Adina Cazacu-De Luca

Undergraduate Fellow

“I went through both the high school SIFT (Shaw Institute for Field Training) and TERA (Tyson Environmental Research Apprenticeship) programs. The first summer was more of a training program when I hopped around different Tyson labs, and last summer I was a high school fellow with the Mangan Lab.

Going back this summer, I had no clue whether I wanted to continue with ecology. Then I attended an Academy of Science public lecture at Urban Chestnut, and Brett Seymoure was presenting about how light pollution affects insects. I thought it was the coolest thing—it's a direct consequence of urbanization and development on ecological systems. I wanted to get involved, so I reached out to him afterwards. And here I am now.”

Earlier you discussed how you are doing data analysis and bug identification remotely. What is it like to work with your team virtually as opposed to past summers?

“One of the really lovely things about Tyson is the community. Remotely now, we still have weekly Zoom lab meetings. Brett makes really cringey Dad jokes...and Shayan always has really sick earrings—one time they were plastic bags with little fish in them. I feel like we have a rapport between the three of us.

The thing that sticks in my memory from last summer is being outside, either in the mesocosms or the research gardens. The process of collecting data meant being outside, surrounded by wildflowers and bees and butterflies.

Last summer I was also learning data analysis and making graphs in Excel. But as I was making those graphs, I associated it with being outside. I collected those data points. This summer, even though I know exactly what Brett is doing when he’s collecting data in the field and he shares videos and photos with us, I still feel the tiniest amount of disconnect because I don’t get to experience every step of the process. I need to just get over it.”

Adina is an alum of the SIFT and TERA programs and worked with Brett Seymoure's Light Pollution team during summer 2020. Learn more about their research into the effects of light pollution on wildlife behavior here.