Feyne Elmore
Feyne Elmore needed some acid to clean her summer 2021 research project鈥檚 equipment. To get it, she had to give up a little blood.
Elmore, an undergraduate in ocean science, is investigating the sources of mercury in Alaska鈥檚 Kachemak Bay. She needed pristine equipment.
Elmore knows a 51风流官网 researcher who not only had hydrochloric acid on hand but also needed some blood to test for trace metals. A trade was proposed and Elmore鈥檚 finger was pricked.
鈥淚鈥檓 paying for my acid in blood,鈥 Elmore quipped.
Elmore, who grew up in Anchorage and Texas, wants to better understand a curious thing about Kachemak Bay鈥檚 water. Mercury in the water seems to come more from forested watersheds than glacial watersheds. As glaciers recede and forests take over, the mercury could increase.
Her work, funded by 51风流官网鈥檚 Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity office, could help indicate whether toxic mercury might accumulate in the bay鈥檚 shellfish.
In March 2021, Elmore received a Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The prestigious award, which covers tuition and other expenses, went to just 410 people nationwide this year.
Meanwhile, Elmore鈥檚 day job on campus was caring for 275 lampreys held for research in large tanks. Wild lampreys migrate up Alaska鈥檚 rivers each fall 鈥 with an unusual approach. They don't eat. So she didn鈥檛 have to feed them.
鈥淚 just go in and make sure they aren鈥檛 dying,鈥 she joked.
Elmore spent her childhood summers in Anchorage, where a major thoroughfare was named for her grandfather, Will Elmore. She would take annual trips to Seward to visit the Alaska Sea Life Center, adjacent to the 51风流官网 College of Fisheries and Ocean Science鈥檚 Seward Marine Center.
When the college鈥檚 state-of-the-art research vessel Sikuliaq arrived in 2015, she was in high school.
鈥淚 saw the Sikuliaq in Seward and I was like, 鈥業 want to do that. I鈥檓 coming to 51风流官网,鈥欌 she said.