and their success. I feel very fortunate to have taken classes with her. – Olivia Loya

The students’ words of praise and deep appreciation are for a teacher whose impact has extended far beyond the classroom, inspiring students to move into the world with confidence, curiosity, and a lasting commitment to excellence, compassion and discovery.

Learn more about the work of 2026 Alpha Zeta Teacher of the Year awardee in a previous Newsroom story.

Students, faculty and community members work together to plant thousands of native trees and shrubs.

On a patch of Livingston campus once covered in asphalt, Rutgers University-New Brunswick students are planting the beginnings of a forest, one designed not just to grow quickly but to bring people into the work of reforestation.

The transformation is part of the Livingston Abandoned Roadway Environmental Restoration project, which replaces an obsolete roadway dating back to the Camp Kilmer World War II staging ground with a dense planting of native species using the Miyawaki method, a fast-growing approach to reforestation that rebuilds soil and layers vegetation to accelerate natural growth.

But the project is about more than ecology.

“This is as much about people as it is about trees,” said Josh Kover SEBS’25, a graduate student in landscape architecture who designed the forest as part of his honors thesis and has helped lead the effort. “We’re thinking about how to build a culture of stewardship, how to make environmental work something that feels accessible, communal and lasting.”

Josh Kover, SEBS’25, who is working towards a master’s degree in landscape architecture, helps community participants plant trees at the Livingston Abandoned Roadway Environmental Restoration site.

Kover spent more than a year designing the site alongside faculty and university partners, including Jason Grabosky, a professor in the Rutgers Urban Forestry Program, working to recreate the complexity of a natural ecosystem in a highly managed environment. 

“We’re trying to design a system that works like a natural forest from day one, instead of waiting decades for it to get there,” Kover said. “The goal was to create something that’s not just planted, but functional, something that can sustain itself over time.”

That meant rebuilding the soil, carefully selecting native species and planting densely across layers, from canopy trees to shrubs to groundcover, to create the conditions for a self-sustaining system.

The project is supported by a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stormwater grant funded through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act. The concept was developed by Brian Clemson, the university’s landscape architect, who serves as principal investigator of the project. He worked with staff in Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations and faculty to shape the site not only as a stormwater solution, but as a living lab for teaching, research and environmental restoration. 

Operations and faculty to shape the site not only as a stormwater solution, but as a living lab for teaching, research and environmental restoration. 

“This is a significant and unique opportunity,” said Clemson. “The roadway had been abandoned for decades. It is almost a once in a lifetime professional career opportunity.”

This will enable current and future students and researchers an opportunity to study how forests, forest ecosystems and forest soils form and evolve, explained Clemson.

The project reflects a broader shift in how institutions think about land use.

“It’s rare to see a place decide a roadway is no longer necessary and even rarer to turn it into something that functions as an environmental asset,” Kover said. “It’s already a model for what you can do with old transportation corridors when they’re no longer in use.”

Professor Jason Grabosky speaks with participants at the Rutgers Tree Planting Festival.

The Miyawaki method, developed in Japan, has gained traction globally as communities look for ways to restore green space quickly. In New Jersey, a small but increasing number of sites have adopted the approach, though the practice remains relatively new in the United States.

Kover said the method is widely used but still being studied. Even so, he said, the growing interest has value.

“People are still doing the right things, planting native species, thinking about soil, thinking about systems,” he said. “And that’s a big step in the right direction.”

At Rutgers, the site will serve as a living lab. Researchers plan to study soil microbes, plant competition and long-term forest health, helping build a clearer understanding of how dense, fast-growing forests develop.

“This gives us a chance to answer some of those open questions while the forest is actually developing,” Kover said. “It’s not just a planting. It’s something we’ll be able to study for years.”

For Kover, the science is only half the story.

“The environmental benefits matter, but they don’t go very far if people don’t feel connected to them,” he said. “If no one knows about a project like this, it doesn’t reach its full potential.”

That vision came to life during the Rutgers Tree Planting Festival, a student-led, university-wide initiative designed not just to plant trees, but to bring people into the process. Held April 18, the festival drew more than 500 attendees, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and local residents, around a common goal: Plant 3,000 trees and, in the process, lay the foundation for a dense, fast-growing native forest.

“If I’d never attended the tree planting festival, I’d have thought that reforesting an area was an unfathomably difficult task that probably involved luck and the passage of thousands of years,” said Vikram Kadayan, who graduated from the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences in 2025 with a degree in computer science. “One tree planting festival later, I learned it’s actually an approachable process that I got to be a part of. And all the while, I got to listen to great music, learn about the natural world around me and enjoy delicious empanadas.”

The event combined hands-on planting with music, art and opportunities to learn, reflecting what Kover said is a critical piece of climate work that is often overlooked.

Read more in the full Rutgers Today article.