Studying the sea
Photos courtesy of Nicole Gutkowski May 20, 2024
Graduating senior Nicole Gutkowski reflects on time at UD, interest in marine science
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that graduating senior Nicole Gutkowski, who’s from the “Ocean State” of Rhode Island and whose parents worked in STEM fields, decided to study marine science at the University of Delaware.
Still, as she reflects on her experience at UD and looks toward the future, Gutkowski is thankful for all the academic and research opportunities, as well as personal experiences, the University afforded her over the past four years.
“I truly feel that Delaware is a great place to be an undergraduate student in marine science,” said Gutkowski, who is a marine science major with a concentration in oceanography in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. “If I had to go back and do it again, I would do the same thing.”
Gutkowski, a distinguished scholar in the Honors College, said her interest in marine science started at a young age. Along with her twin brother, Gutkowski spent her summers attending STEM-themed summer camps, going out on boats doing sampling collections and learning about phytoplankton and chlorophyll.
“A lot of those experiences helped me realize that I liked science and I wanted to continue to learn more,” said Gutkowski, who also has minors in chemistry and statistical data analytics. “In addition, I took a marine biology class in high school and one day, at the very end of the day, I remember thinking that the class solidified for me, ‘OK, this is what I’m interested in and what I want to continue pursuing.’”
Wanting to travel out-of-state for college, Gutkowski chose UD because of the campus environment and the marine science program.
“There were a lot of opportunities, such as the Semester-in-Residence program and the study abroad programs, that drew me in,” said Gutkowski, who is advised at UD by Gerald Kauffman, director of UD’s Water Resources Center. “I thought UD seemed like a place where I would have a lot of opportunities to explore different things and that was what I wanted to get out of my undergraduate career.”
In addition, she also liked that UD was close to major cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore.
“Using the train station on the Newark campus, my friends and I have been able to easily ride the train to sports games, such as the Phillies and Flyers, or to just explore the cities for day trips,” she said.
Gutkowski conducted undergraduate research at UD with both Mi-Ling Li, assistant professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology, and Andrew Wozniak, associate professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy.
With Li, Gutkowski worked through the Delaware Water Resources Center to study mussels as biological monitors for mercury contamination. Gutkowski’s work with Wozniak was focused on investigating dissolved organic matter dynamics in the inland bays.
“That work involved a lot of field sampling, and I got to write up different reports. I also got to present my findings through each of those internships,” Gutkowski said.
Last summer, she took part in a program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison known as the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program during which she worked in the soil sciences department and looked at soil moisture mapping using citizen science. Currently, she’s once again working through the Delaware Water Resources Center, this time working on a project looking at per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
Gutkowski is a member of Epsilon ETA, the environmental fraternity on campus; serves as the treasurer of the Earth, Ocean and Environment club; and has played intramural sports every semester they have been offered, with her favorites including volleyball, softball and soccer.
One aspect of her time at UD that stood out to Gutkowski was when she participated in the Semester-in-Residence program at UD’s Lewes campus. The program, which is an intensive residential research experience for undergraduate marine science majors, was one of her favorite experiences at UD.
“I would absolutely recommend the Semester-in-Residence program. I think that was such an incredible experience,” she said. “It was an immersive marine science opportunity. Half of our classes were going out on the boat and taking field samples then coming back to work as a team and develop future research or sampling plans and project proposals. It was a great experience and it was reassuring to know, this is what I want to do and keep doing.”
As for what she has planned next, Gutkowski said she wants to go to graduate school and pursue a master’s degree, and that she can see herself working for a government agency or a consulting firm.
“For graduate school, I want to go more into the environmental management fields,” she said. “I am kind of shifting from oceanography into a more freshwater, terrestrial environment focus. I learned that I like looking at human impacts and seeing how what we are doing to the environment is impacting our water quality and the health of the marine systems.”
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