Anne Martinez '26

Hello! My name is Anne Martinez, I am in the class of 2026 and I am majoring in chemistry. I was funded by the Percina Tanasi Fund for Environmental Studies Internship Grant. The research was based in the KINSC building on Haverford’s campus and I, along with four other students, have been working with visiting professor Lee Dietterich throughout the course of the summer.

This research project revolved around ecology and heavy metal pollution in plant species. The Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Palmerton, Pennsylvania contained a zinc smelting plant that released large concentrations of heavy metals. These metals accumulated in plant tissue and affected their growth for over 90 years. Since the removal of the smelters, phytoremediation techniques have been utilized to combat high levels of contamination and restore the state park to its previous biodiversity. The main species in question for this project are agrostis perennans (autumn bentgrass),andropogon gerardii (big bluestem), betula populifolia (grey birch), and sassafras albidum (sassafras). In the efforts of remediation, aspects of plant growth such as root morphology and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization can be studied to assess the effects of soil metals on succession and individual species. 

The work contributed to this project has been working with the roots that we collected. I initially went in May to collect spring samples for the four species whilst the summer has been spent on collecting data. I, along with the other students, have washed the roots, snipped and cut them for scanning, and stained and analyzed said root samples for AMF colonization. From the beginning of the summer, I knew that I wanted to do some variety of research because it has been something I’ve thought about as a potential career option in the future. This has given me a better sense of what the research workflow is like while also giving me a better scope of my interests.  My experience in doing this for the first time was incredibly informative and I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity. I greatly appreciate working with Lee Dietterich, it has been an amazing experience and the passion for the work is simply just contagious! I truly look forward to participating in more research in the future, no matter which area of science it may be.