Gillian Stewart ’94 Visits Hackley’s ISRP and Chemistry Classes
Marine geobiochemist Dr. Gillian Stewart ’94 returned to the Hilltop on April 17 to speak with Independent Science Research Program and Chemistry classes. Dr. Stewart is a professor at Queens College, with a research interest in the interactions between organisms and elemental cycling, particularly in the ocean. She is also the author of a new textbook, Oceanography: An Interdisciplinary Approach, set to release this fall.
During her visit, Professor Stewart discussed her research journey to develop a novel technique to use naturally occurring polonium-210 to understand carbon capture by the Earth’s oceans. Her message to “challenge the assumptions in the field to drive new research questions” resonated with one student.
Another student found it fascinating that Professor Stewart “was talking about how she was always interrogating and questioning the status quo of how things in her field were done. What was the standard way of doing this methodology and why is that? Are there any problems with this and how can it be improved? And even when there were improvements that she herself made, she applied the same critical eye to it.” In her talk, Professor Stewart credited her teachers and time at Hackley for instilling in her a mentality and curiosity to always question the world around us.
Another student found it fascinating that Professor Stewart “was talking about how she was always interrogating and questioning the status quo of how things in her field were done. What was the standard way of doing this methodology and why is that? Are there any problems with this and how can it be improved? And even when there were improvements that she herself made, she applied the same critical eye to it.” In her talk, Professor Stewart credited her teachers and time at Hackley for instilling in her a mentality and curiosity to always question the world around us.
All alumni/parents with present or past experiences in scientific research have a standing invitation to visit the Independent Science Research Program. Our future scientists love hearing your stories, and these talks are formative to their careers. If you are interested, please reach out to Dr. Andrew Ying at aying@hackleyschool.org.
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