Research Insights Series: An Interview with Gemma M. Sahwell

Posted on by Rebecca Cho

An image of Gemma Sahwell
Gemma M. Sahwell 
PhD Candidate, Princeton University, Department of Geosciences

As a Geosciences major, I am fascinated by ocean biogeochemical cycling and reconstruction of past climates and marine environments by way of biological proxies. Yet, I have also found myself intrigued in environmental movements and storytelling, particularly with the narratives of the land histories of indigenous communities in the backdrop of anthropogenic climate change and U.S. colonial history. 

With growing interest in both fields, I enrolled in Professor Allison Carruth’s ENV238: Environmental Movements: From Wilderness Protection to Climate Justice. Here, with luck, I met an incredible preceptor who shed some light on the interdisciplinary nature of her research and inspired me to delve deeper into my own multifaceted interests. 

A PhD candidate student in the Geosciences department, Gemma M. Sahwell is currently a member of both the Blue Lab and the Higgins Research Laboratory. Curious, I reached out to her to see if I could speak with her a bit about her research. 

Join me below to hear about her experience.

Continue reading Research Insights Series: An Interview with Gemma M. Sahwell

The Daunting Search for a Research Topic and Question: Where Should I Begin?

Posted on by Ryan Champeau

Firestone is not only beautiful in person, but its virtual resources can also provide you with the necessary tools to begin your research journey

     I know the feeling all too well of sitting down to write a paper and debating for hours about which topic to choose. There are thousands of research questions to explore, so how could you possibly decide on one, and better yet devise a significant and impactful paper from it? These thoughts have swirled through my head just this past week as I sat down to write a paper for one of my law courses. There was so much information that I wanted to include, therefore I struggled to pick one topic. So if you are feeling this way too, remember that you are not not the only one who has encountered these obstacles. I would like to share with you the strategy that I use to break out of this rut and discover a topic and question that I’m both passionate about and can conduct appropriate research on. This is by no means the only way to break you out of a tough writers block, but hopefully my advice can help you move along on your research journey.

Continue reading The Daunting Search for a Research Topic and Question: Where Should I Begin?

How to Pick a Second WWS JP Topic when Your First One Doesn’t Work Out

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Woodrow Wilson building
Woodrow Wilson building

If you read my previous post, you’ll remember that I recently went through the process of picking my JP topic. If you’re reading this post, you’ll see that I’m going through this process for a second time after realizing my first topic wasn’t going to work out–my professor told me my topic was too general and not empirical enough. Hearing this was a shock, because I had spent so much time developing my first topic that my enthusiasm and excitement made me blind to the paper’s flaws. However, hearing this negative feedback made me realize I had to take a step back and look at my paper with fresh eyes. Continue reading How to Pick a Second WWS JP Topic when Your First One Doesn’t Work Out