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Home » News » New York State » NSF grant fuels microplastic research in Finger Lakes led by Professor Nan Arens

NSF grant fuels microplastic research in Finger Lakes led by Professor Nan Arens

  • / Updated:
  • Staff Report 

A prestigious National Science Foundation grant is powering a major expansion of microplastic pollution research across the Finger Lakes watershed, thanks to Hobart and William Smith Colleges Professor of Geoscience Nan Crystal Arens.

The $358,976 NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant will support a three-year collaborative project titled “Microplastic Sources, Sinks, Transport and Environmental Impact across the Finger Lakes Watershed.” The research brings together faculty and students from HWS and The City College of New York.


“This is an amazing learning opportunity for our student participants to grow as scientists,” said Arens. “To engage in hands-on, cutting-edge research on microplastic pollution empowers students to contribute to meaningful scientific inquiry while preparing them to address pressing environmental challenges.”

Each year through 2027, 12 students will join the research team. They will begin with five weeks of project design and fieldwork at HWS, followed by laboratory analysis at CCNY. Professors Meghan Brown (Biology) and Walter Bowyer (Chemistry) will serve as research mentors alongside Arens.

Students will study how microplastics move through the watershed and how they enter food and water systems. “There are many ways that microplastics might be harmful to humans, but we don’t have a ton of evidence compiled yet,” Arens noted.

The project grew from pandemic-era adaptations that reimagined research without student travel. At that time, no microplastic research had been documented in the Finger Lakes. Arens launched the effort with support from the family of late geoscience student Jacob Kotcher ’20, whose legacy helped fund the original lab equipment.

Since then, the program has produced two Honors theses and several national conference presentations. Alumni Chase Bell ’22 and Heather Kerns ’24 both presented their findings at gatherings of the Geological Society of America and the American Chemical Society.



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