Science Foundation’s International Research Experience (IRE) in Guatemala, Jimenez was the first student he told. Shortly after her acceptance into the program, however, the trip was postponed due to political unrest. Undeterred, Jimenez continued to explore opportunities with the National Science Foundation. She discovered the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, which offered small groups of students the opportunity to travel and conduct authentic fieldwork and research. With the support of Soltis and Rebecca Franks, her career coach at the Stephen F. Fry Professional Edge Center, Jimenez applied. Out of more than 300 applicants from universities across the country, Jimenez was one of just eight students selected. In the summer of 2024, Jimenez traveled to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico where she joined the REU program’s inorganic chemistry group. Together, Jimenez and her team investigated groundwater contamination caused by tourism expansion. “There’s a lot of construction in the area due to tourism, especially with the addition of the Mayan train,” explained Jimenez. “Our field sites were within that path, so I wanted to see if any of the construction had leached heavy metals into the groundwater and I found more than I thought I would.” “One of our most important roles as geologists is keeping people safe and healthy,” Soltis said. “Diana’s work in the Yucatán is critical
GUATEMALA
in monitoring the health of the water resources there, ensuring it is safe for consumption and to better understand and mitigate the impacts of pollution associated with tourism. Though tourism brings great economic opportunity for the region, it also creates potential dangers in the form of pollution of groundwater resources.” In addition to fieldwork, Jimenez gained valuable
“My UIndy courses prepared me to handle the data and conduct preliminary research, but being out in the field is a completely different experience. It was cool to see how I could translate what I learned in class out in the real world.”
MEXICO
GUATEMALA
—Diana Jimenez ’25 (Earth-Space Science)
experience analyzing and presenting scientific data. After returning from the Yucatán, she created a research poster detailing her team’s findings and presented it at a small symposium. While some students choose to expand their REU research into graduate thesis work, Jimenez saw the experience primarily as an opportunity to grow her field skills and contribute to real-world problem solving.
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MAGAZINE // SPRING 2025
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